Rebels slip one spot in AP basketball rankings to No. 21

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 | 10:47 a.m.

The UNLV basketball team dropped one spot Monday in the Associated Press rankings and coaches’ poll, falling to No. 21 in the AP and No. 18 in the coaches' poll.

UNLV (8-1), which plays at 5 p.m. today at UTEP, won its lone game last week in a lopsided affair against Division-III La Verne.

New Mexico and San Diego State of the Rebels’ Mountain West Conference remained in the top 20 of each poll. New Mexico is No. 16 in the AP rankings and No. 17 in the coaches' poll. San Diego State is No. 18 in the AP rankings and No. 15 in the coaches' poll.

Duke is the nation’s new No. 1 team, receiving 62 of 65 first-place votes in the AP rankings. Indiana, the former top-ranked team fell to No. 6 in the AP rankings after losing last week to Butler in overtime.

After Duke, the top five in the AP rankings are: No. 2 Michigan (three first-place votes), No. 3 Syracuse, No. 4 Arizona and No. 5 Louisville. North Carolina, which UNLV plays Dec. 29, is ranked No. 23.

Oregon, which last month handed UNLV its lone loss, nearly cracked the top 25. The Ducks received 176 votes — 22 fewer than No. 25 N.C. State. Also, undefeated Wyoming (10-0) of the Mountain West Conference received 14 votes.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.