Party like it’s 1982! Virginia takes top spot in AP Top 25

Virginia basketball is atop the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in 35 years. The Cavaliers (23-2) replace Villanova (23-2) after a week in which both lost games at home. UVA lost 61-60 in overtime to Virginia Tech on Saturday, after ‘Nova had lost to sub-.500 St. John’s 79-75 on Wednesday.

Last week’s #3, Purdue (23-4), meanwhile, lost twice, to Ohio State and Michigan State.

The Spartans (24-3) moved up two spots from last week to #2 in this week’s rankings.

Virginia received 30 first-place votes, outpacing Michigan State’s 21. Villanova notched nine first-place votes and is third this week. Xavier (23-3) received five first-place votes, and is fourth. Cincinnati (23-2) is fifth.

Other ACC teams in the rankings this week are Clemson (20-4) at 11^th, Duke (20-5) at 12^th and North Carolina (19-7) at 14^th.

The last time Virginia was ranked first in the AP poll was the week of Dec. 21, 1982. The 2014-2015 team spent seven weeks in the #2 spot. This year’s team had been #2 for four weeks before climbing to the top spot today.