Undefeated Illinois Rises to No. 1 Spot

Illinois became the first team this season other than Duke to hold the No. 1 position in the Associated Press college basketball poll Monday, the first time the Fighting Illini have held that spot during the regular season in 37 years.

The only undefeated Division I team, Illinois received 62 of 65 first-place votes cast and 1,296 points from the nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Illinois was pushed to the limit Sunday to win its 17th straight game, 103-92 in double overtime, over Georgia Tech.

The last time Illinois held the No. 1 spot during the regular season was in the poll released on Jan. 22, 1952, when it took over the top spot from Kansas for a week. The Fighting Illini lost to DePaul 4 days later.

Duke (13-2), which dropped to eighth after 2 straight defeats, held the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll and in the first 9 weeks of the season.

Georgetown (15-1 after beating St. John’s Monday night), Louisville (13-2) and Oklahoma (15-2) each advanced one place in the voting behind Illinois. Missouri (16-3) was fifth, Arizona (13-2) sixth.