UCLA Ranked No. 2 Behind Duke in Basketball Poll; UNLV No. 24

UCLA is ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press college basketball poll, the Bruins’ highest ranking since holding the No. 1 spot for two weeks in the 1982-83 season.

The Bruins (2-0) were ranked fourth last week.

Duke (2-0) remained No. 1, getting 63 of 64 first-place votes and 1,599 points from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. UCLA received 1,415 points.

Nevada Las Vegas is back in the top 25 at No. 24 after a 76-55 victory over Louisiana State Saturday night.

Coach Jerry Tarkanian said he was surprised his club was back in the national rankings. He also said several problems that have hampered his program might have generated a higher level of intensity among the players.

Ranked No. 3 behind UCLA is Arizona (2-0) with 1,403 points, followed by Ohio State (2-0), North Carolina (4-0), Seton Hall (2-0) and St. John’s (3-0), which all jumped two places.

Seton Hall received the only other first-place vote.

Oklahoma State (5-0), which won the preseason National Invitation Tournament with victories over Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech, moved from 11th to eighth. Indiana (1-1) moved up a spot to ninth and Kansas (3-0) is No. 10.