USC Leaps Over UCLA to No. 8 in AP Ratings

For the first time in 21 years, USC has moved ahead of UCLA in the national college basketball poll.

The Trojans moved up from No. 13 to eighth in this week’s poll by the Associated Press, as the Bruins slipped from fourth to ninth with three losses in a row.

That marks the first time USC has been ranked ahead of the Bruins since Feb. 1, 1971, when the Trojans were No. 1 and UCLA was No. 2.

Five days after that, the teams played and the Trojans scored only one point in the final nine minutes of a 64-60 loss.

It then took them more than two decades to top the Bruins in the poll again.

The No. 8 ranking also is USC’s best since the Trojans were No. 5 on Feb. 11, 1975.

UCLA has a 21-4 record compared to a 20-4 mark for USC, but the Trojans beat the Bruins in both their meetings.

Duke, which defeated UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday, regained 10 first-place votes it had lost last week and solidified its hold atop the AP rankings.

The Blue Devils, who clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title last week, have been No. 1 since the preseason poll. However, they dropped to 48 first-place votes last week. The Blue Devils had 58 Monday and 1,617 points from the nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to easily outdistance No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Kansas.

Arizona moved up one spot to fourth and Ohio State rose from eighth to round out the top five.