Stanford Tops Poll as Unanimous Pick

Stanford played basketball for 85 years before getting its first No. 1 ranking last season.

Now, the Cardinal is making it a habit.

Stanford (13-0) is back on top of the Associated Press college basketball poll thanks to a big victory at Arizona on Saturday followed by Indiana’s upset of previously top-ranked Michigan State on Sunday. The Cardinal went from second to first, while the Spartans dropped to No. 3 behind Duke.

“I think we’re in a good spot in the standings, but more importantly, we’re playing good basketball,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “Tucson is a very tough place to win, and we haven’t done it much in my time here. I like what this weekend says about the direction we’re going.”

The Cardinal, which went to No. 1 twice last season for a total of five weeks, received all 70 first-place votes and 1,750 points from the national media panel. Stanford, which also won at Arizona State last week, was also the last unanimous No. 1 when it earned the distinction on Feb. 28, 2000.

While the Cardinal pile up victories, it’s also building momentum. Stanford is undefeated in January for the third time in four seasons, and several of the biggest hurdles on the Cardinal’s schedule--especially the annually harrowing trip to Tucson--already have been cleared.

“We’re the team to beat [in the Pac-10],” Cardinal guard Casey Jacobsen said. “People were thinking it would be us or Arizona, but we’re 2-0, and the team’s still hungry. I know we are.”