Syracuse Splashes Into Top-10

By John

After two impressive performances, beating two ranked teams to with the 2K Sports Challenge at Madison Square Garden, the Syracuse Orange jumped from the depths of unranked to no. 10 in the Associated Press college basketball poll, and got one first-place vote.

They made the third-biggest rise in the season’s second poll since Kansas went to no. 4 in 1989, and Arizona vaulted to no. 8 in 2001.

Voters apparently overlooked Jim Boeheim’s team after losing to city college Le Moyne in an exhibition game. It was an ugly loss that was only made up by big wins as underdogs in College Basketball Sportsbooks over then-no.24 Cal and then-no. 4 North Carolina. The Orange won each of those games easily, including a 87-71 romp of the Tar Heels in the championship game.

Kansas is still the darling of the polls, getting 56 first-place votes to stay at no. 1. Behind them it’s Michigan State and Texas for the top-three spots. The Spartans were the only other team to get multiple first-place spots with seven, and Texas got the only other first-place vote.

The only real change at the top was Villanova and Kentucky flip-flopping fourth and fifth.