Duke topped the new Associated Press Top 25 that came out Monday.
The Blue Devils are 18-1 under coach Mike Krzyzewski and face No. 6 Wake Forest Wednesday night.
They were ranked on top for at least one week in every season from 1997-98 to 2003-04 and only UCLA’s 134 weeks at No. 1 beats Duke’s 111 in the 59-year history of the poll.
“When you have a chance to be voted No. 1 at any time it is an honor you don’t take lightly,” Krzyzewski said Monday. “It is not something you try to keep winning but you try to keep improving. I think it goes with the territory we’ve been in for awhile.”
The Big East, which previously had as many as nine teams in the poll, now how as seven, with UConn at No. 2 and Pittsburgh at No. 3. Pitt faces No. 21 Villanova Wednesday in the last game ever to be played at The Spectrum.
Pitt moved into the No. 1 spot three weeks ago for the first time in school history and the Panthers were replaced at the top last week by Wake Forest, which had spent a total of two weeks at the top before that.
Two other Big East teams, No. 7 Louisville and No. 8 Marquette, are in the Top 10.
No. 15 Syracuse, No. 21 Villanova and No. 25 Georgetown are the others. The Hoyas, then No. 12 , were upset Sunday by Seton Hall, 65-50, in front of 9,800 at The Prudential Center. That was their third straight loss, following defeats at Duke and at home to West Virginia.
Notre Dame (12-6) dropped out from 19th following its third straight loss, a 69-61 defeat to Connecticut which ended the Fighting Irish’s 45-game home winning streak. They were ranked every week this season, reaching as high as seventh.
Syracuse will be without the services of freshman wing Mookie Jones of Peekskill, N.Y. for the rest of the season. He is out with a right hip injury and is expected to have surgery Feb. 4
Jones reportedly has had a tear in his hip since high school.
He will likely be granted a medical redshirt for this season because he will have played in no more than 30 percent of Syracuse’s games. Jones has played in nine games so far and Syracuse is slated to play 32 (28 percent).
As for guard Andy Rautins, who rolled his ankle Sunday in the loss to Louisville, he did not practice Monday and is day to day, according to Syracuse spokesman Pete Moore.
(AP contributed; Photos courtesy AP, Syracuse Post-Standard)
