By The Post-Standard
March 01, 2010, 12:16PM
Nicholas Lisi / The Post-Standard
SU's Wes Johnson reacts as he walks off the court after SU beat Villanova 95-77 in the Carrier Dome. The Orange became the top-ranked team in the country today.
» Take an interactive tour of this photo of the record-breaking crowd of 34,616 at the Carrier Dome Saturday night
» Watch a time-lapse video of the Dome filling up and then emptying out
For the first time since the 1989-90 season, the Syracuse University men's basketball team is the top-ranked team in the country.
Today's Associated Press poll has the Orange jumping four spots to No. 1. This comes after last week's top three teams -- Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue -- all suffered losses while Syracuse beat No. 7 Villanova before a record-breaking crowd in the Carrier Dome. SU also grabbed the top spot in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
The Orange were the runaway in the AP rankings, receiving 59 first-place votes from the national media panel to make the jump from fourth. This is their first time on top since a six-week run during the 1989-90 season.
Kansas, which had the other six first-place votes, dropped to second following its loss at Oklahoma State. Kentucky, which has the same 27-2 record as the two teams above it, dropped one place after losing at Tennessee.
Duke was fourth followed by Kansas State, Ohio State and Purdue, which fell from third to seventh after losing to Michigan State.
Texas, which was No. 1 for two weeks in January, fell out of the Top 25 after losing for the seventh time in 12 games.
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