UNLV rises to No. 17 in national rankings
UNLV's basketball team, coming off home Mountain West Conference victories over Boise State and Air Force last week, climbed to No. 17 in both The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls released today. The Rebels (24-6) were No. 21 in the media poll and No. 20 in the coaches' poll last week.
The Rebels bounced back from a pair of league losses the previous week -- which resulted in them tumbling in the national rankings -- with a 75-58 win over Boise State on Wednesday night and a 68-58 victory over Air Force on Saturday. UNLV is locked in a three-way tie with New Mexico and San Diego State for first place in the Mountain West.
San Diego State (22-6), which won two conference games last week, moved up to No. 21 (from No. 24) in the AP poll and up to No. 23 (from No. 25) in the coaches' poll.
New Mexico (22-6) dropped out of both polls after suffering a pair of road losses last week. The Lobos were ranked 18th in the media poll and 21st in the coaches' poll entering the week.
The top five in this week's AP poll are Kentucky (28-1), Syracuse (29-1), Duke (25-4), Kansas (24-5) and Michigan State (24-5). The Top if the coaches' poll are Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, Duke and Michigan State.
