NC State, ACC basketball’s hottest team, earns a spot in the latest AP Top 25 poll

Perhaps this is the wrong time to rank N.C. State as it heads into a three-game road swing that begins at No. 8 Virginia on Tuesday. But the Wolfpack is the hottest team in the ACC, having just one loss this calendar year with wins over Duke, Miami and at Wake Forest.

And the Pack is far from a one-man show. Even though Terquavion Smith leads the ACC in scoring, N.C. State proved Saturday against Georgia Tech it can win without him having to carry the scoring load.

Smith and Jarkel Joiner, the team’s two leading scorers, combined for just 10 points. Yet D.J. Burns, who delivers much more than a typical fan favorite personality, picked up the slack with 24 points and Casey Morsell added 17 to help the Pack avoid an upset.

N.C. State made its debut at No. 22 this week.

Purdue remained at No. 1 with 38 of 62 first place votes, despite its loss at rival Indiana. Houston has been holding steady at No. 2 and received 22 first place votes. No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona each received one first place vote.

Highest rise

Texas had the most impressive week of any ranked team. The Longhorns, mind you, have been operating under an interim coach in Rodney Terry ever since Chris Beard was suspended then fired last month for his arrest on a domestic family violence charge.

Terry guided the Horns to wins over No. 11 Baylor and at No. 7 Kansas State, and jumped five spots from No. 10 to No. 5. It’s hard to stay hot in the Big 12 and Texas will be tested Monday night with a trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face Kansas.

Biggest drop

Kansas State dropped five spots from No. 7 to No. 12 after losing to Kansas and Texas last week. Gonzaga fell four spots to No. 16 -- one spot behind Saint Mary’s -- after its overtime loss to the Gaels.

Welcome to the Top 25

What’s the bigger surprise in the Big Ten standings — that Purdue is leading the league or that Rutgers is in sole possession of second place? The Scarlet Knights are coming off a big win in Madison Square Garden over Michigan State. Former freshman team coach Jim Valvano would be proud. Rutgers is ranked No. 24.

Creighton endured a six game losing streak in the first two months of the season, but has seemingly rebounded fully with its current six game win streak. The Bluejays got healthy and have got on a roll. They were a preseason top 10 team and are now beginning to play like it. Creighton popped back in the poll at No. 23.

Outta here

Auburn played one of the worst offensive games of the shot clock era in its 46-43 loss at Tennessee. The Tigers shot just 24 percent from the field and it’s probably long overdue that they exit the poll, though they didn’t have far to fall at No. 25.

It’s a bit unfair to expect perfection from teams outside of the power conferences that get ranked. One loss usually means they get the quick hook. It happened to College of Charleston after its 20 game winning streak got snapped. It just happened to Florida Atlantic. The Owls also had a 20 game win streak before losing at UAB 86-77.

Clemson, which suffered a loss at Boston College and at home to Miami, lost its spot at No. 20 in the poll, as well.

AP Top 25

C.L. Brown’s ballot

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 9:23 AM.

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.