Arizona reappeared in the AP Top 25 poll Monday at No. 23 after a two-week layoff while unbeaten ASU jumped into the Top 10 for the first time since 1981.
The Sun Devils, 9-0, moved all the way from No. 16 to No. 5 after winning at Kansas on Sunday. Five voters put ASU at No. 1, according to the Republic's Doug Haller, who votedΒ the Sun Devils at No. 3.
Villanova, 10-0 and the winner of the Battle 4 Atlantis, moved into the No. 1 spot after previous No. 1 Duke lost at Boston College on Saturday.
Arizona was a preseason No. 3 pick and rose to No. 2 before slipping all the way out of the poll following their 0-3 showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving week.
But Arizona has since won four straight games, including a 67-64 win over then-seventh-ranked Texas A&M last Tuesday in Phoenix plus an 88-82 win over Alabama on Saturday at McKale Center. Texas A&M dropped to No. 9 this week.
In theΒ USA Today coaches Top 25 poll, Arizona was also ranked No. 23 while ASU was placed at No. 6.
Arizona and ASU are the only Pac-12 teams represented in the Top 25 polls. Their success will likely add extra meaning to their Pac-12 opener on Dec. 30 at McKale Center.
The Sun Devils have been cleaning up on the Pac-12 Player of the Week awards lately, too.
ASU's Shannon Evans won the conference's weekly award Monday after averaging 20.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the Sun Devils' wins over St. John's and Kansas, while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and posting an 11-1 assist-turnover ratio.
Tra Holder won two straight weekly awards last month, giving ASU three of the past four Pac-12 Player of the Week awards.
This week, Evans beat out Arizona nominee Deandre Ayton, who averaged 21.0 points and 14.0 rebounds in UA's wins over Texas A&M and Alabama, with career-highs of 29 points and 18 rebounds against Alabama and 13 points and 10 rebounds against Texas A&M. Ayton also shot 59.3 percent over the two games.
Washington's Noah Dickerson, another top nominee, had 13 points and 14 rebounds in the Huskies' upset of Kansas, though the Huskies lost by 27 points to Gonzaga on Sunday, when Dickerson had 18 points and four rebounds.
