After a 3-0 start to the season, highlighted by Sunday afternoon’s dominant win over then-No. 12 Arkansas, the Virginia Cavaliers rose three spots up to No. 6 in this week’s AP Poll, released Monday afternoon.
At No. 6, UVA now occupies its highest spot in the AP Poll since appearing at No. 6 on Feb. 20, 2023, which marked the 10th and final week ranked inside the top-10 for the ’Hoos in 2022-23.
Monday’s ascension into the top six comes on the heels of Virginia’s statement
win over the Razorbacks — who fell to No. 19 on Monday — inside Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Behind a stat-stuffing performance by Johann Grunloh — 15 points (5-9 FG), five blocks, four rebounds, and two assists — Virginia flexed its experience and cohesion against a highly talented but very young Arkansas squad, forcing 15 Razorback turnovers as the Cavaliers cruised to a 19-point victory.
Elsewhere in the AP Poll, the ACC still has four ranked teams — No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Virginia, No. 10 Louisville, and No. 17 Miami. The Blue Devils, who have begun their season with a pair of dominant home wins over Army and Coastal Carolina, will get their first real test Tuesday against No. 5 Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
At the top of the rankings, Florida stayed put at No. 1 after a season-opening 10-point win over Miami and a 29-point drubbing of Jacksonville. No. 3 Illinois and No. 4 UConn also held their spots, while No. 12 Arizona dropped out of the top five after falling to now-No. 9 UCLA.
The ’Hoos, who are up to No. 5 in Bart Torvik’s T-Rankings and No. 9 in KenPom as of Monday morning, will look to back up their top-six ranking this week against Bucknell inside John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday night, and in their first true road test, a trip to Maryland to face the Terrapins on Friday evening.
