• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

This past weekend’s road trip to Oregon presented the UCLA men’s basketball team with a dual opportunity: solidify its spot atop the Pac-10 standings, and leave an impression in the minds of pollsters.

The Bruins succeeded on both counts with two road wins over Oregon and Oregon State, moving up three spots to No. 14 in the latest Associated Press poll released Monday. UCLA (17-4, 7-2 Pac-10) also maintained its one-game lead in the Pac-10 at the midway point of league play. California, Stanford and Arizona are all tied for second, one game behind UCLA.

Washington (16-4, 5-4) is the only other Pac-10 school ranked in the top 25, checking in at No. 16.

The Huskies had been ranked in the top 10, but suffered close losses to both Cal and Stanford and dropped in the poll.

Connecticut remained atop the poll for the second consecutive week, followed by Duke and Memphis. The other teams in the top five were not so lucky, as Florida and Texas were both upset in the past week, and dropped out of the top five.

West Virginia, which had beaten the Bruins the previous week, fell to unranked Marshall for the second consecutive year and dropped two spots to No. 11. Indiana suffered the most precipitous drop, plummeting nine spots to No. 22 after losses to Iowa and Minnesota.

Michigan entered the top 25 for the first time all year after beating two ranked teams in Michigan State and Wisconsin. UCLA defeated the Wolverines, 68-61, on the road back on Dec. 17, 2005. The win represents the Bruins’ only victory over a current top 25 team.

The Bruins face a challenge this week to stay in the top 15 of the poll, as they lost during both previous times ranked among the top 15. In late December, the Bruins moved to No. 11, but lost to Cal, and suffered the same fate two weeks later, when they moved again to No. 11 and then lost to Washington.

This week, the Bruins host Arizona State and Arizona at home.