Online sportsbook has seen Syracuse have an excellent season in college basketball and now they are ranked #1 in the country. For the first time in 20 years, Syracuse is #1 in the country in both the AP and USA Today polls. Syracuse has not only been successful straight up, they have been a winner vs. the odds at the sportsbook.
Online sportsbook has seen Syracuse go from completely out of the rankings to the top spot in the same season. Remember that Syracuse was not even ranked in the preseason Top 25. Two early wins over California and North Carolina put them back into the poll quickly as online sportsbook indicated and they have steadily moved up. “It’s a great honor, a great testament for these players, these kids, to be number one,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. Syracuse has not been #1 since the 1989-1990 season.
Syracuse received 59 first-place votes as Kansas dropped to #2. Syracuse got a big win over Villanova on Saturday while Kansas and Kentucky lost that same day vs. online sportsbook odds. Purdue then lost on Sunday vs. sportsbook odds to open the door for Syracuse to move to #1. The last time a team went from unranked to #1 was in 1990 when Kansas did it.
The team that was the best in the country was Kansas but they lost at Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks had been #1 for the last four weeks and at #1 for a total of thirteen weeks this online sportsbook season. Kentucky fell from #2 to #3 in the poll this week. Duke and Kansas State each moved up one place each to fourth and fifth, while Ohio State continued to rise as they are sixth. Purdue dropped to number seven as online sportsbook had it and out of consideration for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico was eighth, followed by Villanova and West Virginia. The second ten starts with Michigan State and they are followed by Butler, Vanderbilt, BYU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Temple. Sportsbook has the last five as Baylor, Maryland, Texas A&M, UTEP and Xavier. Maryland is a newcomer this online sportsbook college hoops week as is UTEP who is ranked for the first time since 1992. Xavier is also a newcomer after beating Richmond. Northern Iowa dropped out as did Texas. The Longhorns were #1 earlier this sportsbook year and became the first time in 30 years to make it to #1 and then fall completely out of the Top 25. It is only the fourth time in history that has happened.