Volunteers' Men Vault to No. 1 Ranking

Victory over Memphis puts Tennessee on top
By Mike Buss,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2008 6:21 AM CST
Volunteers' Men Vault to No. 1 Ranking
Tennessee Bruce Pearl yells to his teamduring the first half of a college basketball game against Auburn Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee won 89-70.(AP Photo/Wade Payne)   (Associated Press)

All these years that Pat Summitt has coached at Tennessee, the women's program has dominated the AP rankings, while the men have played second fiddle. But now Bruce Pearl's team, after its 66-62 win Saturday at Memphis, sits atop both the AP and ESPN men's college basketball polls released Monday. It's the first-ever No. 1 ranking for the men's team, reports AP.

The ranking "just brings us in line with the other sports here," said Pearl, whose team snapped Memphis' 47-game home winning streak. The Tigers (26-1) dropped to No. 2 in the polls while North Carolina holds the No. 3 spot. Another notable was No. 23 Kent State, which, at 23-5, cracked the Top 25 for the first time in school history. (More NCAA basketball stories.)

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