Kentucky (22-1) moved up one place to No. 3 in The Associated Press' Top 25 on Monday, receiving two No. 1 votes from the national media panel.
Kansas (22-1) remained the runaway No. 1 with 55 first-place votes. Syracuse (23-1), which received eight first-place votes, moved up one spot to become the fourth No. 2 in as many weeks. The ranking is the highest for the Orange since a six-week stretch at No. 1 in 1989-90.
But the story of this week's poll was the Mountain West Conference being represented by three teams — one more than the Atlantic Coast Conference and three more than the Pac-10.
No. 15 New Mexico (21-3), No. 17 BYU (22-3) and No. 23 UNLV (19-4) give the league three teams in the Top 25 for the first time.
"It's good to start getting some national respect," New Mexico Coach Steve Alford said. "I think we've got some really good players and some really good teams."
The ACC has No. 8 Duke and No. 20 Georgia Tech in this week's poll, while the Pac-10 is without a team in the Top 25 for the fifth straight week since Washington dropped out.
Monday's highlights
No. 4 Villanova 82, No. 5 West Virginia 75: Scottie Reynolds scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13 minutes, and Villanova held off host West Virginia.
The Wildcats (21-2, 10-1) rebounded from a blowout loss at No. 7 Georgetown on Saturday to pull into a first-place tie with No. 2 Syracuse in the Big East.
West Virginia (19-4, 8-3) led only in the game's opening minutes and couldn't overcome an 11-point halftime deficit. The Mountaineers will have to wait until Friday night at No. 25 Pittsburgh to try for their sixth straight 20-win season.
No. 18 Butler 62, Loyola, Chicago 47: Matt Howard scored 20 points to lead host Butler to its 13th straight win and at least a share of its fourth straight Horizon League regular season title.
Willie Veasley added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-4, 14-0), who matched the second-longest winning streak in school history. Walt Gibler and Geoff McCammon both scored nine points for the Ramblers (13-11, 4-10).
Around the nation
Oklahoma: Freshmen basketball players Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger were cited for shoplifting at a department store in Norman, just hours after the Sooners upset Texas on Saturday. Police spokeswoman Jennifer Newell says the players were ticketed for petty larceny and released. Team spokesman Mike Houck says any discipline will be handled internally.
Tennessee: Guard Cameron Tatum's sprained right ankle is expected to keep him out of Tuesday's game at No. 22 Vanderbilt. Tennessee plays at Kentucky on Saturday.
