High fives for Arizona, which is 17-0. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Wildcats are No. 1 in the polls for the sixth consecutive week, tying their longest stretch at the top in school history.
The 2002-03 team started the season with six weeks ranked No. 1.
“The one thing we talk about being No. 1 in the country is it’s a responsibility,” assistant coach Book Richardson said on the 1290-AM (KCUB) postgame show Sunday night. “And we’re always big on, ‘Let’s embrace it. Let’s see how long we can be No. 1.’”
To be No. 1 for a seventh week in a row, Arizona will have to beat visiting Arizona State on Thursday night, the Wildcats’ only game this week. The game starts at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports 1, with Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery on the call.
Arizona earned 61 of the 65 first-place votes in the AP poll, the rest going to second-ranked Syracuse. The Cats picked up 30 of 32 first-place votes in the USA Today coaches poll; Syracuse and Michigan State had the other No. 1 votes.
The Wildcats, following their first sweep in Los Angeles since the 2004-05 season, swayed one AP voter — Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News. He had ranked Syracuse at No. 1 last week.
With the 73-53 win at USC on Sunday night, Arizona improved to 17-0, setting a record for the best start in school history.