Pitt retains top ranking for second straight week

For the second straight week, Pitt is on top of the world of college basketball. And from the… For the second straight week, Pitt is on top of the world of college basketball. And from the looks of things, that’s where it wants to stay. After earning the nation’s No. 1-ranking for the first time in school history last week, Pitt claimed the No. 1-spot in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls once again yesterday. The Panthers didn’t play last week but maintained the nation’s top spot in the polls after a convincing 90-67 win over St. John’s in the Petersen Events Center on Sunday afternoon. ‘I was proud of how we responded [to the ranking] during the first week,’ said Pitt coach Jamie Dixon yesterday afternoon. ‘I thought we practiced well, and I thought we handled it well.’ Wake Forest, Duke, Connecticut and North Carolina round out the top five in the AP poll, while Duke, Wake Forest, Connecticut and Oklahoma fall behind Pitt in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Pitt (15-0, 3-0 Big East) earned 70 of the possible 72 first-place votes in the AP, with Wake Forest (14-0) grabbing the other two after taking down North Carolina on Sunday night. Pitt also earned all but two of the votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll, with Wake Forest taking the other two, as well. Dixon said that getting the team’s first-ever win as the nation’s top team was nice, but it doesn’t change Pitt’s goals for the season. ‘There was very little talk about it amongst our team,’ said Dixon. ‘There was no real difference of how we acted or in our behavior in any way.’ While Pitt stayed as one of three undefeated teams left in the NCAA and held its position in the polls, the Big East ‘- which had nine teams ranked in the Top 25 last week ‘- did see West Virginia drop out of the rankings after a 22-point loss to Marquette, giving the conference eight spots. Pitt plays South Florida at home on Wednesday night before traveling to Louisville on Saturday.