Syracuse Basketball Slides Up To No. 3 In AP, Coaches Polls

The No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers lost to the unranked Butler Bulldogs over the weekend. You know what that means...EVERYBODY SLIDE UP! That includes the Syracuse Orange, who go from No. 4 to No. 3 in both polls.

In the AP, Duke is your overwhelming No. 1 with 62 first-place votes. Michigan picked up three first-place votes and is No. 2, followed by the Orange, Arizona and Louisville. Other Big East schools include Cincinnati (No. 11), Georgetown (No. 15) and Notre Dame (No. 22). SU opponent San Diego State is at No. 18.

In the Coaches, it's the same top five but Louisville is No. 4 and Arizona is No. 5. Cincy is also No. 11 while Georgetown is down at No. 21 next to No. 22 Notre Dame. San Diego St. is a little higher at No. 15.

In other polls...

Syracuse is No. 4 in the Sagarin Top 50 (behind Duke, Florida & Louisville).

Syracuse is No. 2 in the Massey Ratings (behind Duke).

Syracuse is No. 6 in the Colley Matrix (in which New Mexico is No. 3).

Syracuse is No. 9 in the RPI Ratings (Duke, Michigan, Butler, Colorado & Illinois are top five).

Over at ESPN, most folks have Syracuse in the No. 3 or No. 4 spots in the Power Rankings, however John Gasaway (No. 7) and Jason McCallum (No. 9) are not impressed.

The AP Voter You Arbitrarily Hate This Week is...Ron Morris AND Jon Wilner, both of whom have Syracuse at No. 10 this week. We know about Morris but what's with Wilner? Despite their undefeated record, Wilny has dropped SU three spots from last week. He doesn't give a reason in his column but it sounds like he bumped them down to make room for Butler. If it makes you feel better, Wilner is routinely considered one of the worst pollsters, and seems to have earned the honor this week as well.

The AP Voter You Arbitrarily Love This Week is...a nine-reporter crew of folks who have the Orange at No. 2 in the nation. Bravo, gents.