Arizona moved up to No. 1 in The Associated Press' college basketball poll for the first time since 2003 on Monday, an honor coach Sean Miller views as not only recognition for what the Wildcats have done this season, but validation for the direction the program has taken in his five years in the desert.
''There's tremendous satisfaction, no question,'' Miller said.
Coming off a hard-fought home win over UNLV, Arizona (9-0) received 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel to earn the No. 1 spot in a season for the sixth time. The Wildcats are the Pac-12's first No. 1 team since UCLA in January 2006.
Syracuse, which received the other first-place votes, and Ohio State moved up two places to second and third, while Wisconsin jumped four spots to fourth. Michigan State, which had been No. 1 for three weeks, dropped to fifth after losing 79-65 at home to North Carolina.