Morgantown, W.Va. • Travis Releford and Jeff Withey both scored 15 points and No. 2 Kansas nearly relinquished a double-digit lead before beating West Virginia 61-56 on Monday night to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games.
Kansas (19-1, 7-0 Big 12) shot 54 percent from the field in the first-ever meeting between the schools. The Jayhawks have held their last six opponents under 60 points.
Ben McLemore added 13 points for Kansas.
Aaric Murray led West Virginia (9-11, 2-5) with 17 points and Juwan Staten added 14. West Virginia used several steals to trim a 15-point deficit to eight at halftime but never took the lead in the second half.
No. 12 Louisville 64, Pittsburgh 61 • In Louisville, Ky., Russ Smith and Gorgui Dieng combined for 34 points and sealed the game with four free throws in the final 12 seconds as the Cardinals ended a three-game losing streak.
No. 25 Marquette 63, South Florida 50 • In Milwaukee, Vander Blue scored a career-high 30 points to lead Marquette over South Florida as the Golden Eagles moved into a first-place tie with Syracuse in the Big East.
Michigan is No. 1
Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press' college basketball poll for the first time since its Fab Five days 20 years ago. For the second straight week the No. 1 team lost. This time it was Duke, which was routed 90-63 by Miami in the third-worst defeat by a top-ranked team.
Michigan received 51 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday, 38 more than Kansas, which moved up one spot. They are the only one-loss teams in the poll.
The Wolverines advanced from No. 2 to take the No. 1 spot for the fourth time overall, and first since 1992-93.