Villanova moves up to No. 8

Villanova, coming off a 73-52 win over La Salle on Sunday to remain undefeated, moved up two spots to eighth in the Associated Press basketball poll released on Monday. The ranking was the school's highest since January 2011.

The Wildcats (10-0), off to their best since the 2005-06 season, are tied with Duke (7-2) in the rankings. The best open to a season in school history came in the 1937-38 season, when Villanova won its first 13 games.

"It's good to be 10-0, but we've still got a lot of work to do," said junior guard Darrun Hilliard after the La Salle game. Hilliard, who had 21 points against the Explorers, was named named Big Five player of the week on Monday.

The Wildcats are No. 12 in the USA Today poll.

Villanova, with wins over then-No. 2 Kansas and then-No. 23 Iowa, is one of four teams with two or more victories over ranked opponents. Fourteenth-ranked North Carolina has beaten three ranked teams this season. No. 17 Iowa State and No. 24 San Diego State have each beaten two.

Villanova is idle until Saturday when Rider (5-4) pays a visit to the Pavilion at 4 p.m.