ANN ARBOR, Mich. — John Beilein acknowledged yesterday he had quite a few text messages on his phone.
The Michigan coach just hadn’t checked them yet.
“I’ve been absorbed in Northwestern tape,” Beilein said.
The Wolverines are No. 1 in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll for the first time since their Fab Five days 20 years ago, but Beilein is determined not to get carried away with all this recognition.
Michigan took over the top spot after a 74-60 victory at Illinois on Sunday night. Next up on the schedule is Northwestern, and there’s no reason for the routine to change.
“Our goal at Michigan is to be No. 1 in the Big Ten. When you achieve that honor, you will have a chance at the national championship,” Beilein said. “All through the year polls will spark great interest among college basketball fans everywhere and that is always good. Our coaches and players, however, will remain focused on our goals of improving daily and competing for the championship within our conference.”
Michigan is doing pretty well in that regard, too. The Wolverines tied for the Big Ten title last year, and they’re deadlocked atop the league right now with No. 3 Indiana. The Hoosiers host Michigan on Saturday night.
Kansas 61, West Virginia 56
In Morgantown, W.Va., Travis Releford and Jeff Withey both scored 15 points and No. 2 Kansas nearly relinquished a double-digit lead before extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games.
The Jayhawks (19-1, 7-0 Big 12) shot 54 percent from the field in its first-ever meeting with the Mountaineers (9-11, 2-5). Kansas has held its last six opponents under 60 points.
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 No. 12 Louisville ended a three-game losing streak.
Smith finished with 20 points while Dieng had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Cardinals (17-4, 5-3 Big East), who had slumped since being No. 1 two weeks ago.
Pittsburgh (17-5, 5-4) had its four-game winning streak stopped.
Marquette 63, South Florida 50
In Milwaukee, Vander Blue scored a career-high 30 points to lead No. 25 Marquette past South Florida as the Golden Eagles moved into a first-place tie with Syracuse in the Big East.
The Golden Eagles (15-4, 6-1 Big East), who have won eight of nine games, returned to the Top 25 on Monday after being out of the rankings last week.