Villanova (10-0) remains No. 1 in the nation in AP poll

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With 56 of 65 first-place votes, Villanova remained the top-ranked team in the country in Monday's AP poll after a pair of close wins last week.

'Nova (10-0) played a tight Big 5 game against La Salle last Tuesday, winning 89-79, before turning away then-No. 23 Notre Dame, 74-66, four days later. 

Josh Hart pushed his way deeper into the National Player of the Year conversation by scoring half of the Wildcats' points against the Fighting Irish. Hart was as good as it gets, with 37 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. He shot 10 for 14 from the floor, 3 for 4 from three and 14 for 14 from the line.

It was encouraging that Villanova beat an undefeated, ranked team by eight points despite playing far from its best basketball of the season.

Jay Wright's team has won 16 straight games and 21 of 22 dating back to last season. 'Nova has just one game this week, Tuesday at 7 p.m. vs. Temple at The Pavilion.

Temple, which received votes last week, did not this week after losing by three at home to George Washington on Wednesday. The 7-3 Owls rebounded with a nine-point win over DePaul Saturday.

The top 11 teams in the AP poll stayed the same from last week. UCLA, Kansas, Baylor and Duke round out the top five. Notre Dame actually moved up two spots to No. 21 despite losing to Villanova.

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