Sun Devils move up to No. 5 in AP top 25 poll; highest ranking in 36 years

Shane Dale

10:34 AM, Dec 11, 2017

7:15 PM, Dec 11, 2017

sports | arizona sports

Remy Martin #1 and Tra Holder #0 of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrate after Remy Martin was fouled by a Kansas Jayhawk in the second half at Allen Fieldhouse on December 10, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Getty Images)

Kyle Rivas

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Coach Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils continued their unlikely climb in the rankings Monday, reaching heights the team hasn't been to since the first year of the Reagan administration.

ASU came in at No. 5 in Monday's Associated Press top 25 men's basketball poll, up 11 spots from last week. The Devils were one of three teams to earn any first-place votes in the poll; they received five, behind Villanova's 41 and Michigan State's 19.

The Sun Devils knocked off No. 2 Kansas on the road Sunday to improve to 9-0 on the season, their best start since the 1974-75 season. Their No. 5 ranking is their best mark since 1981.

🚨NO. 5 🚨 pic.twitter.com/UO5eRilXl5
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 11, 2017

The Sun Devils came in at No. 1 in ESPN's new top 25 power rankings, and No. 6 in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

ASU is one of just two Pac-12 teams ranked in this week's top 25 poll. The other: The Arizona Wildcats, who re-entered the poll at No. 23 after missing the top 25 for two consecutive weeks.

ASU and UA will face each other in their Pac-12 season opener in Tucson on Dec. 30.