College Basketball

The New Year began with seven undefeated teams, but only South Carolina, No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 Baylor remain. The Gamecocks (14-0) received 34 of the 35 first-place ballots Monday after beating Florida and Mississippi State last week. UCLA (14-0) garnered the other No. 1 vote and was second in the Top 25 once again. Iowa moved up to third after previously unbeaten N.C. State lost in the last second to Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack fell to sixth.  The Clemson men dropped to 21st in this week’s AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll. They were previously ranked 16th, but fell five spots after back-to-back losses to start ACC play at Miami and hosting No. 8 North Carolina. UNC moved up to No. 7 after beating the Tigers by 10 points on Saturday. Despite the recent losses and being 1-2 in conference play, Clemson has an 11-3 overall record. The Tigers play at Virginia Tech tonight.