MARCH 10, 1992 – The UA basketball team moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll released yesterday, while Duke remained No. 1 and could become the second team in as many years to hold the No. 1 ranking from preseason to the final poll – if history does not repeat itself.

Duke returned to near-unanimous status as the top-ranked team with only one more poll left before the NCAA Tournament begins March 19.

Arizona, which plays No. 8 UCLA Thursday night in a game that could determine the Pacific 10 Conference champions, appears to have the best shot at derailing Duke in the poll, but that could only happen if Duke loses in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. That’s what happened to Duke last season, although the Blue Devils weren’t ranked No. 1 at the time. In their last game before the tournament, the Blue Devils were clobbered 96-74 by North Carolina in the ACC title game.

Last Wednesday, the Blue Devils rallied from 19 points down early in the second half to beat Clemson 98-97, so their time might be near.

UNLV was No. 1 in every poll last season but lost to Duke in the national semifinals, and the Blue Devils went on to win the national title by beating Kansas.

The Blue Devils (25-2) received all but two of the 64 first-place votes cast by the nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters and received 1,598 points, 149 more than runner-up Arizona (24-4).

Kansas (23-4) held third place and was just five points behind the Wildcats