HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Russ Smith scored 23 points and Gorgui Dieng had six points and 16 rebounds and Louisville, playing just hours after it moved to No. 1, used a strong second half to beat Connecticut 73-58 on Monday night.
The Cardinals (16-1, 4-0 Big East) won their 11th straight game and like the others they relied on their star backcourt and pressure defense.
The only other time Louisville was ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 was the final poll of 2008-09. The Cardinals won the national championship in 1980 and 1986 but the AP does not conduct a post-NCAA tournament poll.
The Cardinals are the third team to hold the No. 1 spot this season along with Indiana and Duke and they celebrated the move with the convincing road win.
Omar Calhoun led the Huskies (12-4, 2-2) with 20 points while Shabazz Napier added 12.
No. 4 KANSAS 61, BAYLOR 44
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Ben McLemore scored 17 points before leaving in the final minutes with a right ankle injury, and fourth-ranked Kansas rolled to a 61-44 victory over Baylor on Monday night.
McLemore hit a 3-pointer and then scored an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Elijah Johnson to make it 61-42 with 2:44 remaining. The Jayhawks were back on offense when the freshman appeared to turn his ankle, lying on the court for several minutes while a trainer examined it.
McLemore eventually stood up and was helped to the Kansas locker room.
The injury was just about the only thing that didn't go right for Kansas (15-1, 3-0 Big 12), which won its 14th straight game to match the fourth-longest streak in the Bill Self era.
Freshman center Isaiah Austin had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bears (11-5, 3-1).