Off to 6-0 Start, Syracuse Orange Surge into Top 25

After a week that saw the Orange win neutral site games against 18th-ranked Florida and 23rd-ranked Kansas, Syracuse finds itself a ranked team for the first time in the 2008-09 season. Syracuse flew up to 16th in the AP Poll—passing fellow Big East teams Marquette, Georgetown, and Villanova—as one of the eight teams from the conference in the top 25. Marquette's loss dropped it out of the the ESPN/USA Today Poll, as Syracuse was ranked 20th, with Villanova and Georgetown ranked higher. The top eight teams in each poll were identical, with three Big East teams making up the top seven (Connecticut at No. 2, Pittsburgh at No. 3 and Notre Dame at No. 7), with Louisville sliding to 11th after its loss to Western Kentucky. Syracuse's impressive stretch last week earned it ESPN.com Andy Katz's selection as Team of the Week . (link)