Some coaches shy away from a No. 1 ranking early in the season, worried about the impact it will have on their players' psyche. Count Arizona's Sean Miller as one who embraces it.

Arizona moved up to No. 1 in The Associated Press' college basketball poll for the first time since 2003 on Monday, an honor Miller views as not only recognition for what the Wildcats have done this season, but validation for the direction the program has taken in his five years in the desert.

"There's tremendous satisfaction, no question," Miller said. "Embracing the fact that we're No. 1 is something I'm doing, our staff is doing and really our team is doing. It's an honor a lot of teams would love to have. It's something where no matter what happens the rest of the season, at some point we were ranked No. 1 in the country."

Coming off a hard-fought home win over UNLV, Arizona (9-0) received 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel to earn the No. 1 spot in a season for the sixth time. The Wildcats are the Pac-12's first No. 1 team since UCLA in January 2006.

Syracuse, which received the other first-place votes, and Ohio State moved up two places to second and third, while Wisconsin jumped four spots to fourth. Michigan State, which had been No. 1 for three weeks, dropped to fifth after losing 79-65 at home to North Carolina.

Louisville was No. 6, followed by Oklahoma State, Duke, UConn and Villanova.

North Carolina moved back into the poll at No. 18 after a one-week absence. Colorado and Missouri are in the Top 25 for the first time this season. UCLA, Michigan and Dayton fell out of the rankings.

Arizona was sixth in the preseason Top 25.

- Associated Press