Hurricanes up to No. 8, Owls climb to No. 13 in AP basketball poll

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Miami moved up two more spots and Florida Atlantic made the largest climb of any team in the latest Associated Press top 25 basketball poll released Monday.

The Hurricanes (5-0) moved up to No. 8 without playing a game after taking the week of Thanksgiving off. They'll be back in action Tuesday night at No. 12 Kentucky (5-1) for the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

Miami is the second highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team behind No. 7 Duke (5-1), which lost to second-ranked Arizona (6-0) earlier this month.

Jim Rassol/AP

Miami guard Matthew Cleveland goes up for a shot against Florida International during the first half Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, in Coral Gables, Fla.

Meanwhile, the Owls (5-1) rebounded from a home loss to Bryant with an impressive performance at the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, where they beat Butler , then-No. 12 Texas A&M and Virginia Tech in a span of four days to win the tournament.

FAU is now No. 13, just ahead of the Aggies (6-1).

Fourth-year junior guard Alijah Martin was named the American Athletic Conference player of the week after scoring 55 points and recording five steals, six assists, 10 three-pointers and 17 rebounds.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin celebrates after scoring a 3-pointer during the second half of the ESPN Events Invitational championship game against Virginia Tech, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Owls will be back at home Thursday to face Liberty in the three-team Field of 68 Classic.

Florida State (4-1) is among those teams receiving votes after defeating then-No. 18 Colorado (5-1) 77-71 in overtime to win the Sunshine Slam championship in Daytona Beach.