Jim O’Connell: First trip to No. 1 can hurt

Tennessee fans really shouldn’t have been shocked that the Volunteers are expected to have a short stay after moving to No. 1 in the Associated Press’ college basketball poll for the first time.

The last five teams to enjoy a No. 1 ranking for the first time before Tennessee jumped to the top this week all had stays of one week or two.

Alabama moved to No. 1 for the first time in school history in late December 2002, and the Crimson Tide stayed there for two weeks, losing 51-49 at Utah to drop to fourth.

Florida made its first appearance at No. 1 in December 2003. The Gators lost 69-68 in overtime to Maryland in their first game as a top-ranked team and then lost 73-65 to Louisville late in the week. The Gators dropped to 15th in the next poll.

Saint Joseph’s reached the top for the first time in the next-to-last poll of 2003-04. The Hawks were unbeaten when they moved up to No. 1 on a Monday. Three days later, they lost 87-67 to Xavier in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Wake Forest moved to No. 1 for the first time in late November 2004. The Demon Deacons were on top for two polls before losing 91-73 at Illinois. Last February, Wisconsin reached No. 1 for the first time and it was a one-week stay as the Badgers lost 64-55 to Michigan State and 49-48 to Ohio State in a 1-vs.-2 matchup.

Tennessee’s reign as a No. 1 will likely last this one week after a 72-69 loss at Vanderbilt.

Carroll has hot hand

Utah State senior guard Jaycee Carroll is putting up some impressive shooting statistics.

Carroll, an honorable mention All-America selection last season, is the only player in Division I who is shooting better than 50 percent from the field and 3-point range, and is better than 90 percent from the free-throw line.

Fans loved Vols-Tigers

The Feb. 23 1-vs.-2 matchup of Tennessee at Memphis was ESPN’s most-watched men’s college basketball game.

No. 2 Tennessee’s 66-62 victory averaged 3,636,000 households and 5,281,000 viewers. The prime-time telecast averaged a 3.8 rating, making it ESPN’s highest-rated men’s college basketball game since the Kentucky-Duke matchup in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 22, 1998, averaged a 3.9.

Good company to keep

If you’re going to have a monster scoring game it only adds to the big performance when you are mentioned with the likes of Larry Bird and Elvin Hayes.

Houston senior guard Robert McKiver had 52 points in the Cougars’ 95-67 victory over Southern Mississippi on Wednesday night.

McKiver’s effort was the highest-scoring game in Division I this season and it broke Hofheinz Pavilion’s single-game record, which was set by Bird when he scored 44 points for Indiana State on March 9, 1977.

It was the most points scored by a Houston player since Hayes had 55 against Southwestern on Feb. 12, 1966.