VILLANOVA, Pa. - For the third time in as many seasons, the Villanova Wildcats are atop the rankings of the two major national polls. The Wildcats, who defeated No. 12 Gonzaga and La Salle last week, moved up from the No. 4 spot in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls to No. 1 on Monday.

VU received 41 first place votes to edge No. 2 Michigan State in the AP poll and 19 first place votes to 10 for the second ranked Spartans in the USA Today Coaches poll.

"It's always an honor to be ranked No.1," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "It's great for the Nova Nation and we appreciate the respect of the writers and coaches. We know it's early, though, and we need to get a lot better." The Wildcats ascended to the No. 1 spot in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls for the first time in program history in February 2016 and remained there for three weeks. Last season, VU spent seven weeks atop the AP poll during the course of the regular season.

Today's news will be a significant topic of conversation on the season premiere of "Talking Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright presented by Hartford Funds". The show - the first of 10 to be held in 2017-18 - originates from J.D. McGillicuddy's Restaurant in Wayne, Pa., its primary home since 2012.

You can find the complete schedule for "Talking Villanova Basketball with Jay Wright presented by Hartford Funds" at the top of this page.

Next up for the Wildcats is a Philadelphia Big Five clash with Temple on Wednesday night at the Liacouras Center (ESPN2 and 610 Sports Radio).

The 2017-18 Villanova Basketball season is presented by KeyBank.