For the first time all season, coach Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers have surged into the Top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, released Monday.
Clemson (9-1 overall) rose 29 spots to land at No. 16 in the Coaches Poll following their 70-66 win over Mark Pope and Kentucky Wildcats last Tuesday at Littlejohn Coliseum in the ACC-SEC Challenge. The Tigers then opened conference play on Saturday by beating the Miami Hurricanes, 65-55, in Coral Gables.
Against Kentucky, Ian Schieffelin had 11 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as the Tigers took down the fourth-ranked Wildcats to mark their latest win over a college basketball blue blood.
Clemson defeated North Carolina last season, marking only the second time in school history the Tigers had won in Chapel Hill. They beat the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to reach the Elite 8 for just the second time.
The Tigers ranked one spot behind the Ole Miss Rebels at No. 15 and one spot ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 17 in Monday’s Coaches Poll.
Clemson will host the Memphis Tigers (7-2) in another big nonconference matchup this Saturday at Littlejohn. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN2.
Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers (8-0) moved to No. 1 in the poll following their 96-70 blowout win over the Syracuse Orange. The previously top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (7-2) suffered their first losses of the season, in back to back games to the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha and the Missouri Tigers in Columbia.
Elsewhere in the top five, the Auburn Tigers (8-1) stayed at No. 2 for the second straight week, followed by the Iowa State Cyclones (7-1) at No. 3 and Marquette Golden Eagles (9-1) at No. 4. Kentucky (8-1) rounded out the top five at No. 5.
Clemson was one of only two ACC teams ranked in the Coaches Poll. Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils (7-2) were the highest-ranked conference team at No. 6. The ACC went 2-14 against the SEC in the ACC-SEC Challenge, with Clemson and the Louisville Cardinals the only ACC teams to win last week’s games.
Full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee | 8-0 | 745 (25) |
| 2 | Auburn | 8-1 | 709 (5) |
| 3 | Iowa State | 7-1 | 673 |
| 4 | Marquette | 9-1 | 633 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 8-1 | 630 |
| 6 | Duke | 7-2 | 613 |
| 7 | Florida | 9-0 | 530 |
| 8 | Alabama | 7-2 | 525 |
| 9 | Gonzaga | 7-2 | 462 |
| 10 | Kansas | 7-2 | 449 |
| 11 | Purdue | 8-2 | 424 |
| 12 | Oregon | 9-1 | 377 |
| 13 | Houston | 5-3 | 304 |
| 14 | Michigan | 8-1 | 258 |
| 15 | Ole Miss | 8-1 | 249 |
| 16 | Clemson | 9-1 | 237 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 9-0 | 233 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 8-2 | 194 |
| 19 | Michigan State | 8-2 | 166 |
| 20 | UConn | 7-3 | 152 |
| 21 | UCLA | 8-1 | 137 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 8-2 | 129 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | 7-1 | 124 |
| 24 | San Diego State | 6-2 | 105 |
| 25 | Baylor | 5-3 | 99 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 15 Memphis; No. 17 Illinois; No. 19 Pittsburgh; No. 22 North Carolina;
Others Receiving Votes
Mississippi State 93; Illinois 67; St. John’s 51; Pittsburgh 50; Arizona State 44; Memphis 37; Maryland 36; Drake 35; Utah State 32; Saint Mary’s 28; Penn State 26; Creighton 20; Georgia 18; Missouri 14; West Virginia 11; Arkansas 10; UC Irvine 5; Texas 5; Dayton 4; Texas Tech 2; North Carolina 2; Loyola Chicago 2; LSU 1;