Tag: AP Top 25

Duke finishes at No. 9 in final AP poll

Four ACC teams, including Duke, crack final AP poll of the 2023-2024 season.

While the season’s outcome was not what many expected when Duke took the floor to start the season, Jon Scheyer’s team was, in essence, just 12 minutes from a Final Four berth.

NC State made more plays down the stretch and ultimately ended Duke’s season before having their season ended by national runner-up Purdue. Connecticut was always the best team from beginning to end, and they proved it by doing what hadn’t been done since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators teams in 2006–07: winning a second consecutive national title.

It should come as no surprise that the Huskies end the season as the No. 1 team in the final AP poll for the 2023-2024 season. Purdue was second, while Houston, whom Duke beat in the Sweet 16, tied with Alabama for the third-place spot. Tennessee checked in at number five.

Illinois was next at No. 6, followed by North Carolina, Iowa State, and Duke. NC State rounds out the top 10 despite never joining the poll during the regular season. Clemson, one of four ACC schools to make at least the Sweet 16, finished at No. 14.

The ACC had the same number of teams in the final AP poll as the Big 12, with four each.

LSU women’s basketball finishes sixth in final AP Top 25

The Tigers moved up in the final rankings despite their Elite Eight exit.

It wasn’t the finish to the season that the defending national champion LSU women’s basketball team hoped it would be, but it was still a very successful Year 3 for coach [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag].

The Tigers began the year with expectations to repeat, and though they had to work through some struggles during the season, they ultimately made it back to the Elite Eight, where they fell in a revenge game to eventual national runner-up Iowa.

Still, they’re moving up in the post-tournament final AP Top 25 rankings, rising a pair of spots from No. 8 to No. 6 after winning 30+ games for just the eighth time in program history.

Its 65 wins over the last two seasons also mark the second-most in program history behind 1976-78.

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Associated Press releases pre-tournament Top 25, Duke firmly out of top 10

The Associated Press released one more top 25 before the NCAA Tournament is set to tip off, and the Blue Devils slid even farther down.

With March Madness finally here and the tournament field set, the Associated Press released one last top-25 ranking on Monday before the festivities really begin.

The Blue Devils, after the upset loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament, dropped two more spots down to 13th. The ranking reflects their position as the No. 4 seed in the South region, outside of the top 12 overall teams.

Duke finished the regular season and conference tournament with a 24-8 record, finishing with 834 points in the voting.

Defending national champion Connecticut moved back atop the rankings with Houston in second, followed by Purdue. Iowa State, despite being a No. 2 seed in the bracket, took the fourth spot ahead of North Carolina, who dropped to fifth.

Tennessee, Auburn, Marquette, Arizona, and Illinois made up the lower half of the top 10, with Creighton and Kentucky taking the spots ahead of Duke.

LSU women’s hoops remains No. 8 in AP Top 25 entering Selection Sunday

The Tigers are currently a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The LSU women’s basketball team fell short in its attempt to get past the roadblock that South Carolina has presented in recent years, losing 79-72 in the SEC Tournament final as the Gamecocks remained undefeated.

Still, it was a solid run in Greenville, South Carolina, for the Tigers. They beat a pair of likely NCAA Tournament teams in Auburn and Ole Miss, and now they’ll await their postseason fate as they have the week off ahead of Selection Sunday.

LSU won’t be getting a boost in the rankings in the meantime. In the latest AP Top 25, the Tigers remained No. 8 as they have the last couple of weeks.

The Tigers at No. 8 and South Carolina at No. 1 were the only top-10 teams who didn’t see any movement following conference tournament week.

LSU is now preparing to hear its name called on Sunday, and it’s currently projected as a No. 2 seed. A top-four seed would guarantee the Tigers host their first two tournament games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

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Duke drops to 11th in latest AP Poll

Duke dropped three spots and out of the top 10 in the latest Associated Press poll on Monday while UNC vaulted into the top four.

After Saturday’s loss to North Carolina, the Blue Devils dropped out of the top 10 in the Associated Press poll.

AP released an updated Top 25 on Monday, and Duke slipped down two spots to 11th in the new rankings.

Duke finished the regular season with a 24-7 record and a 15-5 record against ACC opponents, finishing two games behind North Carolina in the conference race.

The Tar Heels, after their road win in Cameron Indoor Stadium, climbed within the top four of the national rankings.

Houston maintained its hold as the No. 1 team in the country, with Connecticut, Purdue, UNC, and Tennessee completing the top five.

Arizona, Iowa State, Creighton, Kentucky, and Marquette rounded out the top 10, the same teams as the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released the same day but in a different order.

The Blue Devils finished with 976 points in the voting, 35 points behind Marquette in 10th.

Kentucky up one spot in new AP top 25

Kentucky rises up one spot in the AP Poll this week

The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team has taken their fans on quite a ride this season. They looked like a championship contender for the first few months of the season, getting wins over more than one ranked teams.

Conference play began in January, and they began to struggle. Their defense was one of the nation’s worst, and conference opponents were able to take advantage. The Wildcats lost three straight home games at one point.

Over the past few weeks, a change in their defensive intensity has been noticeable. They knocked off two highly ranked teams in Auburn and Alabama, then won a couple of games where they had to make some big defensive plays. They have now won five of their last six games, and on Monday, they gained more ground in the top 25 polls.

Last week, Kentucky was 16th in the AP Poll. This week, they move up one spot to 15th, after going 2 – 0 in their previous week’s games. Had the two games not been so close, they may have moved up even farther. The Wildcats come in ahead of Alabama, and one spot behind Kansas, who lost their last two games.

Kentucky plays their last two games this week, and one of them is against fourth-ranked Tennessee. If the Cats win both games, they’re certain to shoot up in next week’s polls.

Oklahoma Sooners move up one spot in latest Women’s Basketball AP Poll

After beating Texas, the Sooners move up one spot to No. 19 in the latest Women’s Basketball AP Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the Big 12 tournament starting March 7 in Kansas City. The Sooners head into the tournament coming off of a big win over No. 3 Texas but were upset in Lawrence on the final day of the regular season.

Still, with a Big 12 regular season title in hand, OU is a threat to win the Big 12 tournament.

The win over Texas, more than the loss to Kansas, helped the Sooners rise one spot in the latest AP Top 25 to No. 19 in the nation. They’re the fourth highest-ranked Big 12 team behind Texas at No. 6, Kansas State at No. 16, and Baylor at No. 17.

Though they weren’t able to make a significant move this week in the poll, a strong showing in the Big 12 tournament could get them closer to the top 10.

The South Carolina Gamecocks head into tournament play as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation.

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Duke slides up one spot to 9th in latest AP Poll ahead of final week of regular season

Duke moves up to ninth in penultimate regular season Associated Press poll.

It is officially March, and we are less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday. Jon Scheyer’s team is playing some of their best basketball of the season, and they look like a team starting to find itself at the perfect time. They enter Monday in second place in the ACC with a week ahead of them that features two games against two of their fiercest ACC rivals, NC State and UNC.

Duke will enter their Monday night matchup on the road against NC State as the 9th-ranked team in the country after they moved up one spot in the latest and penultimate AP poll of the 2023-2024 regular season.

Houston survived a valiant upset bid from Oklahoma on Saturday in head coach Kelvin Sampson’s return to Norman thanks to the late-game heroics of soon-to-be All-American guard Jamal Shead. The Cougars won 87-85. UCONN moved to number two as they secured the Big East regular season title, while Purdue slid one spot to third in the latest poll. Tennessee remained in contention for a number-one seed after they dispatched an electric Alabama team on Saturday in Alabama.

With Marquette’s loss to Creighton, the Golden Eagles fell to 8th, allowing Arizona, Iowa State, and the Tar Heels to take over the fifth, sixth, and seventh spots, respectively. With Duke at nine, Creighton rounds out the top ten after they moved up 12 spots.

Duke and UNC remain the lone ACC teams in the top 25, while none of the other ACC teams are even receiving votes. If Duke takes down NC State and beats North Carolina at home, the Blue Devils will earn at least a share of the ACC regular season title and should put themselves firmly in contention for a two-seed with a great showing in the ACC Tournament.

LSU women’s basketball moves up a spot in AP Top 25 entering SEC Tournament

LSU was bumped to No. 8 as it prepares to head to Greenville, South Carolina, this week.

The regular season is in the books for the LSU women’s basketball team, and now it will turn its attention to the SEC Tournament, which will be held this week at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville South Carolina.

The Tigers’ run at the tournament will begin on Friday as the No. 2 seed against either No. 7 Auburn or No. 10 Arkansas.

In the meantime, however, LSU got a boost in the AP Top 25 after ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak. LSU moved up one spot to No. 8, jumping Virginia Tech, which fell six spots after a loss to rival Virginia.

The Tigers will begin their SEC Tournament run with a 5 p.m. CT game in Greenville on Friday night.

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Houston stays at No. 1 in new AP Top 25 poll; Clemson shut out

Houston remained No. 1 in the new AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll for Week 18 of the season released Monday.

Houston remained No. 1 in the new AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll released Monday.

The Cougars (26-3 overall) jumped to No. 1 in last week’s rankings and remained in the top spot again Monday after earning a hard-fought road win at Oklahoma on Saturday. Kelvin Sampson’s team received 52 first-place votes.

UConn (26-3) moved ahead of Purdue to No.2 in this week’s AP poll after posting a 91-61 blowout win over Seton Hall on Sunday. The defending national champion Huskies clinched their first outright Big East regular-season championship in 25 years.

Purdue (26-3) fell to No. 3 but defeated Michigan State over the weekend to clinch no worse than a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship.

Tennessee (23-6) earned impressive wins against Alabama and Auburn but stayed at No. 4. The Vols will face South Carolina Wednesday before closing their regular season at home against Kentucky.

Arizona moved back to No. 5 to round out the top five in this week’s rankings.

Clemson (20-9) received no votes for top 25 consideration from the various sportswriters and broadcasters who make up the AP poll. The Tigers defeated Pitt, 69-62, on Tuesday but they fell by the same score in an upset loss at Notre Dame on Saturday.

As has been the case for much of the season, ACC leader North Carolina (23-6) was the league’s highest-ranked team. The Tar Heels jumped two spots from last week’s poll to move to No. 7.

Duke moved up one spot to No. 10 after a 73-48 blowout win over Virginia over the weekend. The Tobacco Road rivals were the only ACC schools ranked in the AP poll.

The SEC and Big 12 tied for the most ranked teams in this week’s poll with five apiece.

Clemson returns to action Tuesday when the Tigers host Syracuse at 7 p.m. (EST) at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPN2.