Coaches Poll – Syndication Server

MSU women’s basketball moves up five spots in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After a weekend that saw the MSU women’s basketball team blow out No. 24 Michigan on the road, the Spartans have moved back up in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll by five spots.

Michigan State now sits at No. 17 with 256 points.

You can see the full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll below:

Rank	Team	Record	Points
1	UCLA	20-0	774 (30)
2	South Carolina	20-1	742 (1)
3	Notre Dame	17-2	708
4	USC	18-1	678
5	LSU	21-1	631
6	UConn	19-2	624
7	Texas	20-2	614
8	Ohio State	19-1	543
9	TCU	20-2	481
10	Duke	17-4	475
11	Kansas State	19-2	474
12	Oklahoma	16-4	402
13	Kentucky	17-2	386
14	Maryland	16-4	372
15	North Carolina	18-4	329
16	North Carolina State	16-4	305
17	Michigan State	17-3	256
18	California	18-3	234
19	Tennessee	15-5	231
20	West Virginia	16-4	202
21	Georgia Tech	17-4	180
22	Alabama	17-4	115
23	Vanderbilt	17-4	68
24	Florida State	16-4	59
25	Oklahoma State	17-3	44

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Duke women’s basketball jumps back into the top 10 in the coaches poll

After a ranked victory over Georgia Tech on the road this weekend, Duke women’s basketball is back in the top 10 of the coaches poll.

Duke won its second top-25 game in 10 days on Sunday, a 55-50 triumph over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that vaulted the Blue Devils back up the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.

In Tuesday’s updated rankings, head coach Kara Lawson and her team jumped up four spots to No. 10 on the heels of their fifth straight victory.

Duke dropped out of the top 15 at the start of the month after an overtime loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, its second loss in four games to slip to 12-4. Since that game, however, the Blue Devils have held teams to just 47.6 points per game. In fact, they’ve only surrendered more than 50 points in regulation once since January 5, a seven-game run of defensive dominance.

The Blue Devils are 8-1 against ACC opponents, tied for second in the conference standings as of Tuesday morning. The third-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, undefeated in eight conference games, are the only member of the ACC above Duke in the coaches poll.

The Tar Heels, after a Sunday loss to the Florida State Seminoles, dropped to No. 15 with an 18-4 record.

How far did Kentucky fall in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll this week?

Kentucky dropped in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after losing to Vanderbilt.

In one of the toughest days so far this season for Kentucky basketball, they played Vanderbilt on the road and looked bad in a 74 – 69 loss. The defeat resulted in a drop in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but not a big drop.

Previously, the Wildcats were ranked ninth. Now, after their second consecutive loss, they feel three spots to twelfth. That’s good for fifth among teams from the SEC.

Related: Where Kentucky ranks in the updated KenPom rankings

The Auburn Tigers still sit atop the rankings after they beat Tennessee on Saturday. The Alabama Crimson Tide are also in the top five, at number four overall. The Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers are both inside the top ten.

Nine teams from the SEC remain ranked this week. Two more received votes, including Vanderbilt.

Kentucky will try to avoid a third straight loss this week when they take on Tennessee. They’ve played well against ranked competition this season, and will need to be at the top of their game for that matchup.

Michigan State basketball moves up in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after Rutgers win

Michigan State moves up in the coaches poll after Rutgers win

After a win for Michigan State basketball over Rutgers in the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden, the red-hot Spartans continued their surge up the polls, moving up in the Coaches Poll to No. 7.

This is the same spot as the AP Poll has them listed as well.

Where Auburn lands in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll after Tennessee win

Does Auburn keep its No. 1 ranking after squeaking by Tennessee last Saturday?

The Auburn Tigers kept its unbeaten streak in SEC play alive last Saturday by defeating then-No. 7 Tennessee, 53-51, in front of a sellout crowd at Neville Arena.

Despite its struggles, Auburn kept its place in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, staying put at No. 1 in the poll for the third straight week. The loss pushes Tennessee to No. 8, a one-spot drop from last week’s poll.

The shake-up is minimal as the top five remain the same, with two programs trading places. Iowa State jumped Alabama for the right to earn the No. 3 ranking this week, while the Crimson Tide occupies the spot left behind by the Cyclones at No. 4. Duke remains No. 2 while Houston stays put at No. 5.

The SEC is represented by nine teams in this week’s rankings. Joining Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee in the top 10 is the Florida Gators, who remain at No. 6. Kentucky was kicked out of the top 10 following its road loss to Vanderbilt, dropping three places to No. 12. Mississippi State and Texas A&M round out the top 20 at No. 13 and No. 15 respectively while Missouri and Ole Miss close out this week’s representation at No. 21 and No. 23.

USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll

Rank	School	Record	Points
1	Auburn	18-1	775 (31)
2	Duke	17-2	741
3	Iowa State	17-2	689
4	Alabama	17-3	676
5	Houston	16-3	635
6	Florida	18-2	634
7	Michigan State	17-2	583
8	Tennessee	17-3	564
9	Marquette	17-3	536
10	Purdue	16-5	476
11	Kansas	14-5	429
12	Kentucky	14-5	399
13	Mississippi State	16-4	324
14	St. John’s	17-3	318
15	Texas A&M	15-5	310
16	Memphis	16-4	242
17	Wisconsin	16-4	214
18	Oregon	16-4	201
19	Texas Tech	15-4	169
20	Illinois	14-6	166
21	Missouri	14-6	163
22	Louisville	15-5	162
23	Ole Miss	15-5	104
24	UConn	14-6	100
25	Clemson	17-4	96

Schools Dropped Out

No. 20 Michigan; No. 23 West Virginia

Others Receiving Votes

Michigan 67; Gonzaga 55; Maryland 50; Vanderbilt 44; Saint Mary’s 41; Arizona 41; Utah State 22; Creighton 18; West Virginia 17; Georgia 6; Baylor 4; New Mexico 3; UC Irvine 1

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Duke basketball stays behind Auburn as the No. 2 team in USA TODAY Sports coaches poll

Duke beat a tough conference opponent on the road this weekend, but it wasn’t enough to take the top spot from Auburn in the coaches poll.

The Duke Blue Devils won their 13th straight game on Saturday, a hard-fought 63-56 road victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons that included a late switch to zone defense, but it wasn’t enough to wrestle away the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.

In Monday’s updated standings, the Blue Devils still trailed the Auburn Tigers as the second-ranked team in the country. Auburn swept all 31 first-place votes among the ballots.

The Tigers, with star forward Johni Broome now back from his ankle sprain, beat the Tennessee Volunteers by two points on Saturday for yet another Quad 1 win. Auburn is 18-1 on the season, only losing at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first week of December.

In their only game of the week, the Blue Devils built a 35-22 lead at halftime for what appeared to be another stress-free victory. Wake Forest rallied after the break with a 23-4 run, leading by six with 9:58 to play.

The team from Durham closed the afternoon on a 24-11 run for the gritty win.

Duke’s freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 24 points against the Demon Deacons, his eighth 20-point performance in the Blue Devils’ last 12 games. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game in his first (and likely only) collegiate season.

The Iowa State Cyclones, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Houston Cougars closed out the rest of the top five. The Louisville Cardinals (No. 22) and Clemson Tigers (No. 25) were the only other ACC teams on the board.

Big Ten head coach doesn’t think Alabama was a Top 25 college football team in 2024

See which coach ranked Alabama outside the Top 25 in his final Coaches Poll ballot.

At least one Power Four head coach didn’t think Alabama football belonged in the Top 25 after their 9-4 season and disappointing loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa.

That would be Washington Huskies coach Jedd Fisch. USA TODAY Sports this week released the final Coaches Poll ballots for all 53 coaches (both Power Four and Group of Five) who made up the poll in 2024.

Fisch, who guided the Huskies to a 6-7 season in his first year in Seattle, took over for Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer after DeBoer left Washington for Tuscaloosa. Fisch was the only Power Four coach who didn’t have Alabama on his final Top 25 ballot.

Three Group of Five coaches excluded Alabama from their final ballots, as well: New Mexico’s Bronco Mendenhall, San Jose State’s Ken Niumatalolo, UNLV’s Barry Odom, and former Nick Saban assistant Lance Taylor (Western Michigan).

As for which coaches ranked Alabama the highest, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason (now at Middle Tennessee State) both ranked the Crimson Tide No. 11. Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart had Alabama at No. 12 in his final ballot, as did Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.

Among other coaches of note: Ohio State Buckeyes national championship coach Ryan Day had Alabama at No. 19 in his final ballot, while DeBoer himself ranked the Crimson Tide No. 15.

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Kentucky women are up another spot in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Kentucky women’s basketball moves up one spot in this week’s coaches poll.

The Kentucky women’s basketball team, led by coach Kenny Brooks, is on a winning streak. After getting a win against Georgia on Sunday, the Cats have won nine straight. That win moved them up one spot in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

After being stuck at 16th for several weeks, the Wildcats moved up to number 12 last week. This week they’re ranked 11th, which is fourth among SEC teams.

Related: Jasper Johnson helping to recruit Caleb Wilson

South Carolina still leads the SEC at number two overall. The LSU Tigers and Texas Longhorns are also both in the top ten, ranked fourth and seventh respectively. Overall, seven teams from the conference are ranked in the top 25 this week. Two more received votes.

Kentucky is 16 – 1 currently, and plays two games this week against Texas A&M and Arkansas. If they keep up the winning streak, they should crack the top ten when the rankings come out next week.

Georgia’s final US LBM Coaches Poll ranking outside Top 5

Georgia football is ranked behind No. 3 Texas despite beating the Longhorns twice

The Georgia Bulldogs are ranked No. 6 in the final US LBM Coaches Poll of the 2024-2025 college football season. Georgia dropped four spots from No. 2 after losing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff (Sugar Bowl).

Notre Dame advanced to the national championship before falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 34-23. Ohio State finished the year ranked No. 1.

Georgia finished the season as SEC champions with an 11-3 record. Georgia recorded ranked wins over No. 3 Texas (twice), No. 8 Tennessee and No. 11 Clemson. All of Georgia’s three losses came to ranked opponents (No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 17 Alabama and No. 13 Ole Miss). It does not make much sense that Georgia is ranked behind No. 3 Texas, which Georgia beat twice including at Texas and in the SEC championship.

Georgia is ranked behind Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon (No. 4) and Penn State (No. 5). The Bulldogs are scheduled to play four teams that finished this ranked in the top 25 during the 2025 college football season.

Final US LBM Coaches Poll rankings for 2024-2025

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Change	High/Low
1	Ohio State Buckeyes	12-0	1,350 (54)	+6	1/8
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	11-2	1,281	+1	2/19
3	Texas Longhorns	11-1	1,214	+1	1/6
4	Oregon Ducks	11-2	1,178	-3	1/7
5	Penn State Nittany Lions	11-2	1,080	–	3/9
6	Georgia Bulldogs	10-2	1,069	-4	1/10
7	Arizona State Sun Devils	10-2	1,037	+3	7/NR
8	Tennessee Volunteers	12-1	929	-2	4/15
9	Boise State Broncos	11-1	925	-1	8/NR
10	Indiana Hoosiers	11-2	856	-1	5/NR
11	SMU Mustangs	9-3	749	+1	7/NR
11	Clemson Tigers	11-2	741	+2	8/22
13	Ole Miss Rebels	10-3	707	+2	5/18
14	BYU Cougars	9-3	668	+3	8/NR
15	Iowa State Cyclones	9-3	631	+4	10/NR
16	Illinois Fighting Illini	10-2	611	+5	16/NR
17	Alabama Crimson Tide	10-2	423	-6	2/17
18	Miami Hurricanes	11-1	361	-2	4/19
19	South Carolina Gamecocks	10-3	355	-5	12/NR
20	Missouri Tigers	9-3	282	–	8/NR
21	Army Black Knights	9-3	275	-3	17/NR
22	Syracuse Orange	9-3	228	+3	22/NR
23	Memphis Tigers	10-2	166	–	23/NR
24	UNLV Rebels	10-3	140	–	19/NR
25	Colorado Buffaloes	9-3	129	-3	18/NR

Others Receiving Votes

LSU 44; Navy 28; Louisville 28; Michigan 20; Kansas State 20; Ohio 6; TCU 5; Marshall 1;

Where did Notre Dame land on the final US LBM Coaches Poll?

The Irish had one of their best finishes in over 30-years

While Notre Dame football did lose its final game of the season, it didn’t mean much in the US LBM Coaches Poll as the Irish kept a top ranking.

Ohio State was clearly going to be the No. 1 team after defeating Notre Dame on Monday night in the College Football Playoff Championship game, but it wasn’t guaranteed that the Irish would be No. 2 as we have seen in years past.

It was the case this time, as Notre Dame finished with its highest end of season ranking since 1993. It was a historic season for the Irish, who saw them defeat the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs along with two Big Ten foes in Penn State and Indiana.

Behind Ohio State and Notre Dame it was Texas, Oregon and the Nittany Lions rounding out the top-5. Georgia, Arizona State, Tennessee, Boise State, and Indiana rounded out the top-10.

Other teams of note were Army finishing at No. 21 and Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers finishing outside the rankings, but first in other teams receiving votes.

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts after a play against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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