The Tar Heels didn’t make things easy on themselves Tuesday night at North Carolina A&T, but they played extremely well defensively and used a huge second quarter to their advantage, pulling away for a 66-47 victory.
Proving itself early as a potential dangerous squad this year, UNC stayed ranked in the latest USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, rising one spot to 15th. The Tar Heels are a slot above archrival Duke, plus one below Big 10 power Maryland.
Ranking
Team
Record
Points
1
South Carolina Gamecocks
2-0
772 (29)
2
UConn Huskies
2-0
740 (1)
3
USC Trojans
2-0
707 (1)
4
Texas Longhorns
2-0
674
5
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1-0
652
6
UCLA Bruins
2-0
598
7
LSU Tigers
2-0
586
8
Iowa State Cyclones
3-0
547
9
Oklahoma Sooners
2-0
516
10
NC State Wolfpack
1-1
476
11
Kansas State Wildcats
2-0
462
12
Ohio State Buckeyes
1-0
439
13
West Virginia Mountaineers
2-0
382
14
Maryland Terrapins
3-0
378
15
North Carolina Tar Heels
2-0
327
16
Duke Blue Devils
2-1
281
17
Baylor Bears
1-1
256
18
Louisville Cardinals
1-1
206
19
Kentucky Wildcats
2-0
165
20
Nebraska Cornhuskers
2-0
158
21
Ole Miss Rebels
1-1
145
22
Alabama Crimson Tide
3-0
123
23
Stanford Cardinal
3-0
99
24
Illinois Fighting Illini
2-0
87
25
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2-0
50
North Carolina could potentially make a huge jump in next week’s poll, as it prepares to face Paige Bueckers and the 11-time National Champion UConn Huskies. This is UNC’s second-consecutive season facing a title contender in non-conference play, as UNC welcomed the South Carolina Gamecocks to Carmichael Arena in 2023.
Regardless of where the Tar Heels end up in next week’s poll, it’s encouraging to see them with three consecutive wins to start 2024.
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Where did Texas A&M basketball lands in the initial US LBM Coaches poll after Week 1?
Texas A&M (1-1) started the season ranked No. 13 overall and a team with a ton of experience that was a few shots short of making it to the Sweet 16 last year. However, even though they won their last game the season-opening road loss to an unranked UCF team drops the Aggies to No. 23 in the newest coaches poll.
We saw some of the same issues pop up as last year’s team in the loss against UCF with missed free throws, perimeter defense, and scoring outside of Wade Taylor. Adding Zhuric Phelps, who missed the game against UCF, showed that he can be a spark in the scoring to avoid Wade Taylor having to play hero ball.
Ranking
Team
Record
Points
1
Kansas
2-0
759 (21)
2
Alabama
2-0
724 (4)
3
UConn
2-0
702 (3)
4
Auburn
2-0
660 (2)
5
Gonzaga
2-0
651 (1)
6
Duke
2-0
608
7
Iowa State
1-0
576
8
Arizona
2-0
516
9
Tennessee
2-0
502
10
Houston
1-1
488
11
North Carolina
1-1
456
12
Purdue
2-0
437
13
Creighton
2-0
385
14
Baylor
1-1
328
15
Marquette
2-0
308
16
Indiana
2-0
234
17
Cincinnati
2-0
230
18
Kentucky
2-0
182
19
Florida
2-0
179
20
Illinois
2-0
151
21
Arkansas
1-1
150
22
Ohio State
1-0
148
23
Texas A&M
1-1
99
24
Rutgers
1-0
84
25
St. John’s
2-0
79
Schools Dropped Out
No. 19 Texas; No. 22 UCLA; No. 25 Ole Miss;
Others Receiving Votes
Texas Tech 75; Ole Miss 60; Texas 54; Xavier 38; Oregon 37; Michigan State 29; BYU 29; UCLA 18; UCF 17; Wake Forest 12; Saint Mary’s 12; Kansas State 9; Clemson 9; New Mexico 8; Dayton 8; North Florida 7; Maryland 5; Providence 4; Mississippi State 4; Nevada 2; San Francisco 1; Grand Canyon 1
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The expectations are extremely high for Notre Dame women’s basketball his fall and winter, and that showed today in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
The Irish came in as the No. 5 team in the country, ranking behind South Carolina, Connecticut, USC, and Texas. There’s plenty of star power this year inside the top teams as the Juju Watkins of the Trojans, Paige Bueckers of the Huskies and Notre Dame’s [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag].
The Irish’s best player was recently named as a preseason All-American, who is coming off a fantastic freshman season. While Notre Dame didn’t get as far as they would have liked last year, losing to Oregon State in the Sweet 16, this coming season could see a return to the Final Four, the first since 2019.
This team has plenty of talent, and a star in the making in Hidalgo, which could very well result in a fantastic season for head coach Niele Ivey.
ALBANY, NEW YORK – MARCH 29: Hannah Hidalgo #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish speaks to head coach Niele Ivey against the Oregon State Beavers during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at MVP Arena on March 29, 2024 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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The Aggie basketball team lands in the middle of the pack in the USA TODAY Sports preseason men’s basketball coaches poll
Like the Texas A&M football team, there is some excitement for the Aggie basketball team this coming season. After a stressful up-and-down campaign last year, A&M did make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they put up a solid effort against Houston before ultimately losing.
In addition to bringing back a very experienced team, they added a few more shooters to help spread the defense to pair with their slashers. Last year the Aggies played great but the offense outside of Tyrese Radford and Wade Taylor was non-existent at times leading to stretches where they had to resort to hero ball.
However, head coach Buzz Williams was able to get the most out of his team late in the season to make a decent run and showed signs of a Sweet Sixteen team. With the new additions to complement the established team, this will be an intriguing season to watch as they start the season in the No. 15 spot of the USA TODAY Sports preseason Top 25 poll.
2024-25 Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
Rank
School
Last Year’s Record
Points
1
Kansas
23-11
743 (15)
2
Alabama
25-12
718 (6)
3
Connecticut
37-3
717 (6)
4
Houston
32-5
698 (4)
5
Duke
27-9
625
6
Iowa State
29-8
591
7
Gonzaga
27-8
575
8
Baylor
24-11
545
9
Arizona
27-9
510
10
North Carolina
29-8
498
11
Auburn
27-8
465
12
Tennessee
27-9
437
13
Purdue
34-5
390
14
Creighton
25-10
342
15
Texas A&M
21-15
332
16
Arkansas
16-17
272
17
Marquette
27-10
268
18
Indiana
19-14
208
19
Texas
21-13
166
20
Cincinnati
22-15
163
21
Florida
24-12
130
22
UCLA
16-17
123
23
Kentucky
23-10
95
24
Illinois
29-9
87
25
Mississippi
20-12
66
Others Receiving Votes
Texas Tech 60; Rutgers 57; St. John’s 42; Xavier 26; Michigan State 25; Oregon 16; BYU 16; Kansas State 11; Saint Mary’s 9; Boise State 9; Clemson 8; Ohio State 7; Dayton 7; Maryland 4; Grand Canyon 3; Wake Forest 2; Virginia 2; San Diego State 2; Princeton 2; Mississippi State 2; Wisconsin 1;
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The two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies were ranked No. 3 with the Houston Cougars No. 4. The Duke Blue Devils and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg rounded out the top five.
Fresh off the program’s first trip to the Final Four in school history, and led by returning players like top-scoring guard Mark Sears (a 2024-25 AP preseason All-American) and forward Grant Nelson, Alabama has a grueling nonconference slate — even by Oats’ scheduling standards.
In a stretch from mid-November through mid-December, the Crimson Tide will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the 13th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers on Nov. 15, followed by the 24th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Nov. 20.
The Tide will then head to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival starting Nov. 26 with a game against Houston, followed by a matchup with No. 25 Rutgers a day later. Alabama will close the Players Era Festival with a matchup against unranked Notre Dame on Nov. 30.
From there, the Crimson Tide visits the 10th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill for a Sweet 16 rematch with RJ Davis and company on Dec. 4 as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge. Alabama closes its stretch of Top 25 competition against the 14th-ranked Creighton Bluejays on Dec. 14 in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama opens the regular season against UNC Asheville at Coleman Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 4. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
2024-25 Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
Rank
School
Last Year’s Record
Points
1
Kansas
23-11
743 (15)
2
Alabama
25-12
718 (6)
3
Connecticut
37-3
717 (6)
4
Houston
32-5
698 (4)
5
Duke
27-9
625
6
Iowa State
29-8
591
7
Gonzaga
27-8
575
8
Baylor
24-11
545
9
Arizona
27-9
510
10
North Carolina
29-8
498
11
Auburn
27-8
465
12
Tennessee
27-9
437
13
Purdue
34-5
390
14
Creighton
25-10
342
15
Texas A&M
21-15
332
16
Arkansas
16-17
272
17
Marquette
27-10
268
18
Indiana
19-14
208
19
Texas
21-13
166
20
Cincinnati
22-15
163
21
Florida
24-12
130
22
UCLA
16-17
123
23
Kentucky
23-10
95
24
Illinois
29-9
87
25
Mississippi
20-12
66
Dropped Out:
No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11)
Others Receiving Votes:
Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11) 9; Saint Mary’s (26-8) 9; Clemson (24-12) 8; Dayton (25-8) 7; Ohio State (22-14) 7; Maryland (16-17) 4; Grand Canyon (30-5) 3; Mississippi State (21-14) 2; Princeton (24-5) 2; San Diego State (26-11) 2; Virginia (23-11) 2; Wake Forest (21-14); Wisconsin (22-14)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.
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Notre Dame isn’t in the men’s basketball coaches poll.
It’s perhaps not surprising that a Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball squad that was 13-20 overall in 2023-2024 isn’t in the top 25 in the initial USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
The Irish didn’t receive any top 25 votes at all.
With Notre Dame in rebuilding mode, this makes sense. And while the initial poll is something that hoops heads pay close attention to, no one has hit a shot that counts yet. The poll will change throughout the season, and it will be a lot more important in late February than it is now.
The top five are Kansas, Alabama, defending champion Connecticut, Houston, and Duke.
While Notre Dame is in a rebuilding mode, perhaps the Irish will improve enough to be in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth. At the very least, CBS thinks they’re worth showcasing against North Carolina.
Rank
School
Last Year’s Record
Points
1
Kansas
23-11
743 (15)
2
Alabama
25-12
718 (6)
3
Connecticut
37-3
717 (6)
4
Houston
32-5
698 (4)
5
Duke
27-9
625
6
Iowa State
29-8
591
7
Gonzaga
27-8
575
8
Baylor
24-11
545
9
Arizona
27-9
510
10
North Carolina
29-8
498
11
Auburn
27-8
465
12
Tennessee
27-9
437
13
Purdue
34-5
390
14
Creighton
25-10
342
15
Texas A&M
21-15
332
16
Arkansas
16-17
272
17
Marquette
27-10
268
18
Indiana
19-14
208
19
Texas
21-13
166
20
Cincinnati
22-15
163
21
Florida
24-12
130
22
UCLA
16-17
123
23
Kentucky
23-10
95
24
Illinois
29-9
87
25
Mississippi
20-12
66
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Wisconsin opens season in ‘receiving votes’ section of USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team will begin their 2024-2025 regular season on Nov. 4 at home against Holy Cross. The preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released on Wednesday in advance of the 2024-25 campaign, and Wisconsin begins in the ‘receiving votes’ section.
The USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll is conducted weekly throughout the college basketball regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. Wisconsin garnered one vote heading into the regular season.
The top five teams open the 2024-2025 campaign are No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 UConn, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Duke. Kansas is notable in particular to Badgers fans as guard A.J. Storr transferred to join the Jayhawks after one season with Wisconsin in 2023-2024.
Texas Tech 60; Rutgers 57; St. John’s 42; Xavier 26; Michigan State 25; Oregon 16; BYU 16; Kansas State 11; Saint Mary’s 9; Boise State 9; Clemson 8; Ohio State 7; Dayton 7; Maryland 4; Grand Canyon 3; Wake Forest 2; Virginia 2; San Diego State 2; Princeton 2; Mississippi State 2; Wisconsin 1;
Within the Big Ten, four programs cracked the top 25, while six others were listed in the ‘receiving votes’ section. Those in the top 25 are No. 13 Purdue, No. 18 Indiana, No. 22 UCLA and No. 24 Illinois. Rutgers (57 votes), Michigan State (25 votes), Oregon (16 votes), Ohio State (seven votes), Maryland (four votes) and Wisconsin (one vote) just missed out.
Oklahoma sits one spot behind the USC Trojans, who were idle in week two. Tennessee, the Sooners’ upcoming opponent, moved up two spots to No. 7 in the nation ahead of the week four SEC showdown.
The Georgia Bulldogs remained No. 1 in the nation after holding on for a 13-12 win over Kentucky in Lexington. But they gave up some ground in first place votes as the Texas Longhorns garnered 10 of the top votes in the poll and moved up to No. 2 in the nation. Ohio State dropped to No. 3, Alabama remained at No. 4, Ole Miss at No. 5, and Oregon at No. 6.
With Missouri at eight, five of Oklahoma’s future opponents are in the top 10, starting with Tennessee next Saturday.
Illinois 75; Washington State 38; Arizona 37; Northern Illinois 34; Syracuse 32; UCF 27; Pittsburgh 17; Iowa 17; Boise State 17; Arizona State 15; North Carolina 14; North Carolina State 12; California 10; Indiana 7; Michigan State 6; Liberty 6; Boston College 6; BYU 3; Washington 2; Toledo 1; South Florida 1; San Jose State 1; James Madison 1;
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MSU football received no votes in the updated US LBM Coaches Poll
Michigan State football received no votes in Tuesday’s updated US LBM Coaches Poll.
The Spartans picked up a lackluster season-opening win over Florida Atlantic, 16-10, on Friday. So to no surprise, Michigan State failed to receive any votes in this week’s updated poll.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
Ranking
Team
Record
Points
1
Georgia Bulldogs
1-0
1,371 (51)
2
Ohio State Buckeyes
1-0
1,316 (3)
3
Texas Longhorns
1-0
1,245 (1)
4
Alabama Crimson Tide
1-0
1,172
5
Ole Miss Rebels
1-0
1,081
6
Oregon Ducks
1-0
1,080
7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1-0
1,079
8
Penn State Nittany Lions
1-0
987
9
Michigan Wolverines
1-0
919
10
Missouri Tigers
1-0
848
11
Utah Utes
1-0
779
12
Tennessee Volunteers
1-0
753
13
Oklahoma Sooners
1-0
705
14
USC Trojans
1-0
655
15
Miami Hurricanes
1-0
650
16
Kansas State Wildcats
1-0
537
17
Oklahoma State Cowboys
1-0
499
18
Arizona Wildcats
1-0
348
19
LSU Tigers
0-1
341
20
Kansas Jayhawks
1-0
295
21
Iowa Hawkeyes
1-0
260
22
Clemson Tigers
0-1
223
23
North Carolina State Wolfpack
1-0
154
24
Louisville Cardinals
1-0
101
25
Washington Huskies
1-0
95
Schools Dropped Out
No. 10 Florida State; No. 20 Texas A&M
Others Receiving Votes
Georgia Tech 86; Texas A&M 78; Memphis 43; Kentucky 23; Boise State 22; SMU 19; Auburn 13; Wisconsin 11; Iowa State 10; UNLV 9; Tulane 9; Maryland 9; Liberty 9; Nebraska 8; Boston College 7; South Florida 5; James Madison 4; Air Force 4; UTSA 3; North Carolina 3; Appalachian State 3; Texas State 2; Syracuse 1; Coastal Carolina 1
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Texas A&M enters the NCAA Tournament as a Top 5 team in the country
Texas A&M (44-13) finished the 2024 regular season with one of the best records in the country. On Monday, it earned the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted the College Station Regional in a bracket with Grambling, Louisiana, and the Texas Longhorns.
On its face, this is a very tough bracket. After the Texas A&M women’s softball team’s Super Regional loss to Texas on Sunday, it’s almost like the committee felt that potentially pitting the Longhorns against the Aggies in a rematch on the baseball diamond was a no-brainer, even though both programs will begin to rekindle their rivalry on an annual basis starting next season.
Entering the tournament, head coach Jim Schlossnagle knows that returning to Blue Bell Park should re-ignite the Aggies offense after recent struggles with consistency at the plate, finishing the year 32-3 at Olsen Field. Despite losing two consecutive games in the SEC Tournament last week, Texas A&M stayed at No. 3 in the newest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Within the College Station bracket, only Louisiana (40-18) is ranked within the poll at No. 23.
Texas A&M will face Grambling (26-26) on Friday, May 31 at 12:00 p.m. CT. The game will be available on ESPN+.
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