Monday’s updated Coaches Poll gave UConn its highest ranking of the season in the poll after its 9-0 start convinced coaches to move the Huskies up one spot to No. 5 in the latest top 25. UConn began its season unranked but has been on a steady ascension amidst its 9-0 start.
Only Purdue, ranked No. 4, ranks higher this week among teams that began the season unranked.
The top of the Coaches Poll elsewhere stayed the same with Houston, Texas and Virginia all holding steady at Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Houston lost a pair of first-place votes in Monday’s update — it had 23 first-place votes last week and only 21 on Monday — but with 32 first-place votes available it remained the No. 1 team in the nation. Only two other teams received first-place votes — No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Purdue — with the Boilermakers getting six and the Longhorns receiving four.
Kansas moved up three spots to No. 6 ahead of Tennessee, which jumped six sports to No. 6.
A pair of blue bloods in the poll dropped out entirely this week after struggling early in the season with preseason No. 1 North Carolina and Michigan State falling out of the top 25. Michigan State climbed as high as No. 15 in the rankings after opening its season 3-1 with wins over Kentucky and Villanova. Since then, though, the Spartans have stumbled in three of their last five games to fall to 5-4 on the season.
Coaches Poll
The top 25 teams in the USA Today college basketball Coaches Poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
Others receiving votes: No. 15 North Carolina; No. 20 Michigan State.
Dropped out: Mississippi State 42; Virginia Tech 39; Miami 35; North Carolina 22; Charleston 21; Texas Tech 19; Wisconsin 18; West Virginia 10; Marquette 10; Rutgers 7; Xavier 6; Kansas State 6; UNLV 5; New Mexico 5; Michigan State 5; Utah St. 4; Memphis 3; Oklahoma 2; Missouri 2.
