USC men enter Top 25 in coaches’ poll
Oh so close ...
South Carolina received 42 votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25, which has the Gamecocks perched at the No. 27 spot in the country. While they were No. 25 in the USA Today/coaches’ poll, they may have to wait another week – and keep winning – to officially be a Top 25 team.
USC approached it as business as usual.
“I wouldn’t know unless Brian Steele, who’s our statistician, comes to me and lets me know,” junior guard Duane Notice said Monday. “That’s news to me, to be honest. We’re just trying to be focused on the next game. The next game’s the most important.”
The Gamecocks host Drexel on Tuesday and are at Clemson on Friday. USC (8-0) has not been 9-0 since 1970-71, the season of its only ACC championship. It hasn’t been 10-0 since starting 17-0 in 1933-34.
USC hasn’t been ranked in the AP Top 25 since the final poll of the 2003-04 season, the last time it reached the NCAA tournament. That was also the last time the Gamecocks began 8-0.
It’s the first ranking in the coaches’ poll since Feb. 16, 2004.
AP Men’s Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 13, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
Rec. | Pts | Prv | |
1. Michigan St. (64) | 11-0 | 1,621 | 1 |
2. Kansas (1) | 8-1 | 1,499 | 2 |
3. Oklahoma | 7-0 | 1,409 | 7 |
4. Kentucky | 9-1 | 1,385 | 5 |
5. Iowa State | 9-0 | 1,370 | 4 |
6. Maryland | 9-1 | 1,353 | 6 |
7. Duke | 8-1 | 1,271 | 8 |
8. Virginia | 8-1 | 1,132 | 10 |
9. Purdue | 11-0 | 1,082 | 11 |
10. Xavier | 10-0 | 1,062 | 12 |
11. No. Carolina | 7-2 | 1,023 | 3 |
12. Villanova | 8-1 | 865 | 9 |
13. Arizona | 9-1 | 860 | 13 |
14. Providence | 10-1 | 724 | 15 |
15. Miami | 8-1 | 622 | 17 |
16. Baylor | 7-1 | 605 | 16 |
17. Butler | 8-1 | 562 | 18 |
18. SMU | 7-0 | 560 | 19 |
19. Louisville | 7-1 | 534 | 22 |
20. West Virginia | 8-1 | 466 | 14 |
21. G. Washington | 9-1 | 256 | — |
22. UCLA | 7-3 | 213 | — |
23. Cincinnati | 8-2 | 197 | 23 |
24. Texas A&M | 8-2 | 152 | — |
25. Connecticut | 6-3 | 47 | — |
Others receiving votes: Gonzaga 44, South Carolina 42, Oregon 37, Colorado 21, Vanderbilt 18, Wichita State 17, Dayton 14, UALR 14, Pittsburgh 12, Georgetown 8, Utah 7, Notre Dame 4, Texas 4, Iowa 3, Northwestern 3, Syracuse 3, Army 1, Florida 1, Houston 1, Marquette 1
AP Women’s Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 13, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
Rec. | Pts | Prv | |
1. UConn (32) | 8-0 | 800 | 1 |
2. USC | 9-0 | 763 | 2 |
3. Notre Dame | 9-1 | 724 | 3 |
4. Baylor | 10-0 | 711 | 4 |
5. Texas | 8-0 | 659 | 5 |
6. Maryland | 10-0 | 651 | 5 |
7. Oregon State | 7-0 | 599 | 7 |
8. Kentucky | 9-0 | 549 | 8 |
9. Mississippi St. | 7-1 | 535 | 9 |
10. Ohio State | 6-3 | 507 | 10 |
11. Florida State | 7-2 | 447 | 11 |
12. Northwestern | 9-0 | 434 | 12 |
13. Duke | 7-2 | 416 | 13 |
14. Tennessee | 7-2 | 342 | 16 |
15. Stanford | 6-2 | 329 | 14 |
16. DePaul | 7-3 | 302 | 18 |
17. Oklahoma | 9-1 | 293 | 17 |
18. Texas A&M | 7-3 | 245 | 15 |
19. UCLA | 5-2 | 163 | 20 |
20. South Florida | 6-2 | 145 | 21 |
21. Arizona State | 5-3 | 125 | 24 |
21. California | 7-2 | 125 | 22 |
23. Miami | 10-0 | 98 | — |
24. Michigan St. | 7-2 | 83 | 25 |
25. St. John's | 8-1 | 64 | — |
Others receiving votes: Missouri 49, Syracuse 39, Seton Hall 38, Georgia 37, Virginia Tech 32, Iowa 27, Southern Cal 26, Princeton 17, Oklahoma State 15, Florida 6, Nebraska 2, UTEP 2, Purdue 1
CLONINGER’S TOP 25
1. Connecticut
2. South Carolina
3. Baylor
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Maryland
7. Oregon State
8. Mississippi State
9. Ohio State
10. Tennessee
11. Kentucky
12. Florida State
13. Northwestern
14. Stanford
15. Duke
16. Texas A&M
17. Oklahoma
18. South Florida
19. DePaul
20. Syracuse
21. Arizona State
22. California
23. Michigan State
24. UCLA
25. Miami
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This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 2:59 PM.