Here are our Week 9 USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 Poll. With Michigan State falling last week, Kansas and Oklahoma rise to No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP Top 25, respectively. The teams are flipped in the Coaches Poll and play tonight. Maryland, Virginia and Michigan State close out the top five.
As for the Bearcats, Cincinnati is now on the outside looking in for both polls. A surprising home loss to Temple has Cincinnati outside the Top 25 in both polls with only two votes in the AP Top 25. Based on those votes, Cincinnati would rank No. 38 if those rankings were extended out. In the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Bearcats are receiving 19 votes, behind California, Dayton and George Washington, just beyond the Top 25. While the loss to Temple was disappointing, Cincinnati seemed to play with a renewed focus and interest against Tulsa on Saturday.
Cincinnati has a big opportunity to jump back into the polls with a huge matchup against SMU on Thursday, who ranks No. 15 in the AP Poll. A win against the Mustangs, on the road, would go a long way in generating national interesting in the Bearcats. The rankings will work themselves out if Cincinnati can string together some wins, particularly against against a team like SMU.
AP Poll
| RK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas Jayhawks (44) | 12-1 | 1,598 |
| 2 | Oklahoma Sooners (21) | 12-0 | 1,574 |
| 3 | Maryland Terrapins | 13-1 | 1,459 |
| 4 | Virginia Cavaliers | 12-1 | 1,409 |
| 5 | Michigan State Spartans | 14-1 | 1,400 |
| 6 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 13-2 | 1,275 |
| 7 | Arizona Wildcats | 13-1 | 1,126 |
| 8 | Providence Friars | 14-1 | 1,108 |
| 9 | Kentucky Wildcats | 11-2 | 1,039 |
| 10 | Xavier Musketeers | 13-1 | 1,001 |
| 11 | Villanova Wildcats | 12-2 | 979 |
| 12 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 12-1 | 921 |
| 13 | Iowa State Cyclones | 11-2 | 844 |
| 14 | Duke Blue Devils | 12-2 | 830 |
| 15 | SMU Mustangs | 13-0 | 731 |
| 16 | Louisville Cardinals | 12-2 | 568 |
| 17 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 12-1 | 558 |
| 18 | Butler Bulldogs | 11-3 | 516 |
| 19 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 11-3 | 456 |
| 20 | Purdue Boilermakers | 13-2 | 450 |
| 21 | Texas A&M Aggies | 11-2 | 420 |
| 22 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 13-0 | 286 |
| 23 | Connecticut Huskies | 10-3 | 107 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 12-1 | 103 |
| 25 | Dayton Flyers | 11-2 | 100 |
| Others receiving votes: Gonzaga 61, California 54, Texas Tech 40, George Washington 38, Saint Mary's 23, Baylor 22, Oregon State 4, Colorado 4, Seton Hall 4, Saint Joseph's 3, Wichita St 3, Utah 3, Cincinnati 2, Indiana 2, Michigan 2, Akron 1, Oregon 1 | |||
USA Today Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (20) | 12-0 | 781 | 2 |
| 2 | Kansas (11) | 12-1 | 769 | 3 |
| 3 | Maryland | 13-1 | 732 | 4 |
| 4 | Virginia | 12-1 | 698 | 5 |
| 5 | Michigan St (1) | 14-1 | 676 | 1 |
| 6 | Arizona | 13-1 | 618 | 7 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 13-2 | 592 | 8 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 526 | 11 |
| 9 | Providence | 14-1 | 509 | 13 |
| 10 | Duke | 12-2 | 487 | 12 |
| 11 | Miami-Florida | 12-1 | 444 | 15 |
| 12 | Xavier | 13-1 | 442 | 6 |
| 13 | Villanova | 12-2 | 434 | 16 |
| 14 | Iowa St. | 11-2 | 402 | 9 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 12-1 | 350 | 17 |
| 16 | Louisville | 12-2 | 282 | 18 |
| 17 | Texas A&M | 11-2 | 265 | 19 |
| 18 | Purdue | 13-2 | 248 | 14 |
| 19 | Butler | 11-3 | 238 | 10 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 13-0 | 232 | 20 |
| 21 | Pittsburgh | 12-1 | 121 | 25 |
| 22 | Gonzaga | 12-3 | 112 | 24 |
| 23 | Iowa | 11-3 | 110 | NR |
| 24 | Connecticut | 10-3 | 81 | 26 |
| 25 | Baylor | 10-3 | 61 | 21 |
| Others Receiving Votes: California 52; Dayton 28; George Washington 23; Cincinnati 19; Saint Mary's 18; Texas Tech 17; Vanderbilt 6; Oregon 6; Utah 5; Indiana 5; Colorado 4; Oregon State 3; Southern California 2; Houston 2. | ||||
