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You know, it's the damnedest thing. Winning basketball games leads to an improved ranking. Who knew?
The Aggies looked great in their home wins over Ole Miss and Kentucky, and the AP responded with a #21 ranking, rising five spots from the top of the "also receiving votes" pile. We could be a bit higher, but we can't blame the voters for waiting to see how we look on the road before fully buying in.
In SEC and "non-conference opponent" news: Baylor looked great in two wins @Texas and over Iowa State, rising six spots to #19, and Texas dropped from 24th to 25th despite a nice home win over West Virginia. Iowa State dropped four spots to #17, and Kentucky dropped two spots to #16. South Carolina continues to tumble, only picking up 12 total votes in the latest poll.
The win over Kentucky gives Texas A&M a 4-0 record against teams in the Top 25.
Full rankings below:
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanova Wildcats (45) | 24-3 | 1,604 |
| 2 | Kansas Jayhawks (20) | 23-4 | 1,580 |
| 3 | Virginia Cavaliers | 21-5 | 1,393 |
| 3 | Oklahoma Sooners | 21-5 | 1,393 |
| 5 | Xavier Musketeers | 24-3 | 1,368 |
| 6 | Michigan State Spartans | 22-5 | 1,346 |
| 7 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 22-5 | 1,241 |
| 8 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 20-6 | 1,144 |
| 9 | Arizona Wildcats | 22-5 | 1,028 |
| 10 | Maryland Terrapins | 23-5 | 976 |
| 11 | Louisville Cardinals | 21-6 | 902 |
| 12 | Miami-Florida Hurricanes | 21-5 | 851 |
| 13 | Oregon Ducks | 21-6 | 842 |
| 14 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 20-7 | 772 |
| 15 | Duke Blue Devils | 20-7 | 674 |
| 16 | Kentucky Wildcats | 20-7 | 627 |
| 17 | Iowa State Cyclones | 19-8 | 616 |
| 18 | Indiana Hoosiers | 22-6 | 571 |
| 19 | Baylor Bears | 20-7 | 521 |
| 20 | Purdue Boilermakers | 21-7 | 357 |
| 21 | Texas A&M Aggies | 20-7 | 283 |
| 22 | Utah Utes | 21-7 | 253 |
| 23 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 18-8 | 185 |
| 24 | SMU Mustangs | 22-4 | 154 |
| 25 | Texas Longhorns | 17-10 | 104 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Dayton 80, Providence 48, California 34, Wichita St 33, Texas Tech 31, Wisconsin 27, Saint Joseph's 20, VCU 19, South Carolina 12, Hawaii 12, Saint Mary's 10, Valparaiso 3, Cincinnati 3, USC 2, San Diego State 2, UAB 1, Connecticut 1, Arkansas-Little Rock 1, Stephen F. Austin 1 | |||
| Dropped: Dayton 15, Providence 23 | |||
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1st |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanova | 24-3 | 792 | 25 |
| 2 | Kansas | 23-4 | 751 | 7 |
| 3 | Virginia | 21-5 | 679 | 0 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 21-5 | 668 | 0 |
| 5 | Xavier | 24-3 | 652 | 0 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 22-5 | 639 | 0 |
| 7 | Michigan St | 22-5 | 626 | 0 |
| 8 | Iowa | 20-6 | 561 | 0 |
| 9 | Maryland | 23-5 | 527 | 0 |
| 10 | Arizona | 22-5 | 512 | 0 |
| 11 | Miami-Florida | 21-5 | 466 | 0 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 20-7 | 366 | 0 |
| 13 | Oregon | 21-6 | 365 | 0 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 20-7 | 333 | 0 |
| 15 | Indiana | 22-6 | 317 | 0 |
| 16 | Baylor | 20-7 | 305 | 0 |
| 17 | Iowa St. | 19-8 | 304 | 0 |
| 18 | Duke | 20-7 | 303 | 0 |
| 19 | Purdue | 21-7 | 245 | 0 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 18-8 | 176 | 0 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 20-7 | 172 | 0 |
| 22 | Dayton | 21-5 | 121 | 0 |
| 23 | Utah | 21-7 | 120 | 0 |
| 24 | Providence | 19-8 | 102 | 0 |
| 25 | Texas | 17-10 | 66 | 0 |
| Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina 47; Saint Mary's 42; Wichita State 32; Texas Tech 30; Pittsburgh 18; Wisconsin 15; California 11; St. Joseph?s 10; Seton Hall 6; Southern California 6; Virginia Commonwealth 6; Hawaii 3; LSU 3; Michigan 1; St. Bonaventure 1; San Diego State 1. | ||||
| Dropped: South Carolina 23 | ||||