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I know we're all over the record as saying polls don't matter, and that's because they don't. On the other hand, it's not every day you get to click through and see your team in/around the top 5 in the nation.
AP Top 25
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (65) | 15-1 | 1,625 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 16-2 | 1,515 |
| 3 | Kansas | 15-2 | 1,499 |
| 4 | Villanova | 16-2 | 1,403 |
| 5 | Xavier | 16-1 | 1,321 |
| 6 | West Virginia | 15-2 | 1,278 |
| 7 | Maryland | 16-2 | 1,259 |
| 8 | SMU | 17-0 | 1,179 |
| 9 | Iowa | 14-3 | 1,167 |
| 10 | Texas A&M | 15-2 | 994 |
| 11 | Michigan State | 16-3 | 950 |
| 12 | Arizona | 15-3 | 801 |
| 13 | Virginia | 13-4 | 649 |
| 13 | Baylor | 14-3 | 649 |
| 15 | Miami (FL) | 13-3 | 645 |
| 16 | Providence | 15-3 | 609 |
| 17 | Louisville | 14-3 | 608 |
| 18 | Butler | 13-4 | 439 |
| 19 | Iowa State | 13-4 | 411 |
| 20 | Duke | 14-4 | 375 |
| 21 | USC | 15-3 | 338 |
| 22 | Purdue | 15-3 | 322 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 13-4 | 276 |
| 24 | South Carolina | 16-1 | 252 |
| 25 | Indiana | 15-3 | 210 |
| Also Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh 184, Clemson 53, Wichita St 38, Valparaiso 30, Notre Dame 14, Dayton 9, Saint Mary's 8, Gonzaga 5, Utah 3, Hawaii 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 1, Monmouth 1, Navy 1, Oregon 1 | |||
| Dropped Out: Pittsburgh 20, Gonzaga 25 | |||
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (26) | 15-1 | 763 |
| 2 | North Carolina (4) | 16-2 | 727 |
| 3 | Kansas (1) | 15-2 | 700 |
| 4 | Villanova | 16-2 | 674 |
| 5 | Maryland | 16-2 | 629 |
| 6 | Xavier | 16-1 | 616 |
| 7 | West Virginia | 15-2 | 585 |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 15-2 | 532 |
| 9 | Iowa | 14-3 | 494 |
| 10 | Michigan State | 16-3 | 461 |
| 11 | Arizona | 15-3 | 438 |
| 12 | Duke | 14-4 | 360 |
| 13 | Virginia | 13-4 | 340 |
| 14 | Miami (FL) | 13-3 | 319 |
| 15 | Baylor | 14-3 | 306 |
| 16 | Louisville | 14-3 | 288 |
| 17 | Providence | 15-3 | 269 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 16-1 | 231 |
| 19 | Kentucky | 13-4 | 206 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | 15-2 | 179 |
| 21 | Iowa State | 13-4 | 173 |
| 22 | Purdue | 15-3 | 167 |
| 23 | Indiana | 15-3 | 162 |
| 24 | Butler | 13-4 | 156 |
| 25 | USC | 15-3 | 103 |
| Also Receiving Votes: Gonzaga 35, Clemson 29, Dayton 29, Oregon 20, Valparaiso 16, Wichita St 16, Connecticut 12, Saint Mary's 10, Michigan 6, Washington 5, Arkansas-Little Rock 5, California 5, LSU 3, Monmouth 3, Seton Hall 2, UAB 1 | |||
| Dropped Out: Gonzaga 21 | |||
Sorry this is so late; most of our staff was with Grandma D celebrating her 99th birthday. Xavier's highest ranking was from Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal, who put only Oklahoma above the Musketeers. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News exercised his west coast bias and put Xavier 9th. 9th!
With two games against solid competition both being staged at home this week, you have to believe that Xavier has a chance at grabbing a number one vote or two if they can pick up a 2-0 week. Surely I'm not alone in thinking that that would be a fairly exciting development, even in the fairly meaningless arena of polling.