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Heading into Sunday's game it was very possible to envision a situation in which the Musketeers garnered some first place votes for the first time in program history. Coming off a win over then number one Villanova and with multiple top five teams losing games, Xavier was in prime position to ascend to their highest ever level in the polls. Instead, Seton Hall comprehensively (don't be deceived by the final score) thrashed the Musketeers. With one big win in the books and a loss to a team that very well could be ranked, Xavier checks right back in at the number five slot again.
AP Top 25
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (63) | 25-4 | 1,623 |
| 2 | Michigan State (2) | 24-5 | 1,510 |
| 3 | Villanova | 25-4 | 1,479 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 1,405 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 1,356 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 1,297 |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | 23-5 | 1,211 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 1,205 |
| 9 | Oregon | 23-6 | 1,065 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 1,056 |
| 11 | Louisville | 22-7 | 822 |
| 12 | Indiana | 23-6 | 819 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 751 |
| 14 | Maryland | 23-6 | 733 |
| 15 | Purdue | 22-7 | 613 |
| 16 | Iowa | 20-8 | 572 |
| 17 | Duke | 21-8 | 495 |
| 18 | Arizona | 22-7 | 450 |
| 19 | Baylor | 21-8 | 447 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 419 |
| 21 | Iowa State | 20-9 | 413 |
| 22 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 405 |
| 23 | Texas | 19-10 | 338 |
| 24 | SMU | 24-4 | 196 |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 178 |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 93, Seton Hall 60, Wichita St 43, Saint Joseph's 29, Notre Dame 14, Texas Tech 12, Cincinnati 4, Vanderbilt 3, Saint Mary's 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 2, Valparaiso 2, Dayton 1, Stephen F. Austin 1 | |||
| Dropped out: Notre Dame 23. | |||
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV | HI/LOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (31) | 25-4 | 799 | 2 | 1/7 |
| 2 | Villanova | 25-4 | 734 | 1 | 1/17 |
| 3 | Michigan St (1) | 24-5 | 733 | 7 | 1/13 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 673 | 3 | 3/13 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 637 | 5 | 4/NR |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 623 | 4 | 1/8 |
| 7 | Miami-Florida | 23-5 | 607 | 11 | 9/NR |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 584 | 6 | 1/11 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 518 | 12 | 7/23 |
| 10 | Oregon | 23-6 | 510 | 13 | 12/NR |
| 11 | Indiana | 23-6 | 434 | 15 | 14/NR |
| 12 | Maryland | 23-6 | 405 | 9 | 2/9 |
| 13 | Purdue | 22-7 | 330 | 19 | 8/24 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 330 | 23 | 16/NR |
| 15 | Iowa | 20-8 | 321 | 8 | 4/NR |
| 16 | Arizona | 22-7 | 307 | 10 | 6/20 |
| 17 | Baylor | 21-8 | 288 | 16 | 13/25 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 261 | 21 | 5/NR |
| 19 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 226 | 14 | 1/21 |
| 20 | Iowa St. | 20-9 | 221 | 17 | 2/21 |
| 21 | Duke | 21-8 | 211 | 18 | 3/NR |
| 22 | Texas | 19-10 | 187 | 25 | 25/NR |
| 23 | Wichita St. | 23-7 | 68 | 28 | 11/NR |
| 24 | St. Mary's | 24-4 | 61 | 27 | 25/NR |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 58 | 32 | 13/NR |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 52; Notre Dame 42; Seton Hall 39; Texas Tech 36; Providence 28; St. Joseph?s 17; Pittsburgh 17; South Carolina 16; Dayton 14; Valparaiso 6; St. Bonaventure 4; Colorado 2; Arkansas-Little Rock 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: SNo. 20 Notre Dame, No. 22 Dayton, No. 24 Providence. | |||||
Doofus of the Week:
This one is doubly fun. The doofus in question this week is Richard Croome. Good old Rich voted for Dayton this week. Yes, the same Dayton that Xavier obliterated 90-61 earlier this year. Dayton has lost three of their last four and lone win came over a genuinely awful (241st) Saint Louis team in a game in which UD scored 52 points in 45 minutes. Great stuff guys! Dayton followed that up by losing to Rhode Island, a team ranked 95th in the Massey, by 19 at home. Our super observant friend Mr. Croome took in all that evidence and moved Dayton up from off his ballot last week to ranked this week. That could only be the action of someone who is a certifiable...
