Notes on the USA Today women’s basketball coaches poll for January 7, 2014: San Diego enters for 1st time in program history
While Connecticut (15-0) stayed on top, San Diego (15-0) continued its historic week in rankings entering the USA Today women’s basketball coaches poll for the first time in program history at No. 24. Yesterday, the Toreros landed in the AP poll at the same spot.
“Breaking into the top 25 is a great accomplishment and a credit to this team and staff,” said head coach Cindy Fisher about the AP Poll ranking. “This is a group that knows how to go to work day in and day out and their hard work is paying off. The exciting part is that we are continuing to improve daily and that is the goal. Our senior leadership has been outstanding and they have set the bar high. I couldn’t be happier for everyone involved.”
San Diego started conference play in the West Coast Conference with wins over Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s and Pacific. The Toreros ended the year atop the College Insider Mid-major poll followed by two other WCC teams, Gonzaga and Brigham Young. Saint Mary’s is No. 5 in the year-end mid-major poll.
North Carolina State (14-1) entered the USA Today poll at No. 23. They sit at No. 20 in the AP poll. Arkansas (14-1) landed in the poll at No. 25 with 55 votes.
Indiana, an undefeated team at 14-0, entered the AP poll but failed to land on the USA Today poll. The school had 29 votes but still missed reaching the top 25.
Florida State (13-1) was the biggest mover in a positive direction, moving three spots to No. 17. They defeated Pittsburgh 78-69 on January 2. They face Miami (FL) and No. 12 North Carolina in the coming week.
Colorado (11-2) dropped four spots to No. 18. They lost a contest to unranked USC, 55-45, this past week.
Schools that dropped out: Iowa, Syracuse and Arizona State. The Sun Devils are still in the AP poll at No. 23 and actually moved up one spot from 24. They beat Syracuse and Washington this past week but lost to unranked Washington State, 85-78.
Others Receiving Votes: Gonzaga 46; Indiana 29; Arizona State 24; Syracuse 24; Texas A&M 22; Rutgers 22; Middle Tennessee 21; West Virginia 19; Iowa 17; Texas 13; Florida 10; Dayton 9; Vanderbilt 9; Brigham Young 7; Bowling Green 6; Virginia Commonwealth 3; Villanova 1; East Carolina 1; Georgia Tech 1; Marist 1.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | FIRST PLACE VOTES | PREVIOUS RANK | CHANGE |
| 1 | Connecticut Huskies | 15-0 | 800 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 13-0 | 758 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Duke Blue Devils | 14-1 | 734 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Stanford Cardinal | 13-1 | 716 | 0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Louisville Cardinals | 15-1 | 663 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Maryland Terrapins | 13-1 | 630 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 7 | Baylor Bears | 12-1 | 576 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 8 | Tennessee Vols | 12-2 | 564 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 9 | Iowa State Cyclones | 13-0 | 537 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 10 | Kentucky Wildcats | 13-2 | 536 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| 11 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 14-1 | 479 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 12 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 12-3 | 415 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 13 | LSU Tigers | 12-2 | 402 | 0 | 16 | 3 |
| 14 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 11-2 | 374 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 15 | Penn State Lions | 10-3 | 331 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State Cowgirls | 12-1 | 317 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
| 17 | Florida State Seminoles | 13-1 | 264 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| 18 | Colorado Buffaloes | 11-2 | 254 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| 19 | California Golden Bears | 10-3 | 220 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 20 | Purdue Boilermakers | 10-3 | 143 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 21 | Georgia Bulldogs | 12-3 | 108 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| 22 | Oklahoma Sooners | 10-5 | 88 | 0 | 22 | |
| 23 | NC State Wolfpack | 14-1 | 76 | 0 | NR | |
| 24 | San Diego Toreros | 15-0 | 75 | 0 | NR | |
| 25 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 14-1 | 55 | 0 | NR |
List of Voters: The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 32 head coaches a Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2013-14 season: Joan Bonvicini, Seattle University; Joanne Boyle, Virginia; Lynn Bria, Stetson; June Daugherty, Washington State; Kathy Delany-Smith, Harvard; Brooks Donald-Williams, McNeese State; Tonya Edwards, Alcorn State; Oties Epps, Evansville; Jose Fernandez, South Florida; Stephanie Gaitley, Fordham; Sue Guevara, Central Michigan; Joe Haigh, St. Francis (Pa.); Bonnie Henrickson, Kansas; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Jeff Judkins, Brigham Young; Krista Kilburn-Steveskey, Hofstra; Andy Landers, Georgia; Kellie Lewis-Jay, Florida Atlantic; Kevin McMillan, Tennessee-Martin; Dave Magarity, Army; Suzy Merchant, Michigan State; Faith Mimnaugh, Cal Poly; Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick, North Carolina-Asheville; John Olenowski, Manhattan; Kathy Olivier, UNLV; Kate Peterson Abiad, Cleveland State; Jennifer Rizzotti, Hartford; Susan Robinson-Fruchtl, Providence; David Six, Hampton; Charlotte Smith, Elon; Jaime White, Northern Colorado; Amy Williams, South Dakota.
