USA Today coaches poll for Dec. 9, 2014: South Carolina tops rankings, Texas continues rise
Undefeated South Carolina (8-0) takes over the top spot in the coaches’ poll. The Gamecocks survived a close call on the road with then-No. 8 Duke, 51-50, Sunday. Freshman sensation A’ja Wilson’s fortuitous putback with 1.8 seconds remaining gave South Carolina the edge. Duke (5-3) fell four spots to No. 12.
Connecticut (6-1) earned its spot at No. 2 after defeating Notre Dame (8-1) when the Irish had the No. 1 spot in the coaches’ poll. UConn had no trouble putting away their Midwest rival 76-58 Saturday. Notre Dame fell three spots to No. 4.
Undefeated Texas (7-0) ascended one spot to its highest ranking since the 2004-05 season. The Longhorns are also No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.
While no teams fell out of the poll teams that experienced that biggest drop include:
- Louisville (8-1). The Cardinals lost to in-state rival Kentucky 77-68 on Sunday and went from No. 7 to No. 10. Kentucky (8-1) entered the top ten at No. 8.
- Cal (7-1). The Golden Bears dropped five spots to No. 17 after suffering its first loss of the season in a road beating to Kansas (7-2). The Jayhawks routed Cal 62-39 Sunday evening.
- Michigan State (5-2) also fell five spots, landing at No. 21. Undefeated No. 18 Georgia (10-0) defeated the Spartans 69-60 on Sunday,.
No. 11 Maryland also dropped one spot. Notre Dame defeated the Terrapins 92-72 on Wednesday Dec. 3.
Nebraska (7-1) held its spot at No. 15 despite losing on the road to unranked Alabama (8-3). The Crimson Tide took down the previously undefeated Huskers 53-51.
Team records through Monday are in parentheses. Total points are based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week’s poll and first-place votes received.
| Rank | Institution (record) |
Points
|
Last week’s rank
|
First-place votes
|
| 1 | South Carolina (8-0) |
792
|
2
|
24
|
| 2 | Connecticut (6-1) |
769
|
3
|
6
|
| 3 | Texas (7-0) |
725
|
4
|
2
|
| 4 | Notre Dame (8-1) |
691
|
1
|
0
|
| 5 | Texas A&M (9-0) |
680
|
5
|
0
|
| 6 | North Carolina (8-0) |
646
|
6
|
0
|
| 7 | Stanford (5-2) |
584
|
9
|
0
|
| 8 | Kentucky (8-1) |
556
|
13
|
0
|
| 9 | Baylor (6-1) |
530
|
11
|
0
|
| 10 | Louisville (8-1) |
504
|
7
|
0
|
| 11 | Maryland (7-2) |
470
|
10
|
0
|
| 12 | Duke (5-3) |
428
|
8
|
0
|
| 13 | Tennessee (6-2) |
418
|
14
|
0
|
| 14 | Oregon State (7-0) |
333
|
18
|
0
|
| 15 | Nebraska (7-1) |
309
|
15
|
0
|
| 16 | Oklahoma State (6-1) |
269
|
17
|
0
|
| 17 | California (7-1) |
263
|
12
|
0
|
| 18 | Georgia (10-0) |
256
|
23
|
0
|
| 19 | Rutgers (7-1) |
234
|
20
|
0
|
| 20 | West Virginia (6-1) |
189
|
21
|
0
|
| 21 | Michigan State (5-2) |
158
|
16
|
0
|
| T22 | Mississippi State (8-0) |
140
|
25
|
0
|
| T22 | Syracuse (6-1) |
140
|
22
|
0
|
| 24 | Iowa (7-2) |
105
|
19
|
0
|
| 25 | DePaul (6-2) |
64
|
24
|
0
|
Dropped Out:Â None.
Others receiving votes:St. John‘s (7-0) 38; James Madison (7-1) 26; Northwestern (7-0) 14; Florida State (8-1) 11; Oklahoma (5-2) 11; Wisconsin-Green Bay (6-2) 8; Michigan (6-1) 7; South Florida (6-3) 7; Western Kentucky (8-2) 7; Seton Hall (8-1) 6; Washington (7-1) 4; George Washington (6-2) 3; Dayton (4-3) 2; Arizona State (6-1) 1; Tulane (7-1) 1; Washington State (6-2) 1.
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 32 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
