USA Today Coaches Poll: FGCU leaps into top 25 riding 18-game win streak
Connecticut enjoys its second week atop the USA Today Coaches poll after defeating No. 2 South Carolina last week. Florida Gulf Coast rose seven spots in voting and lands at No.24. Yesterday the Eagles entered the Associated Press poll for the first time in program history. The team moved to 23-2 this weekend with an 18-game win streak, the nation’s fourth-best and with an official RPI rating of 16. The RPI puts FGCU ahead of other ranked teams including George Washington, Princeton, Texas A&M, Chattanooga and Stanford, while the win streak sits only behind No. 1 Connecticut, No. 3 Baylor and No. 17 Princeton.
Other schools making leaps in the rankings include No. 21 James Madison rising five spots to No. 21 and Chattanooga landing at No. 22 after just missing the top 25 cut last week.
Last week’s No. 22 Syracuse, No. 24 Seton Hall and No. 25 South Florida all fell out of the poll.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST PLACE VOTES | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
| 1 | Connecticut | 24-1 | 799 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1/4 |
| 2 | South Carolina | 24-1 | 764 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1/3 |
| 3 | Baylor | 24-1 | 737 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3/13 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 24-2 | 705 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1/7 |
| 5 | Maryland | 23-2 | 670 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5/11 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 22-3 | 643 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4/14 |
| 7 | Louisville | 22-3 | 594 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4/11 |
| 8 | Oregon State | 23-2 | 574 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 7/21 |
| 9 | Florida State | 23-3 | 530 | 0 | 7 | -2 | 7/NR |
| 10 | Kentucky | 19-6 | 475 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8/14 |
| 11 | Iowa | 21-4 | 462 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 11/24 |
| 12 | Duke | 19-7 | 441 | 0 | 11 | -1 | 7/16 |
| 13 | Arizona State | 22-4 | 404 | 0 | 12 | -1 | 10/NR |
| 14 | North Carolina | 20-6 | 391 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 6/14 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 20-6 | 355 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 5/16 |
| 16 | Mississippi State | 24-4 | 332 | 0 | 15 | -1 | 15/NR |
| 17 | Princeton | 23-0 | 264 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 17/NR |
| 18 | Rutgers | 19-6 | 248 | 0 | 17 | -1 | 17/NR |
| 19 | Stanford | 19-7 | 229 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1/19 |
| 20 | Nebraska | 18-7 | 161 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 14/20 |
| 21 | James Madison | 22-2 | 106 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 21/NR |
| 22 | Chattanooga | 23-3 | 82 | 0 | 28 | 6 | 22/NR |
| 23 | George Washington | 22-3 | 79 | 0 | 21 | -2 | 21/NR |
| 24 | Florida Gulf Coast | 23-2 | 62 | 0 | 31 | 7 | – |
| 25 | Texas | 16-8 | 58 | 0 | 23 | -2 | 3/25 |
*Hi/Low Rankings
Hi/Low = The highest and lowest ranking each team has held during the designated season. Any team that starts the season unranked and/or falls out of the top 25 during the season will reflect a “NR” (not ranked) designation as its lowest rank.
Schools Dropped Out
No. 22 Syracuse, No. 24 Seton Hall, No. 25 South Florida.
Others Receiving Votes
Syracuse 51; Seton Hall 49; South Florida 24; Northwestern 17; DePaul 16; Arkansas-Little Rock 16; Gonzaga 15; Miami (Fla.) 11; Western Kentucky 9; Oklahoma 7; Washington 6; St. John?s 5; LSU 4; Georgia 2; California 2; Oklahoma State 1.
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 2014-15 season: Kate Peterson Abiad, Cleveland State; Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, Albany; Zenarae Antoine, Texas State; Joan Bonvicini, Seattle; Joanne Boyle, Virginia; Lynn Bria, Stetson; Jamie Craighead, San Jose State; Kristy Curry, Alabama; Brooks Donald-Williams, McNeese State; Tonya Edwards, Alcorn State; Oties Epps, Evansville; Brittney Ezell, East Tennessee State; Stephanie Gaitley, Fordham; LeDawn Gibson, Florida AM; Sue Guevara, Central Michigan; Joe Haigh, St. Francis (Pa.); Jeff Judkins, Brigham Young; Krista Kilburn-Steveskey, Hofstra; Belle Koclanes, Dartmouth; Kellie Lewis-Jay, Florida Atlantic; Jim Littell, Oklahoma State; Dave Magarity, Army; Kevin McMillan, Tennessee-Martin; Faith Mimnaugh, Cal Poly; Brenda Mock-Kirkpatrick, UNC-Asheville; Mike Neighbors, Washington; John Olenowski, Manhattan College; Susan Robinson-Fruchtl, Providence; Rhonda Rompola, Southern Methodist; Wendy Schuller, Eastern Washington; Coquese Washington, Penn State; Amy Williams, South Dakota.
