MEN’S BASKETBALL: Creighton Jumps To No. 7 In AP and No. 9 In Coaches Polls
OMAHA–(CU Athletics Mar. 9)–The Creighton men’s basketball team, picked to finish seventh in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll, is now ranked seventh country in the Associated Press poll released on Monday, March 9.
The Bluejays moved up four spots following a 2-0 week that helped Creighton earn a share of its first BIG EAST title.
This week’s No. 7 ranking matches Creighton’s best ever, tying the rank on Jan. 16, 2017.
This marks the seventh time this season that Creighton has been ranked, and sixth consecutive week.
Creighton (24-7, 13-5 BIG EAST) has now been ranked 95 times in program history, with 67 of those under the direction of Greg McDermott. Creighton is 120-46 all-time as a ranked team, including an 86-34 mark under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in seven of McDermott’s 10 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
In addition, this is the 12th time that Creighton has earned a top-10 ranking in program history. Eleven of those weeks have come under McDermott’s leadership.
CU is one of four BIG EAST teams that are nationally ranked by the AP this week, joining No. 11 Villanova, No. 16 Seton Hall and No. 24 Butler. Providence is listed among those teams also receiving votes. Kansas remains the nation’s top-ranked squad.
The NCAA NET ranking has Creighton 11th. The USA Today/Coaches poll, which had Creighton 14th a week ago, has CU up to ninth.
Creighton will be the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep and play on FS1 on Thursday at 11 a.m. Central against the winner of Wednesday night’s First Round match-up between Georgetown and St. John’s.
Associated Press Top 25
March 9, 2020
Rk School W-L PTS
1 Kansas (65) 28-3 1625
2 Gonzaga 29-2 1546
3 Dayton 29-2 1507
4 Florida State 26-5 1384
5 Baylor 26-4 1322
6 San Diego State 30-2 1261
7 Creighton 24-7 1157
8 Kentucky 25-6 1118
9 Michigan State 22-9 995
10 Duke 25-6 990
11 Villanova 24-7 989
12 Maryland 24-7 912
13 Oregon 24-7 904
14 BYU 24-7 762
15 Louisville 24-7 755
16 Seton Hall 21-9 722
17 Virginia 23-7 560
18 Wisconsin 21-10 495
19 Ohio State 21-10 443
20 Auburn 25-6 436
21 Illinois 21-10 241
22 Houston 23-8 167
23 West Virginia 21-10 167
24 Butler 22-9 161
25 Iowa 20-11 111
Others receiving votes: Stephen F. Austin 75, Providence 66, East Tennessee State 59, Michigan 53, Penn State 42, Utah State 40, Saint Mary’s 9, Arizona 7, Liberty 6, USC 6, Richmond 5, Northern Iowa 4, UCLA 4, New Mexico State 4, Rutgers 4, Texas Tech 3, Vermont 2, LSU 2, Purdue 1, Belmont 1, Mississippi State 1, Florida 1.
USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll
March 9, 2020
Rk School W-L PTS
1 Kansas (32) 28-3 800
2 Gonzaga 29-2 755
3 Dayton 29-2 743
4 Florida State 26-5 659
5 Baylor 26-4 656
6 San Diego State 30-2 584
7 Kentucky 25-6 570
8 Villanova 24-7 524
9 Creighton 24-7 513
10 Duke 25-6 508
11 Maryland 24-7 487
12 Michigan State 22-9 431
13 Oregon 24-7 425
14 Louisville 24-7 421
15 Seton Hall 21-9 383
16 BYU 24-7 340
17 Auburn 25-6 228
18 Virginia 23-7 227
19 Wisconsin 21-10 225
20 Ohio State 21-10 193
21 Butler 22-9 145
22 Illinois 21-10 131
23 West Virginia 21-10 105
24 Houston 23-8 92
25 Iowa 20-11 79
Others receiving votes: Penn State 33; East Tennessee State 26; Michigan 25; Stephen F. Austin 16; Saint Mary’s 12; Providence 11; Utah State 8; Texas Tech 8; Colorado 7; UCLA 6; Rutgers 5; LSU 5; Arizona 4; Southern California 3; Stanford 2; Richmond 2; Northern Iowa 2; Oklahoma 1.
