Tennessee State went on to win towards a demanding schedule for the foremost groups within the Southeast Convention. This has propelled the Volunteers to their highest score this season within the Related Press’s males’s basketball survey.
Whereas Gonzaga, Arizona and nationwide champion Baylor remained on the prime of the polls on Monday, Rick Barnes tied Purdue in ninth to crack the highest 10 for the primary time this season. It got here after the Volunteers (23-7, 14-4 SEC) closed out the common season desk with a win over No. 15 in Arkansas regardless of outstripping their lead by 24 factors.
Nonetheless, they achieved their fourth consecutive win and ninth in 10 matches. That stretch included wins towards No. 4 seed Auburn and No. 5 Kentucky, sending Fols to this week’s SEC Championship in Tampa, Florida, because the No. 2 seed.
Protection was a energy, with volunteers rating third nationally in adjusted KenPom effectivity by permitting 87.4 factors per 100 possessions. They’re additionally in seventh place with 13.6% of defensive possessions and 18th with 14.1% of opponent’s photographs blocked.
In addition they rank seventeenth in Division I by charging 16.2 turnovers per sport.
“It was powerful, I can inform you,” Barnes stated of the Securities and Trade Fee after the Arkansas win. “I feel we had been in a position to be taught from loads. I feel we’ll be taught from right now. And we want that, as a result of now you’re enjoying within the match. You probably have breaks and you retain throwing lifelines on the flawed time, end your season.”
Volunteers climbed 4 locations within the prime 25 attracts at UCLA and 16 in Illinois for the largest leaps this week.
Higher class
Bulldog Mark Vue has 52 out of 61 votes to complete first for the fourth week in a row and the eighth time this season again to a pre-season ballot. Gonzaga faces San Francisco Monday night time as play begins within the West Coast Convention semifinals.
The Wildcats stayed second for the third week in a row below Yr One coach Tommy Lloyd and took six first place votes, whereas Scott Drew’s Bears—who completed first for 5 weeks earlier this season—earned the opposite three. .
Auburn and Kentucky made the highest 5, adopted by Kansas, Duke, Villanova, Purdue, and Tennessee.
Peak
Eight groups jumped from their positions final week. Villanova climbed three locations after beating No. 11 Windfall and Butler final week, and Murray State climbed three locations to 19 after profitable the Ohio Valley Convention championship.
sliding
Southern California noticed the largest drop of the week, dropping 5 locations to twenty first after losses to Arizona and UCLA. 18 Houston dropped 4 locations after dropping to Memphis on the shut of the common season. In all, 10 groups fell from their positions final week.
the present state of affairs
5 groups remained in the identical place, with sixth-ranked Kansas and Twenty fourth-ranked Iowa holding their place alongside the highest three groups.
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Colorado’s twenty third joined North Carolina’s twenty fifth place as new additions within the survey, overtaking Ohio and Alabama from final week’s rankings. The Rams spent 4 weeks in December and January polling, peaking at quantity 20.
The Tar Heels opened the 12 months at nineteenth however fell out of the rankings by Thanksgiving — which is a part of the explanation the Atlantic Coast Convention had just one staff ranked within the Blue Devils for a lot of the season.
They have not acquired any votes previously six polls, however they jumped once more on Monday after beating the Duke on Saturday within the ultimate performed in Corridor of Famer Mike Krzyzewski at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I might say our expectations have by no means modified,” stated Armando Bacot, the younger huge man at UNC. “I do not know if it was simply us being fancy or assured. However we have all the time felt like we’re an excellent staff… I do not wish to be complacent and I do not wish to be too excited as a result of ‘you have had huge wins and you have not responded in the correct manner’.”
convention clock
The Large 12, SEC and Large Ten led the way in which with 4 seeded groups every, adopted by Pac-12 and Large East with three.
The ACC joined the WCC with two seeded groups every, whereas the America Athletic Conferences, Ohio Valley and Mountain West every had one.
