The champion and runner-up of the college basketball season predictably finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the final USA Today Coaches Poll of the season. UConn is the unanimous No. 1 team, earning all 32 first-place votes, after punctuating its dominant NCAA Tournament run with a 17-point win over San Diego State Monday night.
Miami, Alabama and Florida Atlantic rounded out the top five, with the Crimson Tide being the outlier after their season ended in the Sweet 16. Both Miami and FAU were first-time Final Four participants before falling to UConn and to San Diego State, respectively.
The only team to keep its spot in the top 10 throughout the tournament was No. 7 Texas. Houston fell five spots to No. 6, UCLA dropped two spots to No. 8, Kansas State moved up four spots into the top 10 at No. 9, and Gonzaga slipped one spot to No. 10.
UConn’s unanimous ranking atop the poll marks the third consecutive season that the college basketball champion will finish No. 1 in unanimous fashion. The streak of four years ended in 2020 after the season was abruptly ended due to COVID, and no NCAA Tournament took place. The last time a champion did not finish as a unanimous No. 1 was a two-year stretch in 2014 and 2015 when UConn and Duke, respectively, won the championship and failed to garner unanimous No. 1 approval in the poll.
First-place votes in parenthesis
Coaches Poll Top 25
1. UConn (32)
2. San Diego State
3. Miami
4. Alabama
5. Florida Atlantic
6. Houston
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. Kansas State
10. Gonzaga
11. Kansas
12. Creighton
13. Purdue
14. Marquette
15. Xavier
16. Tennessee
17. Arizona
18. Duke
19. Baylor
20. Michigan State
21. Arkansas
22. Saint Mary’s
23. Virginia
24. Indiana
25. Texas A&M
Others receiving votes: Texas Christian 82; Princeton 54; Kentucky 46; Missouri 42; Penn St. 31; North Texas 26; Maryland 25; Northwestern 13; Auburn 10; Southern California 9; West Virginia 8; Memphis 8; Iowa State 5; Pittsburgh 2; UAB 1; Providence 1; Oral Roberts 1; Fairleigh Dickinson 1.
