National Polls Update: Week 12

Providence went 1-0 this week with their overtime win over Xavier on Thursday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Last week Providence got 4 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and they are now getting 13 votes in that poll this week which ranks them 33rd. They were 43rd a week ago with those 4 votes. The Friars got 17 votes in the AP Poll each of the last two weeks which was good for 32nd. They have gotten a little more love from the writers this week with 29 votes which ranks them 30th.

The Big East

Villanova hit a snag with their second loss of the season. This one came at the hands of the Georgetown Hoyas and the margin at the final buzzer was 20 points, 78-58. Villanova is now 18-2 on the season after they followed that loss up with a 21 point win over Creighton on Sunday. The 1-1 week for the Wildcats results in them dropping out of the top 5 in both polls as they were 4th last week in each poll. Both polls now rank Villanova 7th. The Wildcats remain the highest-ranked Big East team this season and the only that has been ranked in the top 5 at any point.

Last week the Georgetown Hoyas were 32nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll while not receiving any votes in the AP Poll. This week the Hoyas are 22nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and moved up to 21st in the AP Poll after that win against Villanova and a win at Marquette. The Hoyas have won 4 straight since dropping an overtime game at Providence on January 10th.

Butler was 39th last week with 5 vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll. This week they have risen to 31st with 21 votes. The Bulldogs were 37th in the AP Poll last week and jumped all the way up to the 25th slot in this week’s rankings.

Seton Hall dropped from 21st to 24th last week and have now totally dropped out of the top 25 with 2 losses last week which makes 3 in a row dating back to January 13th. The 1st and 3rd loss of that streak came at the hands of Butler with the middle loss being at home to DePaul on Thursday last week. The Pirates are receiving 10 votes in the AP Poll, ranking them 35th and got 0 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

St. John’s had gotten 1 vote in each poll last week despite being 1-4 in the Big East. The Red Storm won their only conference contest last week to improve to 2-4 but fell at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon to Duke which gave Coack K his 1,000th career victory. The Johnnies are no longer receiving any votes in the either poll.

The Big East had 2 teams in the top 25 the last 2 weeks and now have gotten 3 teams back inside the top 25. No other Big East teams are receiving votes in either poll.

Providence’s Non-Conference Opponents

Kentucky remains at the top of both polls in week 12 with their 19-0 record. The Wildcats had a closer than expected 8 point win against Vanderbilt at home and then went on the road to house South Carolina, 58-43.

Notre Dame continues their excellent play as they netted two road ACC wins last week at Virginia Tech and at NC State. Providence’s neutral court win at Mohegan Sun against the Fighting Irish is getting better each week. Notre Dame remains ranked 8th in the AP Poll again this week and they move from 9th last week to 8th in the USA Today Coaches poll.

Miami (FL) won both of their games last week after beating Duke at Cameron Indoor the week before. The Hurricanes got 41 votes last week in the AP Poll which had them ranked 27th. They move up to 23rd this week in that poll. Last week Miami got 13 votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll after not receiving any votes the week before. Miami moved all the way up to 23rd from 34th in the USA Today Coaches Poll this week.

To see both polls in their entirety, click here.

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Mike Hopkins

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