The Duke Blue Devils entered March Madness as the top-ranked team in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll, but Saturday’s Final Four loss against Houston prevented them from ending the season in that same spot.
The Blue Devils dropped two spots to No. 3 in the postseason coaches poll released on Tuesday, dropping below the national championship-winning Florida Gators and the Cougars. Florida, which ended the season on a 12-game win streak after winning the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, swept all 31 first-place votes after cutting down the nets in San Antonio.
The Auburn Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, and Alabama Crimson Tide followed Duke in order to give the SEC four of the top six teams in the final standings, a reflection of the conference’s dominance this season. By contrast, the Blue Devils were the only ACC team to advance past the first round of March Madness, and the Louisville Cardinals (No. 21) and Clemson Tigers (No. 23) were the only other members of the conference in the top 25.Check out the final USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll below:
Rank Team Record Points (First-Place Votes)
1 Florida Gators 36-4 775 (31)
2 Houston Cougars 35-5 744
3 Duke Blue Devils 35-4 706
4 Auburn Tigers 32-6 689
5 Tennessee Volunteers 30-8 621
6 Alabama Crimson Tide 28-9 610
7 Michigan State Spartans 30-7 593
8 Texas Tech Red Raiders 28-9 582
9 Maryland Terrapins 27-9 469
10 St. John’s Red Storm 31-5 436
11 Michigan Wolverines 27-10 427
12 Purdue Boilermakers 24-12 384
13 Arizona Wildcats 24-13 353
14 Kentucky Wildcats 24-12 330
15 BYU Cougars 26-10 316
16 Wisconsin Badgers 27-10 315
17 Iowa State Cyclones 25-10 280
18 Ole Miss Rebels 24-12 214
19 Texas A&M Aggies 23-11 195
20 Gonzaga Bulldogs 26-9 155
21 Louisville Cardinals 27-8 146
22 Saint Mary’s Gaels 29-6 97
23 Clemson Tigers 27-7 95
24 Creighton Bluejays 25-11 90
25 Arkansas Razorbacks 22-11 84
Dropped Out
No. 16 Memphis; No. 24 Missouri; No. 25 Marquette
Receiving Votes
Memphis 63; Drake 52; Illinois 49; UConn 41; Oregon 40; UCLA 33; Missouri 33; Marquette 18; New Mexico 11; Colorado State 9; UC San Diego 7; Kansas 6; Baylor 6; McNeese State 1
