March 10, 2010
SPOKANE, Wash. - The day after the Gonzaga University women's basketball team won its third West Coast Conference Tournament title with a 76-48 victory over Pepperdine University it jumped three spots in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 15 this week with 298 votes. GU is also No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25, earning 346 votes.
Gonzaga, on an 18-game winning streak, won its third WCC Tournament title in four years with two impressive victories. The Zags defeated No. 8 seed Santa Clara University 87-47 in the semifinals and then earned the 28-point win over the No. 3 seed Waves to grab the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Zags, currently 27-4 overall, awaits their seed, opponent and location for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is set for Monday, March 15 at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN.
USA TODAY ESPN DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES' POLL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Week 17: March 9, 2010
Editor's Note: Only 30 coaches voted today. Former Lafayette coach Tammy Smith declined to participate.
The USA TODAY/ESPN women's coaches' poll with first-place votes in parentheses. Total points are based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th.
Rank School
(First Place Votes) Record Points Last Week's Ranking
1. Connecticut (31) - 32-0 - 750 - 1
2. Stanford - 28-1 - 716 - 2
3. Nebraska - 29-0 - 694 - 3
4. Tennessee - 30-2 - 659 - 4
5. Xavier - 27-3 - 628 - 5
6. Duke - 27-5 - 584 - 8
7. Notre Dame - 27-5 - 566 - 7
8. West Virginia - 28-4 - 528 - 9
9. Ohio State - 30-4 - 520 - 10
10. Florida State - 26-5 - 444 - 6
11. Texas A&M - 22-7 - 421 - 14
12. Oklahoma - 21-9 - 396 - 12
13. Georgetown - 25-6 - 387 - 11
14. Iowa State - 23-6 - 359 - 13
15. Gonzaga - 27-4 - 298 - 17
16. Kentucky - 25-7 - 276 - 18
17. St. John's - 24-6 - 272 - 16
18. Baylor - 22-8 - 252 - 15
19. Hartford - 27-3 - 192 - 21
20. Texas - 21-9 - 181 - 22
21. Oklahoma State - 21-9 - 176 - 20
22. Virginia - 21-9 - 115 - 19
23. UCLA - 22-7 - 95 - 25
24. Michigan State - 22-9 - 50 - 23
25. Middle Tennessee - 24-5 - 24 -NR
Dropped out: No. 24 Georgia.
Others receiving votes: Georgia (23-8) 22; Princeton (25-2) 20; Vanderbilt (22-10) 19; Arkansas-Little Rock (26-5) 17; Gardner-Webb (26-3) 15; LSU (20-9) 11; Iowa (19-13) 10; Fresno State (25-5) 9; Dayton (24-7) 8; Wisconsin-Green Bay (26-3) 8; DePaul (21-11) 5; Marist (26-7) 5; James Madison (23-6) 4; TCU (22-7) 4; Lehigh (28-3) 3; Rutgers (19-14) 2; Vermont (25-6) 2; Western Kentucky (21-10) 2; Syracuse (22-10) 1.
