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I guess it won't come as a surprise to anyone that UCLA Men's Basketball didn't receive a single vote in either the AP Poll or the USA Today Coaches Poll this week after the Bruins lost both games on their Washington road trip. Even though I've been pretty skeptical about Steve Alford's Bruins this season, I fully expected the Bruins to record their first road sweep of the Alford era in Washington.
As far as I'm concerned, those two losses simply a reflection of the Bruins inconsistency, not their ceiling. Unfortunately, poll voters don't like inconsistency; they care about results, not potential. With that in mind, it may be a long time before we see Steve Alford's team receiving votes again.
On the other hand, UCLA Women's Basketball demonstrated last week that it belongs in the top-25 by toppling two previously undefeated teams: Southern Cal and Oregon. As a result, the Bruins jumped 6 spots in the AP Poll and made a first appearance (at #21) in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Bruins are very likely to climb even further in next week's polls after slapping the 11th-ranked Beavers yesterday. Of course, UCLA still needs to take care of business on Sunday in a rematch with the Trojans. USC has a good team this season, so the Bruins will have to produce another good performance to keep their Pac-12 record perfect.
Men's Basketball
Last Week: UCLA lost to Washington 96-93 (2 OT), and lost to Washington State 85-78.
Associated Press Poll (January 4, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Kansas (44) | 12-1 | 1,598 | 2 |
2 | Oklahoma (21) | 12-0 | 1,574 | 3 |
3 | Maryland | 13-1 | 1,459 | 4 |
4 | Virginia | 12-1 | 1,409 | 5 |
5 | Michigan State | 14-1 | 1,400 | 1 |
6 | North Carolina | 14-2 | 1,275 | 7 |
7 | Arizona | 13-1 | 1,126 | 8 |
8 | Providence | 14-1 | 1,108 | 12 |
9 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 1,039 | 10 |
10 | Xavier | 13-1 | 1,001 | 6 |
11 | Villanova | 12-2 | 979 | 16 |
12 | Miami (Fla.) | 12-1 | 921 | 13 |
13 | Iowa State | 11-2 | 844 | 11 |
14 | Duke | 12-2 | 830 | 15 |
15 | SMU | 13-0 | 731 | 17 |
16 | Louisville | 12-2 | 568 | 18 |
17 | West Virginia | 12-1 | 558 | 19 |
18 | Butler | 11-3 | 516 | 9 |
19 | Iowa | 11-3 | 456 | NR |
20 | Purdue | 13-2 | 450 | 20 |
21 | Texas A&M | 11-2 | 420 | 20 |
22 | South Carolina | 13-0 | 286 | 24 |
23 | Connecticut | 10-3 | 107 | NR |
24 | Pittsburgh | 12-1 | 103 | NR |
25 | Dayton | 11-2 | 100 | NR |
UCLA (9-6, 0-2) received 0 votes.
USA Today Coaches Poll (January 4, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Oklahoma (20) | 12-0 | 781 | 2 |
2 | Kansas (11) | 12-1 | 769 | 3 |
3 | Maryland | 13-1 | 732 | 4 |
4 | Virginia | 12-1 | 698 | 5 |
5 | Michigan State (1) | 14-1 | 676 | 1 |
6 | Arizona | 13-1 | 618 | 7 |
7 | North Carolina | 13-2 | 592 | 8 |
8 | Kentucky | 11-2 | 526 | 11 |
9 | Providence | 14-1 | 509 | 13 |
10 | Duke | 12-2 | 487 | 12 |
11 | Miami (FL) | 12-1 | 444 | 15 |
12 | Xavier | 13-1 | 442 | 6 |
13 | Villanova | 12-2 | 434 | 16 |
14 | Iowa State | 11-2 | 402 | 9 |
15 | West Virginia | 12-1 | 350 | 17 |
16 | Louisville | 12-2 | 282 | 18 |
17 | Texas A&M | 11-2 | 265 | 19 |
18 | Purdue | 13-2 | 248 | 14 |
19 | Butler | 11-3 | 238 | 10 |
20 | South Carolina | 13-0 | 232 | 20 |
21 | Pittsburgh | 12-1 | 121 | 25 |
22 | Gonzaga | 12-3 | 112 | 24 |
23 | Iowa | 11-3 | 110 | NR |
24 | Connecticut | 10-3 | 81 | NR |
25 | Baylor | 10-3 | 61 | 21 |
UCLA (9-6, 0-2) received 0 votes.
Women's Basketball
Last Week: UCLA defeated UC Riverside 70-56, defeated USC 78-73, and defeated Oregon 80-69.
Associated Press Poll (January 4, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Connecticut (32) | 11-0 | 800 | 1 |
2 | South Carolina | 13-0 | 765 | 2 |
3 | Notre Dame | 13-1 | 735 | 3 |
4 | Texas | 13-0 | 705 | 5 |
5 | Ohio State | 10-3 | 630 | 9 |
6 | Baylor | 14-1 | 627 | 4 |
7 | Mississippi State | 14-1 | 616 | 8 |
8 | Maryland | 12-2 | 580 | 6 |
9 | Stanford | 11-2 | 521 | 11 |
10 | Kentucky | 11-1 | 502 | 7 |
11 | Oregon State | 10-2 | 495 | 10 |
12 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 460 | 13 |
13 | Texas A&M | 11-3 | 416 | 16 |
14 | Arizona State | 10-3 | 356 | 17 |
15 | UCLA | 10-3 | 243 | 21 |
16 | Northwestern | 12-2 | 235 | 14 |
17 | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 229 | 18 |
18 | Duke | 11-4 | 215 | 12 |
19 | Florida State | 10-4 | 202 | 15 |
20 | Missouri | 13-0 | 198 | 23 |
21 | California | 9-3 | 183 | 19 |
22 | South Florida | 8-3 | 168 | 20 |
23 | Michigan State | 10-3 | 109 | 24 |
24 | DePaul | 10-5 | 94 | 25 |
25 | Seton Hall | 13-1 | 78 | NR |
USA Today Coaches Poll (January 4, 2016)
RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
1 | Connecticut (32) | 11-0 | 800 | 1 |
2 | South Carolina | 13-0 | 768 | 2 |
3 | Notre Dame | 13-1 | 732 | 3 |
4 | Texas | 13-0 | 703 | 6 |
5 | Ohio State | 10-3 | 625 | 9 |
6 | Mississippi State | 14-1 | 621 | 8 |
7 | Baylor | 14-1 | 620 | 4 |
8 | Maryland | 12-2 | 602 | 5 |
9 | Kentucky | 11-1 | 516 | 7 |
10 | Texas A&M | 11-3 | 500 | 13 |
11 | Tennessee | 10-3 | 426 | 16 |
12 | Oregon State | 10-3 | 417 | 10 |
13 | Stanford | 11-3 | 363 | 11 |
14 | Arizona State | 11-3 | 359 | 21 |
15 | Florida State | 10-4 | 288 | 13 |
16 | Duke | 11-4 | 281 | 12 |
17 | Northwestern | 12-2 | 235 | 15 |
18 | South Florida | 8-3 | 233 | 17 |
19 | Oklahoma | 10-3 | 205 | 19 |
20 | Seton Hall | 13-1 | 201 | 23 |
21 | UCLA | 11-3 | 181 | NR |
22 | Michigan State | 10-3 | 127 | 22 |
23 | Iowa | 12-2 | 116 | 25 |
24 | DePaul | 10-5 | 110 | 24 |
25 | Syracuse | 11-3 | 92 | NR |
This Week In UCLA Sports
- #15 UCLA Women's Basketball vs.#11 Oregon State at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)
Tuesday, January 5
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #14 George Mason in Fairfax, VA (4:00 PM PST)
Thursday, January 7
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #6 Ohio State in University Park, PA (2:00 PM PST)
- UCLA Men's Basketball vs. #7 Arizona at Pauley Pavilion (6:00 PM PST)
Friday, January 8
- #5 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #10 Penn State in University Park, PA (4:30 PM PST)
Saturday, January 9
- UCLA Men's Basketball vs. Arizona State at Pauley Pavilion (2:00 PM PST)
Sunday, January 10
- #15 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Southern California in Los Angeles, CA (6:00 PM PST)
- #6 UCLA Gymnastics vs. #3 Alabama at Pauley Pavilion (2:00 PM PST)