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UCLA Poll Watch: Women's Water Polo Swims to #1

UCLA Women's Water Polo didn't play an official game last week, but the Bruins are the new #1 team in the nation.

@UCLAWaterPolo

UCLA Women's Water Polo claimed the top spot in the most recent CWPA Poll without scoring a goal last week. However, when previously top-ranked Stanford lost to fifth-ranked Cal in the final of the Stanford Invitational, the Bruins (4-0) captured the CWPA's number one ranking.

The Bruins haven't played an official match in over two weeks since opening the season with a sweep at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational. UCLA is back in action this weekend when it travels to south to participate in the UC San Diego Invitational. The Bruins will open the tournament with a Saturday morning match against Sonoma State.

If UCLA Men's Basketball is going to make a late season push to get back into the top half of the Pac-12 standings, it has to start this weekend in the desert. Anything less than a split will be disastrous for UCLA's postseason hopes, unless of course you're one of those folks who thinks it would be treat to see the Bruins in the NIT. Given how frequently Alford defenders point to the difficulty of winning on the road in the Pac-12, it seems that we all agree that the likelihood that the Bruins will drop a pair in Arizona is much greater than the probability that they'll get their first road trip sweep of the Alford-era.

To the extent that there's good news for Alford's Bruins in this week's polls, the Pac-12 now has three teams in the AP top-25: Oregon (11th), Arizona (17th), and Southern Cal (23rd). UCLA's record against those teams this season is 1-3, although the Bruins will get a chance to improve on that mark on Friday evening in Tucson.

UCLA Women's Basketball is home this week after two straight weeks on the road. Last week the Bruins split their games in Arizona. The Bruins remain at #14 in the AP Poll and #16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and are currently tied for third (with Stanford) in the Pac-12 standings. However, with Stanford set to play Arizona State this weekend, the Bruins are well-positioned to move up in the polls and the standings if they can sweep the Washington schools this week.

The Pac-12 currently has four teams in the top-15 of the AP Poll (#8 Oregon State, #9 Arizona State, #13 Stanford, #14 UCLA) and two more sitting just outside the top-25 (Washington and Oregon). After this weekend, the Bruins face a tough road trip to Oregon before returning home to play the Arizona schools. The last few weeks of the Pac-12 season certainly present a challenge for the Bruins, but they also provide a big opportunity--the Bruins can still win the Pac-12 title, but they'll need a little help to make it happen.

As a consequence of splitting its pair of games against #5 Hawai'i in Honolulu, UCLA Men's Volleyball is no longer undefeated and is no longer the top-ranked team in the country. The top spot has been awarded to Long Beach State after the 49ers comfortably beat #6 Stanford and #11 Cal State Northridge, with UCLA's drop in the polls coming in spite of the fact that the Bruins have fewer losses than the 49ers and in spite of the fact that the UCLA beat Long Beach State just two weeks ago. Clearly the voters have short memories.

However, the Bruins remain in first place in the MPSF conference with a half-game lead over LBSU and a full one-game lead over Stanford and BYU. UCLA resumes action tonight against #12 UC Irvine.

Finally, UCLA Women's Tennis holds onto the 21st spot in the ITA rankings after defeating Northwestern 6-1 last week. The Bruins host a rare doubleheader on Saturday with a morning match against UC Davis followed by an afternoon match against Cal State Northridge.

Men's Basketball

Last Week: UCLA lost to USC 80-61.

Associated Press Poll (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Villanova (32) 1566 20-3 3
2 Maryland (13) 1499 21-3 4
3 Oklahoma (7) 1472 19-3 1
4 Iowa (11) 1471 19-4 5
5 Xavier 1382 21-2 6
6 Kansas 1311 19-4 7
7 Virginia 1223 19-4 9
8 Michigan State 1144 20-4 10
9 North Carolina 1136 19-4 2
10 West Virginia 1082 19-4 14
11 Oregon 905 20-4 16
12 Miami (Fla.) 826 18-4 17
13 Louisville 819 19-4 19
14 Iowa State 781 17-6 13
15 Texas A&M 663 18-5 8
16 SMU 593 20-2 12
17 Arizona 497 19-5 23
18 Purdue 456 19-5 18
19 Dayton 413 19-3 24
20 Providence 349 18-6 11
21 Baylor 333 17-6 15
22 Kentucky 228 17-6 20
23 Southern California 225 18-5 27
24 Texas 199 16-7 NR
25 Wichita State 132 17-6 21


UCLA (13-10, 4-6) received 0 points.

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Villanova (11) 20-3 753 4
2 Maryland (11) 21-3 749 3
3 Oklahoma (3) 19-3 708 2
4 Xavier 21-2 683 5
5 Iowa (3) 19-4 674 7
6 Kansas (2) 19-4 670 6
7 Virginia 19-4 616 9
8 North Carolina (1) 19-4 599 1
9 Michigan State (1) 20-4 567 10
10 West Virginia 19-4 490 12
11 Miami (FL) 18-4 433 15
12 Oregon 20-4 423 17
13 Texas A&M 18-5 387 8
14 Arizona 19-5 310 20
15 Iowa State 17-6 307 14
16 Purdue 19-5 292 16
17 Dayton 19-3 236 24
17 Providence 18-6 236 11
19 Baylor 17-6 221 13
20 South Carolina 20-3 185 23
21 Kentucky 17-6 178 19
22 Indiana 19-5 119 21
23 USC 18-5 105 NR
24 Wichita St 17-6 91 22
25 Texas 16-7 69 NR


UCLA (13-10, 4-6) received 0 points.

Women's Basketball

Last Week: #14 UCLA lost to #8 Arizona State 65-61, and defeated Arizona 73-39.

Associated Press Poll (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 UConn (32) 22-0 800 1
2 South Carolina 22-0 765 2
3 Notre Dame 23-1 739 3
4 Baylor 23-1 699 4
5 Maryland 21-2 660 5
6 Texas 21-1 653 6
7 Ohio State 18-4 599 7
8 Oregon State 20-3 580 9
9 Arizona State 20-4 518 8
10 Florida State 19-4 515 10
11 Mississippi State 21-4 485 11
12 Louisville 18-6 418 13
13 Stanford 19-5 389 15
14 UCLA 17-6 366 14
15 Texas A&M 16-7 354 12
16 Florida 19-4 305 22
17 Michigan St 18-5 286 17
18 Kentucky 16-6 231 18
19 Miami (Fla.) 20-4 219 16
20 Oklahoma St 18-4 202 25
21 Oklahoma 16-6 132 20
22 South Florida 16-6 115 19
23 DePaul 19-7 84 NR
24 West Virginia 18-6 80 NR
25 Tennessee 14-9 49 23

USA Today Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Connecticut (32) 23-0 800 1
2 South Carolina 22-1 750 2
3 Notre Dame 23-1 746 3
4 Baylor 23-1 707 4
5 Texas 21-1 660 6
6 Ohio State 19-4 644 7
7 Maryland 21-3 601 5
8 Oregon State 20-3 589 8
9 Florida State 19-4 534 9
10 Arizona State 20-4 500 10
11 Mississippi State 21-4 457 12
12 Louisville 18-6 410 13
13 Texas A&M 16-7 398 11
14 Stanford 19-5 373 15
15 Michigan State 18-5 340 14
16 UCLA 17-6 296 16
17 Miami (FL) 20-4 265 20
18 Kentucky 16-6 262 18
19 Florida 19-4 237 22
20 South Florida 16-6 163 17
21 Oklahoma 16-6 135 19
22 Syracuse 18-6 121 23
23 DePaul 19-7 113 24
24 Duquesne 21-2 51 NR
24 Oklahoma State 18-4 51 NR

Men's Volleyball

Last Week: #1 UCLA split with #5 Hawai'i, losing 1-3 and winning 3-2.

AVCA Coaches Poll (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Long Beach State (9) 288 9-2 2
2 UCLA (11) 287 11-1 1
3 BYU 261 8-2 3
4 Hawai'i 231 9-2 5
5 Loyola-Chicago 220 7-2 4
6 Stanford 209 8-2 6
7 Penn State 169 6-2 8
8 Pepperdine 150 6-3 9
9 Ohio State 143 8-3 7
10 UC Santa Barbara 122 8-5 10
11 CSUN 80 7-4 12
12 UC Irvine 72 3-7 11
13 Ball State 66 7-3 14
14 Lewis 65 8-4 13
15 Saint Francis 20 5-4 15

Women's Water Polo

Last Week: #2 UCLA was not in action.

CWPA Poll (February 10, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS
1 UCLA 98 2
2 Southern Cal 96 3
3 California 92 T5
4 Stanford 90 1
5 Arizona State 82 T5
6 Michigan 78 7
T7 Hawai'i 72 4
T7 UC Davis 72 T8
9 UC Irvine 69 10
10 San Jose State 62 T8
11 UC Santa Barbara 61 11
12 Hartwick 60 17
13 Pacific 48 12
14 Princeton 46 14
15 Harvard 39 21
16 Loyola Marymount 38 15
17 Indiana 37 13
18 San Diego State 31 18
T19 UC San Diego 30 19
T19 Wagner 30 16


Men's Tennis

Last Week: #9 UCLA defeated #16 San Diego 7-0.

ITA Division I Men's Team Rankings* (February 10, 2016)

* No team rankings are published the week of the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship.

Women's Tennis

Last Week: #21 UCLA defeated Northwestern 6-1.

ITA Division I Women's Team Rankings (February 10, 2016)
RANK TEAM PREVIOUS
1 California 6
2 North Carolina 5
3 Florida 3
4 Georgia 2
5 Vanderbilt 1
6 Ohio State 16
7 Duke 14
8 Michigan 12
9 Virginia 7
10 Texas Tech 17
11 USC 4
12 Miami 11
13 LSU 19
14 Stanford 8
15 Oklahoma State 10
16 Texas A&M 9
17 Pepperdine 18
18 Alabama 13
19 Mississippi 25
20 Clemson 20
21 UCLA 21
22 Kentucky 23
23 TCU 22
24 Georgia Tech 24
25 Northwestern 26

Women's Gymnastics

Last Week: #5 UCLA defeated #7 Utah 197.100-197.075.

GymInfo Team Rankings (February 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM AVERAGE HIGH
1 Oklahoma 197.393 197.925
2 Florida 197.22 198.175
3 Michigan 196.86 196.975
4 Alabama 196.842 197.525
5 LSU 196.705 197.425
6 Utah 196.65 197.15
7 UCLA 196.51 197.1
8 Auburn 196.204 196.825
9 Arkansas 196.2 196.7
10 Boise State 196.194 196.425
11 Georgia 195.958 196.775
12 Denver 195.945 196.675
13 Stanford 195.856 196.675
14 Nebraska 195.83 196.775
15 Missouri 195.808 196.625
16 Oregon State 195.694 196.35
17 George Washington 195.656 196.175
18 Minnesota 195.53 196.075
19 California 195.456 196.375
20 Illinois-Champaign 195.29 195.725
21 Southern Utah 195.185 195.7
22 New Hampshire 195.171 196.075
23 Ohio State 195.165 196.35
24 West Virginia 195.14 195.8
25 Kentucky 195.13 195.525

This Week In UCLA Sports

Thursday, February 11

  • #2 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. #12 UC Irvine at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)
  • Friday, February 12

    • UCLA Track & Field at the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA (All Day)
    • #9 UCLA Men's Tennis vs. #11 Georgia in Charlottesville, VA (9:00 AM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Softball vs. Colorado State in College Station, TX (10:15 AM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Softball vs. Texas A&M in College Station, TX (1:00 PM PST)
    • #19 UCLA Swimming & Diving vs. #7 Southern Cal in Los Angeles, CA (1:00 PM PST)
    • UCLA Men's Basketball  vs. #17 Arizona in Tucson, AZ (6:00 PM PST)
    • #14 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Washington State at Pauley Pavilion (7:00 PM PST)

    Saturday, February 13

    • UCLA Track & Field at the Husky Classic in Seattle, WA (All Day)
    • #1 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. Sonoma State in San Diego (8:30 AM PST)
    • #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. UC Davis in Los Angeles, CA (10:00 AM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Softball vs. Wichita State in College Station, TX (10:15 AM PST)
    • #21 UCLA Women's Tennis vs. Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles, CA (2:00 PM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Softball vs. Texas A&M in College Station, TX (3:15 PM PST)
    • #1 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. TBD in San Diego (TBA)
    • #2 UCLA Men's Volleyball vs. UC San Diego at the John Wooden Center (7:00 PM PST)
    • #7 UCLA Women's Gymnastics vs. #16 Oregon State in Los Angeles, CA (8:00 PM PST)

    Sunday, February 14

    • #7 UCLA Softball vs. Colorado State in College Station, TX (8:00 AM PST)
    • #14 UCLA Women's Basketball vs. Washington at Pauley Pavilion (11:00 AM PST)
    • #1 UCLA Women's Water Polo vs. TBD in San Diego (TBA)
    • UCLA Men's Basketball  vs. Arizona State in Tempe, AZ (5:30 PM PST)
    Go BRUINS!