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UCLA Poll Watch: Women's Basketball Jumps into Top-10

Although UCLA Women's Basketball lost in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game on Sunday, the Bruins climb into the top-10 in the national rankings as they prepare for an NCAA first round game in Pauley Pavilion.

By Bruinette88
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA has a top-10 basketball team! No, I'm not talking about Steve Alford's Bruins, although they did manage to claim sole possession of tenth place in the Pac-12 when Cal beat ASU on Saturday. I'm talking about a national top-10 team: UCLA Women's Basketball. Even though they lost in the championship game of the Pac-12 tournament, the Bruins climbed two places in the Associated Press poll to grab the final spot in this week's top-10. Coach Close's team should now be a lock to receive one of the coveted top-16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament, which would guarantee that UCLA would play at home for the first two rounds of the tourney.

The less said the better about UCLA Men's Basketball. Fans can debate where this team ranks among the worst teams of the post-Wooden era, but the very fact that that conversation is taking place shows how bad Steve Alford's Bruins were this season.

UCLA Men's Volleyball wrapped up a successful week with two wins against #9 UC Santa Barbara, but the wins didn't impress the voters enough to elevate the Bruins from their #4 ranking in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Since the quartet of MPSF teams holding down the top four spots in the rankings don't play each other again for a few weeks, the top positions in the poll will probably remain unchanged until then.

UCLA Beach Volleyball made a statement in its opening day of action of the 2016 season. The Bruins defeated #3 Hawai'i and #4 Long Beach State on the first day of the Pepperdine Kick Off before being swept the following day by #1 USC and #2 Pepperdine. Nevertheless, UCLA's strong showing convinced voters to boost the Bruins to #3 in this week's rankings. Considering that UCLA's number 1 pair--the McNamara twins--are just freshmen, there are bound to be some ups and downs this year, especially early in the season. However, the Bruins have a high ceiling, so it will be interesting to see how far they can go this year.

UCLA Baseball inched up in both the NCBWA and D1 Baseball polls to #19 after a week that saw Coach Savage's team play more like a Savage-coached team. After losing a midweek game to UCSB in which the Bruins conceded 11 runs, UCLA's pitching saved the weekend by giving up just 6 runs in three days. Although UCLA's run production was barely sufficient to win those games, the Bruins have plenty of experience when it comes to winning low-scoring affairs.

UCLA Softball won four of its six games last week, but that wasn't enough to keep the Bruins from taking a step back in both pools. UCLA began the week by dropping games against #2 Michigan and #12 Florida State before rebounding with four straight wins over unranked opponents. The Bruins are now #14 in the NFCA Coaches poll, and until they find some consistency, they aren't likely to return to the top-10.

UCLA Women's Water Polo was in Michigan last week for the Wolverine Invite. The Bruins cruised past the competition, out-scoring their opponents 68-19. However, until UCLA proves that it can beat top-ranked Southern Cal, don't expect to see the Bruins move out of the #2 position by beating inferior teams.

Sixth-ranked UCLA Men's Tennis blasted #12 Southern Cal last week, but the Bruins didn't budge from the sixth spot in the ITA rankings. The ITA rankings were kinder to UCLA Women's Tennis. After a pair of home wins over Washington and Washington State, the Bruins moved up to spots in the rankings to #25.

Finally, UCLA Women's Gymnastics fell back one spot in the GymInfo rankings after a subpar performance in the meet with Georgia and Stanford that saw the Bruins finish third. On Sunday, the Bruins have their last home meet of the season against the top-ranked Sooners. If you can, turn up at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday to support the team and to salute the seniors!

Men's Basketball

Last Week: UCLA lost to Oregon 76-68, and lost to Oregon State 86-82.

Associated Press Poll (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Kansas (63) 1623 27-4 1
2 Michigan State (2) 1520 26-5 2
3 Villanova 1480 27-4 3
4 Virginia 1424 24-6 4
5 Xavier 1351 26-4 5
6 Oklahoma 1309 24-6 6
7 North Carolina 1252 25-6 8
8 Oregon 1127 25-6 9
9 West Virginia 1113 24-7 10
10 Indiana 1038 25-6 12
11 Miami (Fla.) 935 24-6 7
12 Utah 898 24-7 13
13 Purdue 798 24-7 15
14 Louisville 647 23-8 11
15 Arizona 626 24-7 18
16 Kentucky 608 23-8 22
17 Texas A&M 574 24-7 20
18 Maryland 544 24-7 14
19 Duke 512 22-9 17
20 Iowa 407 21-9 16
21 Iowa State 374 21-10 21
22 Baylor 262 21-10 19
23 Texas 191 20-11 23
24 California 189 22-9 25
25 SMU 88 25-5 24


UCLA (15-16, 6-12) received 0 points.

USA Today Coaches Poll (March 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Kansas 27-4 749 (29) 1
2 Villanova 27-4 696 2
3 Michigan St 26-5 692 (1) 3
4 Virginia 24-6 653 4
5 Xavier 26-4 602 5
6 Oklahoma 24-6 589 6
7 North Carolina 25-6 576 8
8 West Virginia 24-7 515 9
9 Oregon 25-6 510 10
10 Indiana 25-6 490 11
11 Miami-Florida 24-6 461 7
12 Utah 24-7 387 13
13 Purdue 24-7 377 13
14 Arizona 24-7 336 16
15 Maryland 24-7 306 12
16 Kentucky 23-8 285 19
17 Texas A&M 24-7 274 18
18 Iowa 21-9 220 15
19 Iowa St. 21-10 187 20
20 Baylor 21-10 177 17
21 Duke 22-9 173 21
22 Texas 20-11 124 22
23 St. Mary's 26-4 117 24
24 California 22-9 72 25
25 Wisconsin 20-11 45 26


UCLA (15-16, 6-12) received 0 points.

Women's Basketball

Last Week: #12 UCLA defeated Arizona 72-51, defeated California 73-67 (OT), and lost to #8 Oregon State 69-57.

Associated Press Poll (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 UConn (32) 31-0 800 1
2 Notre Dame 31-1 753 2
3 South Carolina 31-1 748 3
4 Baylor 32-1 706 4
5 Maryland 30-3 672 5
6 Oregon State 28-4 630 8
7 Texas 28-3 614 6
8 Louisville 25-7 557 7
9 Ohio State 24-7 498 9
10 UCLA 24-8 472 12
11 Arizona St 25-6 444 10
12 Kentucky 23-7 428 13
13 Stanford 24-7 390 11
14 Syracuse 25-7 386 17
15 Mississippi State 26-7 370 16
16 Michigan State 24-8 328 19
17 Florida State 23-7 303 14
18 DePaul 25-7 270 18
19 Texas A&M 21-9 254 15
20 Miami 24-8 217 21
21 South Florida 23-8 165 20
22 Colorado State 28-1 119 22
23 West Virginia 24-9 100 22
24 Oklahoma 21-10 70 24
25 Florida 22-8 27 25


USA Today Coaches Poll (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Connecticut (32) 32-0 800 1
2 South Carolina 31-1 756 2
3 Notre Dame 31-1 745 3
4 Baylor 33-1 706 4
5 Maryland 30-3 672 5
6 Oregon State 28-4 628 8
7 Texas 28-4 603 7
8 Louisville 25-7 563 6
9 Ohio State 24-7 493 9
10 Florida State 23-7 437 10
11 Arizona State 25-6 428 11
12 UCLA 24-8 420 14
13 Kentucky 23-7 415 13
14 Mississippi State 26-7 388 16
15 Syracuse 25-7 364 17
16 Stanford 24-7 345 12
17 Michigan State 24-8 300 19
18 Texas A&M 21-9 297 15
19 Miami 24-8 226 21
20 South Florida 23-9 221 20
21 DePaul 25-8 173 18
22 Colorado State 28-1 109 23
23 Oklahoma 21-10 100 22
24 BYU 26-5 48 NR
25 Florida 22-8 41 24

Men's Volleyball

Last Week: #4 UCLA defeated #9 UC Santa Barbara 3-1, and 3-0.

AVCA Coaches Poll (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Long Beach State (19) 299 17-2 1
2 BYU (1) 276 16-2 2
3 Stanford 265 15-2 3
4 UCLA 240 17-3 4
5 Ohio State 220 15-3 5
6 Penn State 166 12-4 6
7 UC Santa Barbara 163 13-8 9
8 Hawai'i 161 10-9 7
9 Pepperdine 136 8-6 10
10 Ball State 129 14-4 8
11 CSUN 118 12-7 12
12 Loyola-Chicago 96 11-5 11
13 Lewis 52 11-8 13
14 UC Irvine 41 6-12 14
15 California Baptist 16 9-12 15

Beach Volleyball

Last Week: #6 UCLA defeated #4 Long Beach State 3-2, defeated #3 Hawai'i 3-2, lost to #1 Southern Cal 5-0, and lost to #2 Pepperdine 5-0.

AVCA Coaches Poll (March 7, 2016)

RANK TEAM RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Pepperdine 4-0 2
2 Southern California 3-1 1
3 UCLA 2-2 T-6
4 Florida State 4-0 5
5 Hawai'i 1-3 3
6 Long Beach State 0-4 4
7 Arizona 4-0 9
8 Stetson 5-0 10
9 Florida International 2-1 T-6
10 Georgia State 2-1 8


Baseball

Last Week: #21 UCLA lost to UC Santa Barbara 11-6, defeated #20 Mississippi State 2-1, defeated Oklahoma 4-2, and defeated #22 USC 5-3.

NCBWA Poll (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM RECORD LAST WEEK PREVIOUS
1 Florida 12-1 5-0 1
2 Vanderbilt 10-1 2-1 2
3 Texas A&M 11-1 4-0 3
4 Oregon State 10-1 3-0 4
5 Louisville 9-2 4-0 5
6 Miami (Fla.) 9-2 4-0 6
7 TCU 9-2 3-1 7
8 Oregon 8-2 2-1 8
9 LSU 9-2 4-0 10
10 North Carolina 9-1 4-0 11
11 Florida State 8-3 3-2 9
12 California 9-3 4-1 13
13 NC State 10-2 5-0 16
14 Virginia 7-4 3-1 14
15 Ole Miss 10-1 4-0 18
16 Arkansas 10-2 2-2 12
17 Louisiana-Lafayette 8-4 4-1 17
18 South Carolina 10-2 2-2 15
19 UCLA 6-5 3-1 20
20 Mississippi State 8-3-1 2-1-1 19
21 Missouri State 9-1 4-0 26
22 Georgia Tech 11-0 4-0 29
23 Florida Atlantic 9-1 2-1 24
24 Cal State Fullerton 6-4 2-2 22
25 Houston 6-5 2-2 21

D1 Baseball Poll (March 7, 2016)

RANK TEAM LAST WEEK RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Florida 5-0 12-1 1
2 Vanderbilt 2-1 10-1 2
3 Texas A&M 4-0 11-1 3
4 Oregon State 3-0 10-1 4
5 Louisville 4-0 9-2 5
6 North Carolina 4-0 9-1 6
7 LSU 4-0 9-2 7
8 NC State 5-0 10-2 8
9 Oregon 2-1 8-2 9
10 Miami 4-0 9-2 10
11 TCU 3-1 9-2 11
12 California 4-1 9-3 12
13 Ole Miss 4-0 10-1 17
14 Arkansas 2-2 10-2 14
15 Florida State 3-2 8-3 15
16 East Carolina 2-2 8-3 16
17 South Carolina 2-2 10-2 13
18 Virginia 3-1 7-4 19
19 UCLA 3-1 6-5 21
20 Mississippi State 2-1-1 8-3-1 20
21 Georgia Tech 4-0 11-0 NR
22 Clemson 3-1 8-2 NR
23 Cal State Fullerton 2-2 6-4 23
24 Louisiana-Lafayette 4-1 8-4 24
25 Oklahoma State 4-1 6-6 25


Softball

Last Week: #13 UCLA lost to #2 Michigan 8-6, lost to #12 Florida State 3-0, defeated UC Santa Barbara 3-2, defeated Charleston Southern 9-0, defeated Syracuse 3-2, and defeated UC Davis 9-1.

USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll (March 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS RECORD PREVIOUS
1 Florida (32) 800 22-0 1
2 Michigan 757 18-2 2
3 Auburn 735 20-1 3
4 LSU 676 19-2 5
5 Louisiana-Lafayette 657 17-1 6
6 Alabama 652 20-2 4
7 Oregon 599 17-4 7
8 Washington 577 16-3 8
9 James Madison 549 17-1 10
10 Georgia 509 17-2 9
11 Florida State 468 17-3 12
12 Texas A&M 456 20-2 11
13 Oklahoma 399 12-4 14
14 UCLA 363 13-8 13
15 Missouri 326 13-3 18
16 Tennessee 317 16-5 16
17 Kentucky 288 18-3 17
18 Arizona 284 15-7 15
19 Minnesota 237 13-5 20
20 Notre Dame 188 16-3 21
21 Arizona State 157 17-5 19
22 Baylor 82 14-5 24
23 Nebraska 76 12-4 23
24 Fresno State 71 13-5-2 22
25 UCF 56 12-8 25

ESPN/USA Softball Poll (March 8, 2016)

RANK TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Florida (18) 22-0 496 1
2 Michigan (2) 18-2 475 3
3 Auburn 20-1 449 4
4 Alabama 20-2 436 2
5 Louisiana-Lafayette 17-1 428 5
6 LSU 19-2 397 6
7 Washington 16-3 371 7
8 James Madison 17-1 345 10
8 Oregon 17-4 345 8
10 Texas A&M 20-2 325 9
11 Florida State 17-3 302 12
12 Georgia 17-2 288 11
13 Missouri 13-3 251 14
14 Oklahoma 12-4 246 13
15 Kentucky 18-3 205 16
16 UCLA 13-8 185 15
17 Minnesota 13-5 182 19
18 Arizona State 18-5 128 17
19 Tennessee 16-5 126 20
20 Arizona 15-7 124 18
21 Baylor 14-5 90 22
22 Fresno State 13-5-1 73 21
23 Notre Dame 16-3 63 25
24 Oregon State 16-4-1 61 22
25 Texas 14-3 23 2


Women's Water Polo

Last Week: #2 UCLA defeated #15 Loyola Marymount 17-4, defeated George Washington 22-5, defeated #5 Michigan 9-5, and defeated Bucknell 20-5.

CWPA Poll (March 9, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Southern Cal 100 1
2 UCLA 96 2
3 Stanford 92 3
4 Hawai'i 88 4
5 Michigan 83 5
T6 UC Davis 78 8
T6 UC Irvine 78 T6
8 California 72 T6
9 Arizona State 69 9
10 San Jose State 63 10
11 UC San Diego 58 12
T12 UC Santa Barbara 50 14
T12 Pacific 50 13
14 Princeton 43 20
15 Loyola Marymount 39 15
T16 Indiana 37 19
T16 Wagner 37 17
18 Harvard 35 16
19 Hartwick 32 11
20 San Diego State 26 18


Men's Tennis

Last Week: #6 UCLA defeated #12 Southern Cal 5-2.

ITA Division I Men's Team Rankings (March 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS
1 North Carolina 89.24 1
2 Ohio State 74.14 4
3 TCU 71.45 3
4 Virginia 70.74 2
5 Oklahoma State 66.55 5
6 UCLA 65.00 6
7 Texas A&M 61.56 8
8 Illinois 56.55 11
9 Wake Forest 55.98 7
10 Texas Tech 54.57 10
11 Northwestern 49.87 9
12 Kentucky 47.36 22
13 Oklahoma 46.69 13
14 California 42.76 18
15 Southern California 41.73 12
16 South Florida 41.67 17
17 Georgia 41.61 16
18 Baylor 36.07 14
19 Texas 33.71 15
20 Oregon 32.83 21
21 Tulane 32.36 35
22 Mississippi 32.11 26
23 Penn State 30.98 24
24 Michigan 30.60 19
25 Florida 29.60 30

Women's Tennis

Last Week: UCLA defeated Washington State 6-1, and defeated Washington 5-2.

ITA Division I Women's Team Rankings (March 8, 2016)
RANK TEAM POINTS PREVIOUS
1 California 79.5 2
2 Ohio State 78.9 1
3 Georgia 73 7
4 North Carolina 71.08 3
5 Vanderbilt 62.5 8
6 Michigan 56.19 4
7 Texas Tech 52.12 5
8 Duke 51.69 6
9 Miami (Fla.) 47.18 21
10 Virginia 46.21 16
11 Auburn 45.69 29
12 South Carolina 42.56 12
13 Oklahoma State 41.54 10
14 Wichita State 39.56 13
15 LSU 39.46 9
16 Texas A&M 38.57 14
17 Pepperdine 36.25 11
18 Florida 36.22 15
19 Kentucky 34.81 17
20 Fresno State 34.22 22
21 Tulsa 32.56 18
22 Wake Forest 32.21 44
23 Stanford 32.08 20
24 Kansas 27.37 23
25 UCLA 26.44 27

Women's Gymnastics

Last Week: #7 UCLA finished third (196.825) against #10 Georgia and #16 Stanford.

GymInfo Team Rankings (March 7, 2016)
RANK TEAM TEAM ROS AVERAGE HIGH
1 Oklahoma 197.765 197.514 198.075
2 Florida 197.58 197.411 198.175
3 LSU 197.34 197.108 197.925
4 Alabama 197.325 196.977 197.55
5 Utah 197.105 196.897 197.525
6 Michigan 197.085 196.903 197.425
7 Auburn 196.94 196.615 197.325
8 UCLA 196.865 196.683 197.475
9 Georgia 196.82 196.366 197.525
10 Denver 196.605 196.348 197.525
11 Arkansas 196.47 196.275 197.225
12 Boise State 196.365 196.294 196.575
13 Stanford 196.305 196.15 197.4
14 California 196.29 196.033 196.9
15 Missouri 196.235 195.885 196.65
16(t) Oregon State 196.205 196.033 196.85
16(t) Nebraska 196.205 196.039 197.35
18 Iowa 196.2 195.309 196.65
19 Minnesota 196.105 195.908 197.225
20 Arizona 196.08 195.656 196.475
21 Kentucky 195.965 195.665 196.7
22 George Washington 195.905 195.725 196.6
23 Illinois-Champaign 195.765 195.57 196.525
24 Washington 195.75 195.278 196.45
25 West Virginia 195.665 195.508 196.8

Go BRUINS!

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