The strength of the Big Ten this season is its top-end teams and their strong finish to the regular-season. The result of that in the updated Coaches Poll on Monday is that three of the teams from the conference own spots in the top five, with Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois ranking Nos. 3, 4 and 5.
It also has representation throughout the poll as well with Iowa ranking 14th and Wisconsin 21st.
The Big 12 also has an impressive turnout in the poll with Baylor once again coming in at No. 2 and Oklahoma moving into the top 10 at No. 10. Texas Tech, Texas and West Virginia are ranked 11th, 13th and 15th, while Oklahoma State stayed at No. 22 and Kansas -- after a one-week stint out of the rankings -- jumped back in.
The Jayhawks lost four of their final five games to close January but are 4-1 in the month of February and riding a three-game winning streak that includes two wins over Iowa State and a win over Oklahoma State.
Coaches Poll
The top 25 teams in the USA Today college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga | 20-0 | 796 | 1 |
| 2 | Baylor | 17-0 | 772 | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan | 14-1 | 734 | 3 |
| 4 | Ohio St. | 17-4 | 680 | 5 |
| 5 | Illinois | 14-5 | 600 | 6 |
| 5 | Houston | 17-2 | 600 | 7 |
| 7 | Villanova | 13-3 | 573 | 4 |
| 8 | Virginia | 15-3 | 559 | 9 |
| 9 | Alabama | 17-5 | 521 | 11 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 13-5 | 493 | 12 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 14-6 | 412 | 8 |
| 12 | Creighton | 16-5 | 407 | 17 |
| 13 | Texas | 13-5 | 400 | 13 |
| 14 | Iowa | 15-6 | 388 | 16 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 14-6 | 360 | 14 |
| 16 | Florida State | 11-3 | 342 | 19 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech | 14-4 | 316 | 17 |
| 18 | Southern California | 17-3 | 284 | 20 |
| 19 | Missouri | 13-5 | 246 | 10 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 14-5 | 191 | 15 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 15-7 | 123 | 21 |
| 22 | Oklahoma State | 13-6 | 109 | 22 |
| 23 | Loyola-Chicago | 18-4 | 77 | 23 |
| 24 | Kansas | 15-7 | 54 | NR |
| 25 | Oregon | 12-4 | 52 | NR |
Also receiving votes: San Diego State 45; Louisville 41; Arkansas 32; Rutgers 28; Belmont 28; Purdue 23; Drake 19; Clemson 16; Florida 15; UCLA 13; Colorado 13; LSU 12; Utah State 7; Seton Hall 5; Winthrop 4; Colorado State 3; St. John's 2; Saint Louis 2; Boise St. 2; Xavier 1.
