USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll: New No. 1, Clemson outside looking in

Clemson basketball faced its toughest test of the 2025-26 schedule, and came within striking distance of a victory.

The Tigers fell in a 90-84 loss to the 12th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but the loss was not without its promise. For starters, Clemson (7-2) erased a 19-point deficit to claw ahead of Nate Oats’ high-scoring team in the game’s final eight minutes.

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A 9-1 Alabama run gave the Tide the win in front of their home crowd.

How Clemson responds to the loss to Alabama will be interesting because they don’t have another ranked opponent or chance at a Quad 1 victory on their nonconference schedule.

The Tigers travel to Madison Square Garden in New York for the Jimmy V Classic and a matchup against the 10th-ranked BYU Cougars Tuesday. In the meantime, there’s a new No. 1 across college basketball.

Is Clemson ranked in Week 6 USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll?

Clemson is unranked in the Week 6 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, but the Tigers received seven votes for top 25 consideration.

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Led by Duke at No. 3, the ACC has four teams ranked in the top 25. Louisville slipped five spots to No. 11 after its first loss of the season. North Carolina rose two spots to No. 15 in the poll after its win against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, and No. 25 Virginia entered the rankings for the first time the season after improving to 8-1.

New No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll

Yaxel Lendeborg of Michigan reacts after dunking against Gonzaga in the championship game of the Players Era Championship basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The Wolverines are No. 1 in this week’s Coaches Poll. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)

The full Week 6 top 25 rankings in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll are below.

Rank

Team

Record

PTS

1st

Prev

Chg

Hi/Lo

1

Michigan

8-0

755

17

2

+1

1/7

2

Arizona

8-0

742

11

3

+1

2/13

3

Duke

10-0

723

2

4

+1

3/5

4

Iowa State

9-0

651

1

9

+5

4/18

5

UConn

8-1

628

0

5

–

3/7

6

Purdue

8-1

617

0

1

-5

1/6

7

Gonzaga

9-1

565

0

11

+4

7/20

8

Houston

8-1

547

0

7

-1

2/8

9

Michigan…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/usa-today-sports-coaches-poll-225941695.html

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Publish date : 2025-12-08 22:59:00

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