Men's Basketball Ranked 11th in Final AP Poll
3/18/2024 12:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton earns second-best AP year-end ranking in program history
OMAHA, Neb. --Â The Creighton men's basketball team will enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 11th in the nation by the Associated Press and in the USA Today Coaches poll. The Bluejays are also 11th in the NET entering the postseason and 15th in the KPI.
This week marks the final Associated Press poll of the season, and the No. 11 ranking marks the seventh time in program history that Creighton ends the year in the Top 25. The Bluejays were No. 7 in the 2019-20 poll (when COVID-19 canceled the NCAA Tournament), as well as No. 15 (2002-03), No. 16 (2013-14), No. 19 (2011-12 and 2020-21) and No. 22 (2012-13).
It's the 19th time in 20 polls this season that Creighton has been included in both the AP and Coaches rankings. Creighton's NET ranking is its best at the end of the regular-season since also being 11th in 2019-20, though that postseason was canceled due to COVID-19.
Creighton lost its lone game last week, falling 78-73 to Providence in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP.
Creighton's best AP ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022). CU owns 29 weeks in the AP Top 10 in its history, with all but one of those recognitions coming during Greg McDermott's tenure. Creighton's best AP rank this year was eighth, done four times.
Including today's ranking, Creighton has now been ranked by the AP 140 times in program history, with 113 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 173-72 all-time as a ranked team, including a 139-60 figure under McDermott. Creighton has been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton is one of three BIG EAST Conference schools in the top 25, joining No. 1 Connecticut and No. 8 Marquette. The top five teams in the AP poll are Connecticut, Houston, Purdue, Iowa State and North Carolina.
Creighton is also one of five schools in the country with both its men's and women's teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Gonzaga and South Carolina.
Creighton (23-9) returns to the court on later this week when it opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Central in Pittsburgh, Pa., against Akron (24-10).
Associated Press Top 25
March 18, 2024
Rk   School   W-L    PTS
1Â Â Â Connecticut (61)Â Â Â 31-3Â Â Â 1549
2Â Â Â Houston (1)Â Â Â 30-4Â Â Â 1460
3   Purdue   29-4   1436
4   Iowa State   27-7   1342
5   North Carolina   27-7   1325
6   Tennessee   24-8   1158
7   Auburn   27-7   1096
8   Marquette   25-9   1082
9   Arizona   25-8   1080
10   Illinois   26-8   1040
11   Creighton   23-9   920
12   Kentucky   23-9   866
13   Duke   24-8   834
14   Baylor   23-10   806
15   Saint Mary's   26-7   568
16   South Carolina   26-7   527
17   Kansas   22-10   445
18   Gonzaga   25-7   413
19   Alabama   21-11   380
20   Utah State   27-6   346
21Â Â Â BYUÂ Â Â 23-10Â Â Â 310
22   Texas Tech   23-10   205
23   Wisconsin   22-13   175
24   San Diego State   24-10   158
25   Washington State   24-9   138
Others receiving votes: New Mexico 134, Florida 120, Nevada 51, NC State 36, James Madison 31, Dayton 27, Drake 26, Oregon 12, Colorado 10, Nebraska 7, Texas 7, Boise State 6, McNeese State 6, Clemson 5, Mississippi State 5, South Florida 3, Colorado State 3, FAU 2.
USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll
March 17, 2024
Rk   School   W-L    PTS
1Â Â Â UConn (32)Â Â Â 31-3Â Â Â 800
2   Houston   30-4   752
3   Purdue   29-4   740
4   Iowa State   27-7   697
5   North Carolina   27-7   672
6   Tennessee   24-8   595
7   Auburn   27-7   573
8   Marquette   25-9   560
9   Arizona   25-8   544
10   Illinois   26-8   508
11   Creighton   23-9   506
12   Kentucky   23-9   415
13   Baylor   23-10   411
14   Duke   24-8   400
15   Saint Mary's   26-7   297
16   Gonzaga   25-7   220
17   South Carolina   26-7   218
18   Alabama   21-11   197
19   Utah State   27-6   193
20   Kansas   22-10   188
21Â Â Â BYUÂ Â Â 23-10Â Â Â 182
22   Texas Tech   23-10   134
23   Florida   24-11   130
24   Wisconsin   22-13   110
25   San Diego State   24-10   74
Others receiving votes: New Mexico 68; Washington State 63; James Madison 30; Dayton 30; Nevada 29; Drake 29; Nebraska 12; North Carolina State 11; Colorado 4; Indiana State 2; Boise State 2; Pittsburgh 1; Michigan State 1; McNeese State 1; Grand Canyon 1;
