Notre Dame not present in initial USA Today men’s basketball coaches poll

Notre Dame guard Matt Allocco speaks with media during Notre Dame men’s basketball’s media day at Purcell Pavilion on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in South Bend.

It’s perhaps not surprising that a Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball squad that was 13-20 overall in 2023-2024 isn’t in the top 25 in the initial USA Today coaches poll.

The Irish didn’t receive any top 25 votes at all.

With Notre Dame in a rebuilding mode, this obviously makes sense. And while the initial poll is something that hoops heads pay close attention to, no one has hit a shot that counts yet. The poll will obviously change throughout the season, and it will be a lot more important in late February than it is now.

The top five are Kansas, Alabama, defending champion Connecticut, Houston and Duke.

While Notre Dame is in a rebuilding mode, perhaps the Irish will improve enough to be in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth. At the very least, CBS thinks they’re worth showcasing against North Carolina.

Rank

School

Last Year’s Record

Points

1

Kansas

23-11

743 (15)

2

Alabama

25-12

718 (6)

3

Connecticut

37-3

717 (6)

4

Houston

32-5

698 (4)

5

Duke

27-9

625

6

Iowa State

29-8

591

7

Gonzaga

27-8

575

8

Baylor

24-11

545

9

Arizona

27-9

510

10

North Carolina

29-8

498

11

Auburn

27-8

465

12

Tennessee

27-9

437

13

Purdue

34-5

390

14

Creighton

25-10

342

15

Texas A&M

21-15

332

16

Arkansas

16-17

272

17

Marquette

27-10

268

18

Indiana

19-14

208

19

Texas

21-13

166

20

Cincinnati

22-15

163

21

Florida

24-12

130

22

UCLA

16-17

123

23

Kentucky

23-10

95

24

Illinois

29-9

87

25

Mississippi

20-12

66

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame not present in initial USA Today men’s basketball coaches poll

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-not-present-initial-164608269.html

Author : Fighting Irish Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-23 16:46:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.