While the top ranked USC women have enjoyed the adoration of the AP voters from the start of the season, earning the love of the voters by the men’s team has not come easy. Picked to finish last in the SEC by the media in October, the Gamecocks have been the surprise team in the country to this point going 19-3 overall and 7-2 in the SEC.
Monday, AP voters rewarded them by voting them 15th in the top 25, an improvement of 11 spots in the voting from last week. One voter ranked the Gamecocks as high as number five. Among national basketball figures, Jon Rothstein ranked them 8th, Jeff Borzello 15th and Dick Vitale 20th. Seth Davis was one of four voters to leave the Gamecocks out of their top 25 ballot.
The Gamecocks are one of three new teams in the top 25 this week and made by far the biggest jump of all the schools. It’s their first appearance in the AP Top 25 since they were ranked 21st on February 13th, 2017.
AP Men’s Basketball Poll February 5th
| 1 | – | UConn (45)20-2 | 1509 |
| 2 | – | Purdue (16)21-2 | 1479 |
| 3 | – | North Carolina18-4 | 1352 |
| 4 | 4 | Kansas18-4 | 1322 |
| 5 | 1 | Houston19-3 | 1273 |
| 6 | 1 | Tennessee16-5 | 1211 |
| 7 | 2 | Marquette17-5 | 1173 |
| 8 | 3 | Arizona17-5 | 1077 |
| 9 | 2 | Duke16-5 | 924 |
| 10 | 4 | Illinois17-5 | 893 |
| 11 | 5 | Wisconsin16-6 | 838 |
| 12 | 4 | Auburn18-4 | 818 |
| 13 | 5 | Baylor16-5 | 730 |
| 14 | 2 | Iowa State16-5 | 700 |
| 15 | – | South Carolina19-3 | 564 |
| 16 | 8 | Alabama16-6 | 520 |
| 17 | 7 | Kentucky15-6 | 513 |
| 18 | 3 | Dayton18-3 | 493 |
| 19 | 6 | Creighton16-6 | 484 |
| 20 | – | Florida Atlantic18-4 | 431 |
| 21 | 1 | BYU16-5 | 425 |
| 22 | 5 | Utah State19-3 | 286 |
| 23 | 8 | Texas Tech16-5 | 156 |
| 24 | – | San Diego State17-5 | 141 |
| 25 | 6 | New Mexico18-4 | 123 |