Tigers drop three spots in AP poll

(USA Today Sports-Joshua S. Kelly)

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Mon Feb 26 13:09:32 GMT-04:00 2018

Clemson dropped three spots in the AP Top 25 and one in the Coaches Poll after splitting games with Virginia Tech (65-58 road loss) and Georgia Tech (75-67 home win) last week.

The Tigers are now No. 18 in both the AP and Coaches rankings going into the final week of the ACC regular-season.

Brad Brownell's group will host Florida State on Wednesday (9 p.m./ESPNU) and then go to Syracuse (2 p.m./ACC Network).

The ACC Tournament begins next Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, where Clemson is projected to start play next Wednesday as a 5-seed.

The latest NCAA Tournament mocks have Clemson as a 4-seed on average, although ESPN projects the Tigers as a 5-seed in the East Region in a pod with regular-season opponent Ohio State.

AP Top 25 - 2/26

Rnk Team Record Pts Prv

1. Virginia (48) 26-2 1608 1

2. Michigan St. (17) 28-3 1571 2

3. Xavier 25-4 1422 4

4. Villanova 25-4 1416 3

5. Duke 24-5 1362 5

6. Kansas 23-6 1272 8

7. Gonzaga 27-4 1231 6

8. Purdue 26-5 1178 9

9. North Carolina 22-7 1140 10

10. Cincinnati 25-4 1013 11

11. Wichita St. 23-5 945 13

12. Texas Tech 22-7 887 6

13. Ohio St. 24-7 791 16

14. Auburn 24-5 781 12

15. Michigan 24-7 753 17

16. Tennessee 21-7 564 19

17. Rhode Island 23-4 558 18

18. Clemson 21-7 499 15

19. Arizona 22-7 450 14

20. West Virginia 21-8 429 21

21. Nevada 25-5 386 20

22. Saint Mary's (Cal) 27-4 318 22

23. Kentucky 20-9 174 -

24. Middle Tennessee 23-5 144 24

25. Houston 22-6 45 23

Others receiving votes: TCU 41, Butler 34, St. Bonaventure 29, NC State 28, Creighton 26, Loyola of Chicago 8, Southern Cal 7, Florida St. 4, Seton Hall 3, Arkansas 3, Virginia Tech 2, Oklahoma 1, Florida 1, Boise St. 1.

Coaches Poll - 2/26

RANK TEAM RECORD

1 Virginia 26-2

2 Michigan St 28-3

3 Duke 24-5

4 Xavier 25-4

5 Villanova 25-4

6 Kansas 23-6

7 Gonzaga 27-4

8 Purdue 26-5

9 North Carolina 22-7

10 Cincinnati 25-4

11 Wichita St. 23-5

12 Texas Tech 22-7

13 Michigan 24-7

14 Ohio St 24-7

15 Auburn 24-5

16 Rhode Island 23-4

17 Tennessee 21-7

18 Clemson 21-7

19 West Virginia 21-8

20 St. Mary's 16-2

21 Nevada 25-5

22 Arizona 22-7

23 Middle Tennessee St. 23-5

24 Creighton 20-9

25 Kentucky 20-9

Schools Dropped Out

No. 23 Houston, No. 25 Arizona State.

Others Receiving Votes

Houston 51; Arizona State 22; TCU 17; Butler 14; Virginia Tech 12; North Carolina State 10; Florida 10; Nebraska 8; New Mexico State 7; Florida State 7; Loyola (Ill.) 7; Miami (Fla.) 6; St. Bonaventure 6; Oklahoma 4; Louisiana-Lafayette 3; Arkansas 2; Seton Hall 2; Texas A&M 2.