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This is an unusual feeling as a modern Cal fan. But with only one week remaining in the regular season and two weeks until March Madness, the California Golden Bears are back in the top 25. After falling out of the rankings in January due to their slow start in conference play, Cal is currently situated at 25th in both the AP and the Coaches Poll after going 7 for 7 in February.
The Bears are riding a seven game win streak into the desert and have been blowing their opposition away. It's the soft part of the schedule, but aside from a close call against Washington, Cal has been destroying the opposition, winning the other six games by double digits while sporting a point differential of +14.3 during that stretch. I'm surprised Cal didn't leap higher this week (19-10 Texas is ahead of us???), but the Bears can control if they stay there.
If Cal can play a close game against Arizona but win decisively against Arizona State, I expect the Bears will maintain their top 25 ranking going into the Pac-12 tournament, and with a solid showing can finish the regular season with their first top 25 ranking since 2003.
AP Top 25
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (63) | 25-4 | 1,623 |
| 2 | Michigan State (2) | 24-5 | 1,510 |
| 3 | Villanova | 25-4 | 1,479 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 1,405 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 1,356 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 1,297 |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | 23-5 | 1,211 |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 1,205 |
| 9 | Oregon | 23-6 | 1,065 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 1,056 |
| 11 | Louisville | 22-7 | 822 |
| 12 | Indiana | 23-6 | 819 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 751 |
| 14 | Maryland | 23-6 | 733 |
| 15 | Purdue | 22-7 | 613 |
| 16 | Iowa | 20-8 | 572 |
| 17 | Duke | 21-8 | 495 |
| 18 | Arizona | 22-7 | 450 |
| 19 | Baylor | 21-8 | 447 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 419 |
| 21 | Iowa State | 20-9 | 413 |
| 22 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 405 |
| 23 | Texas | 19-10 | 338 |
| 24 | SMU | 24-4 | 196 |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 178 |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 93, Seton Hall 60, Wichita St 43, Saint Joseph's 29, Notre Dame 14, Texas Tech 12, Cincinnati 4, Vanderbilt 3, Saint Mary's 3, Arkansas-Little Rock 2, Valparaiso 2, Dayton 1, Stephen F. Austin 1 | |||
| Dropped out: Notre Dame 23. | |||
USA TODAY Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV | HI/LOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas (31) | 25-4 | 799 | 2 | 1/7 |
| 2 | Villanova | 25-4 | 734 | 1 | 1/17 |
| 3 | Michigan St (1) | 24-5 | 733 | 7 | 1/13 |
| 4 | Virginia | 22-6 | 673 | 3 | 3/13 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25-4 | 637 | 5 | 4/NR |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-6 | 623 | 4 | 1/8 |
| 7 | Miami-Florida | 23-5 | 607 | 11 | 9/NR |
| 8 | North Carolina | 23-6 | 584 | 6 | 1/11 |
| 9 | West Virginia | 22-7 | 518 | 12 | 7/23 |
| 10 | Oregon | 23-6 | 510 | 13 | 12/NR |
| 11 | Indiana | 23-6 | 434 | 15 | 14/NR |
| 12 | Maryland | 23-6 | 405 | 9 | 2/9 |
| 13 | Purdue | 22-7 | 330 | 19 | 8/24 |
| 13 | Utah | 23-7 | 330 | 23 | 16/NR |
| 15 | Iowa | 20-8 | 321 | 8 | 4/NR |
| 16 | Arizona | 22-7 | 307 | 10 | 6/20 |
| 17 | Baylor | 21-8 | 288 | 16 | 13/25 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 22-7 | 261 | 21 | 5/NR |
| 19 | Kentucky | 21-8 | 226 | 14 | 1/21 |
| 20 | Iowa St. | 20-9 | 221 | 17 | 2/21 |
| 21 | Duke | 21-8 | 211 | 18 | 3/NR |
| 22 | Texas | 19-10 | 187 | 25 | 25/NR |
| 23 | Wichita St. | 23-7 | 68 | 28 | 11/NR |
| 24 | St. Mary's | 24-4 | 61 | 27 | 25/NR |
| 25 | California | 21-8 | 58 | 32 | 13/NR |
| Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 52; Notre Dame 42; Seton Hall 39; Texas Tech 36; Providence 28; St. Joseph?s 17; Pittsburgh 17; South Carolina 16; Dayton 14; Valparaiso 6; St. Bonaventure 4; Colorado 2; Arkansas-Little Rock 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: SNo. 20 Notre Dame, No. 22 Dayton, No. 24 Providence. | |||||