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College basketball rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25 on March 4

john leuzzi, usa today network
·4 min read

The race for the SEC regular season title has come down to the wire as three teams remain in contention for a share of the crown, setting up some marquee matchups and games for the final week of the regular season.

In the conferences' spotlight matchup over the weekend, No. 4 Tennessee traveled down to Tuscaloosa and overcame a six-point halftime deficit by holding Alabama — one of the nation's top scoring offenses according to KenPom — to 3-for-21 shooting in the final 14:36 of its 81-74 win. The Vols' win puts Tennessee in the driver's seat to claim the outright SEC regular season crown for the first time in the Rick Barnes Era, as it takes on Kentucky and South Carolina this upcoming week.

With Alabama losing to Tennessee, No. 18 South Carolina moved into a tie for second place as it picked up wins against Texas A&M and Florida. Meechie Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles sparked a 26-12 run down the stretch for the Gamecocks after trailing by 10 points with 12 minutes to go. Johnson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43.3 seconds to go to give South Carolina its 24th overall win on the season, the fourth-most single season victories in program history.

Naismith College Coach of the Year award frontrunner Lamont Paris has his team — which was projected to finish ninth in the SEC preseason poll — back on track after a brief hiccup a few weeks ago in the form of losses to Auburn and LSU.

REQUIRED READING: What Tennessee basketball has to do to win SEC regular-season title

Elsewhere, No. 15 Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC) handled business and picked up wins over Mississippi State and Arkansas. In the Wildcats' win over the Razorbacks, coach John Calipari's squad not only saw seven different players score in double figures but also reached the 100-point scoring mark for the second time in their last three games, making Kentucky once again a team to watch in March. No. 11 Auburn and No. 24 Florida each picked up a win on the week as well.

The SEC regular-season champion race could result in a five-team tie at 13-5 if the following happens this week:

  • Tennessee loses to both Kentucky and South Carolina

  • Alabama beats either Florida or Arkansas

  • South Carolina loses to Mississippi State

  • Auburn beats both Missouri and Georgia

  • Kentucky beats both Tennessee and Vanderbilt

REQUIRED READING: Tennessee basketball moves up to No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament with Alabama win

But before this week's games are played out, here's how last week's games impacted the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll:

College basketball rankings for March 4

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

SEC teams in bolded. First-place votes in parentheses.

1. Houston, 26-3 (28)

2. UConn, 26-3 (3)

3. Purdue, 26-3 (1)

4. Tennessee, 23-6

5. Arizona, 23-6

6. Iowa State, 23-6

7. North Carolina, 23-6

8. Duke, 23-6

9. Marquette, 22-7

10. Creighton, 22-8

11. Baylor, 21-8

12. Illinois, 22-7

13. Kentucky, 21-8

14. Auburn, 22-7

15. Kansas, 21-8

16. South Carolina, 24-5

17. Alabama, 20-9

18. Gonzaga, 24-6

19. San Diego State, 22-7

20. Washington State, 23-7

21. Saint Mary's, 24-7

22. Utah State, 24-5

23. BYU, 21-8

24. South Florida, 22-5

25. Florida, 20-9

Others receiving votes: Dayton 31; Texas Tech 24; Nevada 24; Boise State 16; Appalachian State 13; James Madison 10; Oklahoma 8; Northwestern 7; Indiana State 5; Clemson 5; TCU 4; Wake Forest 3 and Nebraska 1

AP Top 25 Poll

SEC teams in bolded. First-place votes in parentheses.

1. Houston, 26-3 (52)

2. UConn, 26-3 (6)

3. Purdue, 26-3 (4)

4. Tennessee, 23-6

5. Arizona, 23-6

6. Iowa State, 23-6

7. North Carolina, 23-6

8. Marquette, 22-7

9. Duke, 23-6

10. Creighton, 22-8

11. Baylor, 21-8

12. Illinois, 22-7

13. Auburn, 22-7

14. Kansas, 21-8

15. Kentucky, 21-8

16. Alabama, 20-9

17. South Carolina, 24-5

18. Washington State, 23-7

19. Gonzaga, 24-6

20. BYU, 21-8

21. San Diego State, 22-7

22. Utah State, 24-5

23. Saint Mary's, 24-7

24. South Florida, 22-5

25. Dayton, 22-6

Other's receiving votes: Nevada 42; Florida 39; Boise State 26; Texas 10; Indiana State 9; Appalachian State 6; New Mexico 5; FAU 4; James Madison 4; Princeton 3; Michigan State 2; Villanova 2; Colorado State 2; McNeese 2 and Richmond 1

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: College basketball rankings: SEC teams in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25