If trends continue, Louisville might not enjoy their newfound No. 2 ranking for very long. For the fifth-straight week there is a new school following up Akron in the NSCAAA rankings and the undefeated Cardinals will try and break the string of No. 2 schools losing their first week in the runner up spot. The Zips, as they have in every poll so far this season, retain the top spot with all 23 first-place votes. North Carolina are up one spot to No. 3 followed by ACC rivals Maryland. Connecticut is down three spots to round out the top five.
Butler was rewarded for its last perfect record in Division I with a promotion into the top ten, landing at No. 9. Tulsa tumbled nine spots to No. 14 and is trying desperately to find some consistency after losing three of its last four.
Four teams, San Diego State, James Madison, Colgate and St. John's, fell out of the rankings and are replaced by Charlotte, Loyola Marymount and College of Charleston. Only three teams moved in because a tie for the No. 25 spot resulted in 26 teams being ranked last week.
Check out the complete Top 25 after the jump
NSCAA TOP 25
1. Akron (23) 575 (9-0-1)
2. Louisville 550 (8-0-2)
3. North Carolina 531 (8-2-0)
4. Maryland 494 (7-2-1)
5. Connecticut 481 (8-1-2)
6. Virginia 465 (8-2-1)
7. Southern Methodist 459 (11-1-0)
8. UC Irvine 451 (10-1-1)
9. Butler 393 (10-0-0)
10. California 366 (7-1-2)
11. Creighton 338 (8-2-0)
12. Monmouth 333 (8-1-1)
13. UCLA 313 (8-2-1)
14. Tulsa 284 (7-3-0)
15. Brown 260 (7-1-2)
16. Ohio State 173 (6-3-2)
17. Pennsylvania 167 (8-2-0)
18. Boston College 165 (5-2-3)
19. Duke 164 (5-2-4)
20. South Carolina 147 (6-3-1)
21. Michigan State 77 (8-3-0)
22. South Florida 71 (6-2-3)
23. Charlotte 68 (7-4-0)
24. Loyola Marymount 64 (8-3-1)
25. College of Charleston 60 (8-2-1
Also receiving votes: Penn State 58, Michigan 43, San Diego State 25, Portland 25, Princeton 23, Florida Gulf Coast 20, Central Florida 14, West Virginia 11, Old Dominion 10, Colgate 9, UNC-Wilmington 7, Cal State Bakersfield 6, Drake 5, St. John's 4, Indiana 4, Towson 3, UAB 2, Sacred Heart 2, Washington 1
The SEC is one of the most prominent conferences that does not have men’s college soccer. South Carolina and Kentucky play in C-USA in that case (since 2005)
The 10 opponents who they have played would disagree. People said the same thing about their basketball team, just before they were a shot away from winning the national championship. Butler Soccer = Boise State Football. They can beat any team on any given day. The Bulldogs will be a contender in the tournament, and don’t be surprised if they win it all. You heard it here first.
They were there, weren’t they? They play in a really tough conference… wouldn’t be surprised if they got an at-large bid with an even decent performance through the rest of the season.
Butler. Is. Not. That. Good.
We’re going to go over this every week until they get crushed in the NCAA Tournament. 🙂
Thanks for keeping up with the college game Boschini, Ives, and co. I used to hate on these pages because my state school doesn’t have a men’s ncaa team – just club, but I always end up reading these pages. I still believe the Texas’, LSUs, OUs, Floridas, Arkansas, and other major American Football programs in the south and southeast (SEC and Big 12 particularly) should sport soccer teams. I think it would really help the development, fan base, and exposure of the game if theses universities had scholarships.
Could you guys run a story on the major conferences that do and don’t have programs or something of the sort? Thanks again guys.
SDSU will crack the top 25, just wait for it…….
Finally, some respect for Butler. They have the best record in the nation and deserve to be in the top 10. Keep it up Bulldogs! Go for perfection!