March 17, 2008
After claiming its first-ever Big 12 Tournament title in Kansas City over the weekend, the Texas A&M women?â„¢s basketball team continues to make history as the Aggies were rewarded for their school-record tying 26-7 season with a program-best No. 8 national ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Monday.
The red-hot Aggies received the league?â„¢s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will head into postseason play having won 13 of its last 14 games and nine straight. A&M previously finished a school-record No. 16 in last year?â„¢s final AP Poll. The Aggies also climbed three spots to No. 9 in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll released on Monday. It also marked a program-best national ranking. The final Coaches Poll will be released after the completion of the 2008 Women?â„¢s Final Four in April.
?Our final national ranking is an accumulation of three years of hard work,? Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair said. ?We are finally living up to the eliteness that people have expected of us all year. The difference now is that we are expecting it of ourselves. I am excited for our program and hopefully, we have made this next step. A lot of teams are ranked in November, but they disappear in February and March. Teams win in March when they have very good senior leadership and they are happy, healthy and hungry. We are all of the three.?
A&M was the highest-ranked Big 12 school in both national polls ahead of Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Kansas State. The Aggies tied for third-place in the final league standings with an 11-5 regular-season mark. Their highest national ranking was previously No. 10 in both the AP and Coaches Polls during the regular season on Nov. 27, 2006 and Dec. 18, 2007.
FINAL ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (30-1)
2. North Carolina (30-2)
3. Tennessee (30-2)
4. Stanford (29-3)
5. Maryland (30-3)
6. LSU (27-5)
7. Rutgers (24-6)
8. Texas A&M (23-7)
9. Duke (23-9)
10. California (26-5)
11. Old Dominion (26-4)
12. Baylor (24-5)
13. Oklahoma State (23-6)
14. Oklahoma (21-7)
15. Notre Dame (23-8)
16. Kansas State (21-8)
17. West Virginia (24-6)
18. Utah (27-3)
19. Louisville (23-8)
20. George Washington (25-6)
21. Vanderbilt (23-8)
22. Marist (31-2)
23. UTEP (27-3)
24. Virginia (23-9)
25. Ohio State (22-8)
USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES TOP 25 POLL
1. Connecticut (32-1)
2. North Carolina (30-2)
3. Tennessee (30-2)
4. Stanford (30-3)
5. LSU (27-5)
6. Maryland (30-3)
7. Rutgers (24-6)
8. California (26-6)
9. Texas A&M (26-7)
10. Duke (23-9)
11. Baylor (24-6)
12. Old Dominion (29-4)
13. Oklahoma (21-8)
14. Oklahoma State (25-7)
15. Kansas State
16. George Washington
17. Utah (27-4)
18. West Virginia (24-7)
19. Notre Dame (23-8)
20. Vanderbilt (23-8)
21. Louisville (24-9)
22. Marist (31-2)
23. Virginia (23-9)
24. Georgia (22-9)
25. UTEP (27-3)