BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball team, after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina, was recognized for its season-long performance by being moved up three slots from 20th to 17th in the final ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll of 2009.
The Tigers picked up 31 more points from the final poll of the regular season when LSU was 20th to finish at 17 in the voting. North Carolina was the unanimous No. 1 choice after winning the championship Monday night in Detroit.
LSU, the regular season winners in the Southeastern Conference with a 13-3 record, finished with a 27-8 overall record after advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament and then defeating No. 25 Butler in a matchup of ranked teams, 75-71, in the first round in Greensboro, N.C. LSU lost to North Carolina, 84-70 in the second round.
The Tigers of SEC Coach of the Year Trent Johnson was the only ranked team in the final poll with Tennessee receiving votes.
ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (31) 32-4 775
2. Michigan State 30-6 743
3. Connecticut 31-4 705
4. Villanova 30-7 669
5. Louisville 31-6 646
6. Pittsburgh 31-5 630
7. Oklahoma 30-6 575
8. Missouri 31-7 563
9. Memphis 33-4 522
10. Kansas 27-8 481
11. Duke 30-7 459
12. Syracuse 28-10 405
13. Gonzaga 28-6 393
14. Purdue 27-10 362
15. Xavier 27-8 361
16. Washington 26-9 260
17. LSU 27-8 233
18. UCLA 26-9 204
19. Arizona State 25-10 200
20. Wake Forest 24-7 170
21. Marquette 25-10 160
22. Florida State 25-10 130
23. Texas 23-12 71
24. Arizona 21-14 60
25. Butler 26-6 47
Others Receiving Votes
Clemson 42, USC 39, Siena 37, Oklahoma State 24, Dayton 17, Utah State 15, Illinois 14, Penn State 14, Western Kentucky 11, Tennessee 8, West Virginia 7, Maryland 6, Michigan 5, Texas A&M 4, Ohio State 3, Saint Mary’s 3, Cleveland State 1, Utah 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Clemson 21, Utah State 25.