Missouri basketball ranked 24th; Clarkson is SEC player of the week
Missouri entered the Associated Press college basketball poll Monday at No. 24. The Tigers, 9-0, beat UCLA on Saturday, dropping the Bruins from 18th to out of the poll.
Also Monday, Missouri’s Jordan Clarkson was chosen Southeastern Conference men’s basketball player of the week for the second time this season. Clarkson, a junior guard, has scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games. He was also chosen national player of the week by College Sports Madness.
MU’s next game is at 6 p.m. Sunday vs. Western Michigan at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Arizona, 9-0, is the new No. 1 team, moving up one spot and getting 63 of the 65 first-place votes. Syracuse got the other two first-place votes and is second, followed by Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Four Big 12 teams (No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 13 Kansas, No. 14 Baylor and No. 17 Iowa State) are ranked. Three SEC teams are ranked (No. 11 Kentucky, No. 19 Florida and Missouri).
| Team (first-place votes) | W-L | Pts | Prv |
| 1. Arizona (63) | 9-0 | 1,623 | 2 |
| 2. Syracuse (2) | 9-0 | 1,522 | 4 |
| 3. Ohio State | 8-0 | 1,453 | 5 |
| 4. Wisconsin | 10-0 | 1,318 | 8 |
| 5. Michigan State | 7-1 | 1,311 | 1 |
| 6. Louisville | 8-1 | 1,262 | 7 |
| 7. Oklahoma State | 8-1 | 1,160 | 9 |
| 8. Duke | 7-2 | 1,040 | 10 |
| 9. Connecticut | 9-0 | 981 | 12 |
| 10. Villanova | 9-0 | 938 | 14 |
| 11. Kentucky | 7-2 | 926 | 3 |
| 12. Wichita State | 9-0 | 884 | 11 |
| 13. Kansas | 6-2 | 862 | 6 |
| 14. Baylor | 8-1 | 843 | 20 |
| 15. Oregon | 8-0 | 831 | 13 |
| 16. Memphis | 6-1 | 768 | 16 |
| 17. Iowa State | 7-0 | 606 | 17 |
| 18. North Carolina | 6-2 | 450 | — |
| 19. Florida | 6-2 | 434 | 15 |
| 20. Gonzaga | 8-1 | 365 | 19 |
| 21. Colorado | 9-1 | 330 | — |
| 22. Massachusetts | 8-0 | 326 | 21 |
| 23. Iowa | 9-1 | 207 | 23 |
| 24. Missouri | 9-0 | 203 | — |
| 25. San Diego State | 7-1 | 159 | 24 |
This story was originally published December 9, 2013 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Missouri basketball ranked 24th; Clarkson is SEC player of the week."