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The Connecticut Huskies climbed to the top of the rankings by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 in the championship game. Shabazz Napier contributed 20 points en route to bookend championships in both his freshman and senior seasons. Kevin Ollie, in his first NCAA tournament as head coach, was instrumental in preparing and coaching the Huskies to victory.
As is often the case, guard play was a deciding factor in the tournament and the championship. Napier, Niels Giffey and Ryan Boatright combined for 46 of the Huskies 60 points on Monday night. Andrew and Aaron Harrison along with James Young scored 35 of Kentucky's 54 points.
San Diego State finished at No. 12 in the poll and is the lone representative from the Mountain West Conference. They knocked off New Mexico State and North Dakota State before losing to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen. New Mexico's early loss to Stanford bounced them out of the final poll.
USA Today Coaches Poll Final
| Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Prev | Hi/Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut Huskies (30) | 32-8 | 791 | 19 | 10/NR |
| 2 | Kentucky Wildcats (1) | 29-11 | 759 | 22 | 1/NR |
| 3 | Florida Gators | 36-3 | 735 | 1 | 1/19 |
| 4 | Wisconsin Badgers | 30-8 | 704 | 15 | 3/24 |
| 5 | Arizona Wildcats | 33-5 | 637 | 5 | 1/5 |
| 6 | Michigan Wolverines | 28-9 | 594 | 8 | 8/NR |
| 7 | Wichita State Shockers (1) | 35-1 | 583 | 2 | 2/16/2014 |
| 8 | Michigan State Spartans | 29-9 | 553 | 13 | 1/22/2014 |
| 9 | Louisville Cardinals | 31-6 | 545 | 3 | 2/14/2014 |
| 10 | Virginia Cavaliers | 30-7 | 539 | 4 | 4/NR |
| 11 | Iowa State Cyclones | 28-8 | 457 | 9 | 7/NR |
| 12 | San Diego State Aztecs | 31-5 | 453 | 11 | 5/NR |
| 13 | Villanova Wildcats | 29-5 | 367 | 7 | 3/NR |
| 14 | Kansas Jayhawks | 25-10 | 341 | 10 | 2/20/2014 |
| 15 | UCLA Bruins | 28-9 | 297 | 23 | 17/NR |
| 16 | Duke Blue Devils | 26-9 | 276 | 6 | 4/20/2014 |
| 17 | Syracuse Orange | 28-6 | 263 | 12 | 1/12/2014 |
| 18 | Baylor Bears | 26-12 | 246 | NR | 9/NR |
| 18 | Dayton Flyers | 26-11 | 246 | NR | -- |
| 20 | Creighton Bluejays | 27-8 | 190 | 16 | 10/NR |
| 21 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 24-10 | 156 | 18 | 11/NR |
| 22 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 27-7 | 126 | 14 | 7/NR |
| 23 | Tennessee Volunteers | 24-13 | 122 | NR | -- |
| 24 | Stanford Cardinal | 23-13 | 104 | NR | -- |
| 25 | Saint Louis Billikens | 27-7 | 75 | 21 | 8/NR |
| Others Receiving Votes New Mexico 50; Oklahoma 33; Memphis 23; Harvard 21; Ohio State 21; Oregon 14; Texas 12; Virginia Commonwealth 11; Pittsburgh 10; Gonzaga 10; St. Joseph's 9; Stephen F. Austin 7; Southern Methodist 7; Minnesota 7; Florida State 4; Clemson 1; North Dakota State 1. | |||||