Men’s and women’s basketball fall in national rankings; baseball opens at No. 9

Head coach Shaka Smart and the Texas men's basketball team fell just one spot in the Associated Press rankings after a loss to Texas Tech (photo courtesy of texassports.com).

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas men's basketball team slipped back to No. 5 in the Associated Press top 25 poll, which was announced Monday, and the women's team dropped out of the top 25 altogether following its second straight road loss to Texas Tech Sunday.

The men's team fell back a spot after losing to now-No. 12 Texas Tech Wednesday, 79-77. Head coach Shaka Smart's squad came back Saturday to take down Kansas State, 82-67.

Baylor remains at No. 2 as the Big 12's top-ranked team, though Kansas is also sitting in the top 10 at No. 9.

The women's team is unranked after beginning last week at No. 21. Sunday's 74-66 loss to Texas Tech added to what has been a rough stretch for head coach Vic Schaefer and his team, which already had fallen from No. 17 two weeks ago when West Virginia overpowered the Longhorns, 92-58 in Morgantown, W.Va.

The Texas women were listed in the "others receiving votes" category Monday, with 49 votes, the second-most after South Dakota State. Baylor, at No. 9, and Iowa State at No. 24 remain the only ranked Big 12 teams.

Meanwhile, the Texas baseball team is ranked No. 9 in D1Baseball's preseason top 25 that was released Monday.

It marked the first time in five seasons that head coach David Pierce's team had been pegged at one of the nation's top 10 ballclubs entering the season; the Horns were ranked No. 10 under then-coach Augie Garrido at the start of the 2015 season. D1Baseball's rank is the highest Texas has received this preseason; College Baseball Nation pegged the Horns at No. 12 and Collegiate Baseball slotted them at No. 20.

Riley Zayas

Riley Zayas is a high school sophomore and freelance journalist from Round Rock, Texas. He began his journalism career as a Sports Illustrated Kids reporter and has since become a regular contributor to Horns Illustrated, covering Texas Longhorn sports. His work also includes Fellowship of Christian Athletes publications, College Baseball Nation and Sports Spectrum, a national christian sports website. He currently serves as the Managing Editor of True To The Cru, covering UMHB athletics. Twitter: @ZayasRiley

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