ESPN/USA TODAY POLL
December 13, 1998
The Top Twenty Five teams in the USA Today/ESPN college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 13, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Points | Previous | |
| 1. Connecticut (26) | 8-0 | 745 | 1 |
| 2. DUKE (3) | 9-1 | 714 | 3 |
| 3. Cincinnati | 6-0 | 665 | 4 |
| 4. Kentucky (1) | 9-1 | 644 | 5 |
| 5. Maryland | 10-1 | 638 | 2 |
| 6. North Carolina | 10-1 | 569 | 6 |
| 7. Stanford | 5-2 | 561 | 7 |
| 8. Purdue | 10-1 | 537 | 9 |
| 9. Arizona | 4-0 | 503 | 10 |
| 10. Indiana | 10-2 | 454 | 11 |
| 11. Kansas | 6-2 | 419 | 8 |
| 12. New Mexico | 6-0 | 368 | 15 |
| 13. UCLA | 5-2 | 361 | 16 |
| 14. Michigan State | 6-3 | 344 | 13 |
| 15. St. John's | 8-2 | 334 | 20 |
| 16. Clemson | 8-1 | 320 | 19 |
| 17. Oklahoma State | 5-2 | 210 | 21 |
| 18. Auburn | 9-0 | 163 | 24 |
| 19. Pittsburgh | 7-4 | 145 | 18 |
| 20. Syracuse | 7-3 | 137 | 12 |
| 21. (tie) Minnesota | 6-0 | 128 | - |
| 21. (tie) Temple | 4-4 | 128 | 14 |
| 23. Arkansas | 6-2 | 111 | 23 |
| 24. Wisconsin | 9-1 | 96 | - |
| 25. (tie) Tennessee | 6-3 | 56 | 25 |
|
25. (tie) Washington |
4-3 | 56 | 17 |