ESPN/USA TODAY POLL
December 20, 1998
The Top Twenty Five teams in the USA Today/ESPN college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 20, 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 (2) | 10-1 | 706 | 2 |
| 3. Cincinnati (2) | 9-0 | 681 | 3 |
| 4. Kentucky | 10-1 | 665 | 4 |
| 5. Maryland | 11-1 | 637 | 5 |
| 6. North Carolina | 12-1 | 563 | 6 |
| 7. Stanford | 7-2 | 562 | 7 |
| 8. Purdue | 11-1 | 530 | 8 |
| 9 Arizona | 6-0 | 510 | 9 |
| 10. Indiana | 11-2 | 460 | 10 |
| 11. Kansas | 8-2 | 425 | 11 |
| 12. UCLA | 6-2 | 378 | 13 |
| 13. New Mexico | 7-0 | 377 | 12 |
| 14. Michigan State | 6-3 | 350 | 14 |
| 15. St. John's | 9-2 | 334 | 15 |
| 16. Clemson | 9-1 | 293 | 16 |
| 17. Auburn | 11-0 | 240 | 18 |
| 18. Minnesota | 7-1 | 187 | 21 |
| 19. Oklahoma State | 6-3 | 159 | 17 |
| 20. Arkansas | 8-2 | 156 | 23 |
| 21. Syracuse | 7-3 | 129 | 20 |
| 22. Pittsburgh | 7-4 | 126 | 19 |
| 23. Wisconsin | 10-1 | 110 | 24 |
| 24. Temple | 6-4 | 72 | 21 |
| 25. Iowa | 8-1 | 68 | - |