USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25
March 19, 1997
Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona (25) | 25-0 | 625 | 1 |
| 2 | Fresno State | 19-2 | 595 | 2 |
| 3 | UCLA | 22-4 | 577 | 3 |
| 4 | South Carolina | 24-2 | 553 | 4 |
| 5 | Washington | 16-5 | 482 | 5 |
| 6 | Iowa | 13-3 | 458 | 7 |
| 7 | Cal Poly | 26-4 | 447 | 8 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 25-5 | 438 | 16 |
| 9 | Michigan | 21-7-1 | 432 | 6 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 19-5 | 398 | 9 |
| 11 | Long Beach State | 20-8 | 378 | 10 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 21-7 | 365 | 11 |
| 13 | Arizona State | 19-7 | 329 | 12 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 28-9 | 300 | 13 |
| 15 | Missouri | 19-6 | 274 | 15 |
| 16 | South Florida | 25-8 | 253 | 14 |
| 17 | California | 17-12 | 196 | 17 |
| 18 | Louisiana Tech | 23-10 | 180 | 20 |
| 19 | Colorado State | 21-8 | 150 | |
| 20 | Pacific (California) | 16-7 | 138 | 19 |
| 21 | Florida State | 22-11 | 129 | 18 |
| 22 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 15-8 | 101 | 23 |
| 23 | Hawaii | 21-12-1 | 79 | |
| 24 | Cal State Northridge | 10-9-2 | 75 | 21 |
| 25 | Louisiana-Monroe | 20-3 | 72 | 24 |
Others receiving votes:
Baylor (41), San Diego State (34), Cal State Sacramento (24), Louisiana State (20), Utah (20), Tennessee (17), DePaul (13), Indiana (10), Kansas (7), Drake (4), Texas (4), UNLV (4), Wisconsin (4), Notre Dame (3), Iowa State (2), Nicholls State (2), East Carolina (1), Florida A&M (1), Southern Illinois (1).
Dropped out:
Baylor (22), San Diego State (25).