AP Poll: Duke still No. 1 entering March Madness; St. John's into top 5
Duke remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll on Monday a day after the committee that selects the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament went with Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed.
The Blue Devils (31-3) earned 49 of 59 first-place votes in the latest poll after sweeping the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles. That marks Duke’s second straight week at No. 1, the first such stint in the three-year tenure of Jon Scheyer as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | 31-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Houston | 30-4 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida | 30-4 | 4 |
| 4 | Auburn | 28-5 | 3 |
| 5 | St. John's | 30-4 | 6 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 27-7 | 8 |
| 7 | Alabama | 25-8 | 5 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 27-6 | 7 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 25-8 | 9 |
| 10 | Louisville | 27-7 | 13 |
| 11 | Maryland | 25-8 | 11 |
| 12 | Clemson | 27-6 | 10 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 26-9 | 18 |
| 14 | Michigan | 25-9 | 22 |
| 15 | Iowa State | 24-9 | 12 |
| 16 | Memphis | 29-5 | 16 |
| 17 | BYU | 24-9 | 17 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 22-11 | 15 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 22-10 | 14 |
| 20 | Saint Mary's | 28-5 | 19 |
| 21 | Arizona | 22-12 | N/A |
| 22 | Purdue | 22-11 | 20 |
| 23 | Missouri | 22-11 | 21 |
| 24 | Gonzaga | 25-8 | N/A |
| 25 | Oregon | 24-9 | 23 |
Houston also stayed at No. 2 while collecting six-first-place votes, followed by Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Florida and then Auburn — which had spent a national-best eight weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season. The Gators and Tigers each earned the remaining two first-place votes, and the top four teams of the AP Top 25 all earned 1-seeds for March Madness with Sunday night’s bracket unveiling.
St. John’s climbed one spot to No. 5 after winning the Big East title, with Rick Pitino guiding the Red Storm to its highest ranking since spending a week at the same spot in January 1991. Tennessee, Alabama, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Louisville rounded out the top 10.
No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 Gonzaga were the week’s new additions, though they had both been in the poll for numerous weeks this season. They replaced Marquette and Illinois.
The SEC, which had a record 14 teams earn NCAA Tournament bids, had seven ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten’s six, the Big 12’s five and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s three.
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