NCAA Men’s Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings – Week 19


The final edition of the AP Top 25 Men’s Basketball rankings have been released. There is a new No. 1 atop the final polls.


We made it, folks.

The NCAA Tournament has finally arrived. The brackets are all set, the excitement and heartbreak that comes to bubble teams has passed, and it’s time to Dance. We’re just one day away from the First Four kicking off all the action.

And with the tourney nearly in full swing comes the final edition of the AP Top 25 poll for the 2016-17 men’s basketball season.

Villanova, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, sits atop the polls after Kansas’ stunning loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. That moves the Jayhawks down to No. 3, with the Gonzaga Bulldogs sandwiched in between.

The hottest story in the polls (and in college hoops), though, comes to us from Ann Arbor. In case you live under a rock, you know that the Michigan Wolverines were involved in a plane accident last week in which the plane skidded off the runway and never took off into the air. Fortunately, no players were injured in the event. But John Beilein’s squad was forced to play its Big Ten Tournament opener against Illinois in its practice jerseys – a game the Wolverines won, 75-55.

The ball has not stopped rolling for Michigan since. The Wolverines upset then-No. 13 Purdue, easily handled Minnesota and routed then-No. 24 Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament. It’s a remarkable story that has captured the attention and admiration from college hoops fans nationwide. In the public eye, Michigan went from a likely first-round exit to a popular pick to make the second weekend and possibly the Final Four.

The Wolverines are the only new team to enter this week’s rankings.

Week 19 AP Top 25 Rankings

  1. Villanova Wildcats (31-3, 2 previous rank)
  2. Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-1, 4)
  3. Kansas Jayhawks (28-4, 1)
  4. Arizona Wildcats (30-4, 7)
  5. Kentucky Wildcats (29-5, 8)
  6. North Carolina Tar Heels (27-7, 6)
  7. Duke Blue Devils (27-8, 14)
  8. UCLA Bruins (29-4, 3)
  9. Oregon Ducks (29-5, 5)
  10. Louisville Cardinals (24-8, 10)
  11. SMU Mustangs (30-4, 12)
  12. Baylor Bears (25-7, 9)
  13. West Virginia Mountaineers (26-8, 11)
  14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25-9, 22)
  15. Purdue Boilermakers (25-7, 13)
  16. Florida State Seminoles (25-8, 16)
  17. Iowa State Cyclones (23-10, 23)
  18. Cincinnati Bearcats (29-5, 15)
  19. Wichita State Shockers (30-4, 20)
  20. Florida Gators (24-8, 17)
  21. Butler Bulldogs (23-8, 18)
  22. Saint Mary’s Gaels (28-4, 19)
  23. Michigan Wolverines (24-11, N/R)
  24. Virginia Cavaliers (22-10, 21)
  25. Wisconsin Badgers (25-9, 24)

MORE: Final Four Prediction Roundtable – Who Will Win The NCAA Tournament