College Basketball AP Top 25: Florida, Alabama move up in new poll
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The new AP Top 25 and there’s some notable movement in the rankings after a big week of college basketball.
This past Saturday featured matchups of the previous poll’s No. 1 vs. No. 3 and No. 2 and No. 4. Duke is the new No. 1 after previously top-ranked Michigan. Arizona moves up to No. 2 after beating Houston, taking the Cougars’ former spot.
Florida remains the SEC’s highest-ranked team. The Gators moved up 5 spots after a 2-0 week to extend their winning streak to 6 games.
Alabama also surged in the new poll. The Crimson Tide are up 8 spots, all the way to No. 17 after wins over Arkansas and LSU.
Arkansas, meanwhile, stays put at No. 20. Tennessee also remained at No. 22. Vanderbilt fell 6 spots all the way to No. 25.
Here’s the full AP Top 25:
- Duke
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Iowa State
- Houston
- UConn
- Florida
- Purdue
- Gonzaga
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Nebraska
- Michigan State
- Kansas
- St. John’s
- Texas Tech
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- BYU
- Arkansas
- Miami (OH)
- Tennessee
- Saint Louis
- Louisville
- Vanderbilt
Others receiving votes:
Wisconsin 47, Saint Mary’s 30, Villanova 15, Miami 10, Utah St. 8, NC State 7, SMU 4, Texas A&M 3, Iowa 3, UCF 3, High Point 2, Stephen F Austin 2, Navy 1.
Can Florida grab a No. 1 seed?
As the new AP poll reflects, Florida is surging just before March Madness. Fans and media members are starting to wonder if Todd Golden’s team might just play its way into a No. 1 seed.
Of course, that won’t be determined by the AP Poll. The NCAA Tournament selection committee uses the NET rankings when making its decisions.
UF and the Illinois are the only 6-loss teams in the AP top 10. Todd Golden‘s team does have a strong strength of schedule, as 3 of Florida’s losses came against Duke, Arizona and UConn, all away from Gainesville.
Prediction market Kalshi is offering the chance to wager on whether Florida will be a No. 1 seed again in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Gators are currently a long shot, but there’s 4 regular-season games to go and then the SEC Tournament.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
