Arizona finishes regular season behind Duke in AP basketball rankings

Duke was chosen No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday.

The Blue Devils received 56 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after wins over rivals NC State and North Carolina, leaving them in the top spot for the third consecutive week.

Arizona stayed second and received four first-place votes while Michigan received the other No. 1 ballot after its impressive win over No. 8 Michigan State.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special and make a run,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.

The Blue Devils reached No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time on Dec. 13, 1965, and they’ve spent more time there than any other men’s basketball program. UCLA is second with 134 weeks on top, while Kentucky is third (125).

Now, Scheyer’s crew heads into the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but potentially without two of their starters. Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster both were wearing boots in the second half of Duke’s win over the Tar Heels on Saturday.

Defending national champion Florida climbed to fourth in this week’s AP poll, the highest the Gators have been since they were preseason No. 3. Houston moved up to fifth after finishing second to Arizona in the regular-season Big 12 race.

UConn dropped from fourth to sixth after the Huskies were upset by Marquette in their regular-season Big East finale.

Conference tournaments

Arizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John’s, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall.

Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday. So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament.

No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary’s played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night.

No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney. The RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

NET rankings

The rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournament varied slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils. The Wildcats were third.

The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.

Conference watch

The Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12’s five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.

Final AP men’s college basketball rankings of the 2025-26 regular season

Record	Pts	Prv
1. Duke (56)	29-2	1519	1
2. Arizona (4)	29-2	1439	2
3. Michigan (1)	29-2	1434	3
4. Florida	25-6	1337	5
5. Houston	26-5	1241	7
6. UConn	27-4	1178	4
7. Iowa St.	25-6	1137	6
8. Michigan St.	25-6	1083	8
9. Illinois	24-7	1037	11
10. Virginia	27-4	953	13
11. Nebraska	26-5	939	9
12. Gonzaga	28-3	846	12
13. St. John’s	25-6	733	18
14. Kansas	22-9	608	14
15. Alabama	23-8	602	16
16. Texas Tech	22-9	554	10
17. Arkansas	23-8	532	20
18. Purdue	23-8	529	15
19. North Carolina	24-7	488	17
20. Miami (Ohio)	31-0	420	19
21. Saint Mary’s	27-4	325	21
22. Vanderbilt	24-7	323	24
23. Wisconsin	22-9	201	–
24. Louisville	22-9	140	–
25. Tennessee	21-10	72	23

Others receiving votes in the AP college basketball rankings: Miami 60, TCU 19, BYU 18, Saint Louis 12, High Point 11, Georgia 10, Villanova 10, UCLA 3, VCU 3, Stephen F Austin 2, Utah St. 2, Ohio St. 2, Missouri 2, Akron 1.

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