AP Poll Top 25 revealed following Week 17 of college basketball season

The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings were revealed following Week 17 of the college basketball season and March Madness is just about here!

Well, the month of March is here and we have to clean up some remaining regular season games, but the top teams are in focus. It’s going to be a wild sprint to the finish.

Let’s dive into the latest AP Poll revealed Monday.

1. Houston

A Jamal Shead buzzer beater was the difference in a great Saturday game. But the No. 1 team in the country stayed in that very spot.

Shead finished with 14 points, four rebounds and six assists. LJ Cryer led the way with 23 points and two assists while J’wan Roberts had 20 points, five rebounds and two assists.

2. UConn (+1)

UConn was dominant and blew by Seton Hall Sunday 91-61. That improved the Huskies’ record to 27-3 and they’re certainly looking like a No. 1 seed. 

Stephon Castle had 21 points, four rebounds and three assists. Donovan Clingan added 19 points, 11 rebounds and two assists in the win.

3. Purdue (-1)

Purdue held off a great fight from Michigan State over the weekend. The Spartans came into West Lafayette and pushed them to the limit.

Zach Edey was a beast again and finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Braden Smith added 23 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

4. Tennessee

This was a statement win for Tennessee wasn’t it? The Volunteers beat a ranked Alabama squad to get a ranked win and conference win towards the end of the regular season.

Zakai Zeigler put up 18 points, two rebounds and four assists. Dalton Knecht was held mostly in check, but put up 13 points, five rebounds and one assist.

5. Arizona (+1)

The past week featured two dominant wins over Arizona State and Oregon as the Wildcats cruised to their 23rd win of the year. They’re tournament ready.

In the win over the Ducks, Caleb Love led the way with 22 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Pelle Larsson added 22 points, four rebounds and six assists.

6. Iowa State (+2)

Wins over Oklahoma and UCF highlighted the week for the Cyclones and there are no ranked games remaining. Simply put, just keep winning.

In the win over UCF, Tre King had 16 points and six rebounds. Keshon Gilbert, Milan Momcilovic and Curtis Jones each had 11 points in a well balanced game.

7. North Carolina (+2)

UNC escaped Miami last Monday and then ran away from NC State on Saturday to improve to a four-game winning streak. The Tar Heels have eyes on a really high seed in March Madness.

Harrison Ingram had 22 points and six rebounds in the win over the Wolfpack. Elliot Cadeau added 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

8. Marquette (-3)

A tough look for Marquette losing to Creighton. Yes it was a ranked defeat but man that one stunt on Saturday didn’t it?

That was after a dominant win over Providence earlier last week. In the loss to the Bluejays, Kameron Jones led the way with 23 points, one rebound and three assists.

9. Duke (+1)

Following that upset loss to Wake Forest, and the court storming fiasco, Duke bounced back with two wins over Louisville and Virginia. The Blue Devils finish off with NC State and UNC this week.

In the 73-48 win over Virginia, Duke had solid contributions from Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor. Flip had 21 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Proctor had 15 points, four rebounds and five assists.

10. Creighton (+2)

Creighton knocked off Marquette of course, putting the Bluejays into the top 10 this week. It was a well timed win ahead of March Madness, that’s for sure.

In the win, Baylor Scheierman had 26 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 19 points and six rebounds while Trey Alexander had a double-double with 18 points and 11 assists.

Rest of AP Top 25

11. Baylor (+4)
12. Illinois (+1)
13. Auburn (-2)
14. Kansas (-7)
15. Kentucky (+1)
16. Alabama (-2)
17. South Carolina (+1)
18. Washington State (+1)
19. Gonzaga (+4)
20. BYU
21. SDSU (-1)
22. Utah State
23. St. Mary’s (-6)
24. South Florida (+1)
25. Dayton (-4)

Others receiving votes: Nevada 42, Florida 39, Boise St. 26, Texas 10, Texas Tech 10, Indiana St 9, Appalachian St 6, New Mexico 5, FAU 4, James Madison 4, Princeton 3, Michigan St. 2, Villanova 2, Colorado St. 2, McNeese St. 2, Richmond 1.

Now that we’re in March, let’s get through the remaining regular season games and get to tournament play already! It’s officially March Madness!