College Basketball AP Top 25: Duke leads final poll ahead of March Madness

The College Basketball AP Top 25 was updated one more time on Monday as we brace for the official start of March Madness, and it is Duke who grabs the No. 1 spot following conference tournaments.

Over the weekend, Jon Scheyer’s program won the ACC Basketball Tournament to go with the regular-season league title in spite of playing much of the tournament with Player of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg. Fortunately, Duke expects Flagg to return from his ankle injury in time to play throughout the NCAA Tournament.

While Duke dominated the top line with 49 first-place votes, it was far from a consensus selection. Houston at No. 2 also grabbed 6 of the top votes while Florida and Auburn split the final votes with 2 each.

The Gators have now overtaken the Tigers as the top SEC basketball team in the poll, rising to No. 3 in the country. Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl’s squad fell to No. 4 after losing to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinals to give Auburn 3 losses in its last 4 games entering the Big Dance.

In spite of falling to No. 4 on the poll, Auburn still grabbed the No. 1 overall seed in the full bracket on Sunday. However, Duke (+290) and Florida (+390) lead the latest national title odds at FanDuel while Auburn checks in at +500. Be sure to track the rest of the Final Four odds through the top betting apps available throughout the tournament.

Tennessee and Alabama landed in the top 10 as the SEC placed 7 teams on the full poll. Here’s how the latest AP Top 25 looks heading into the NCAA Tournament:

1. Duke
2. Houston
3. Florida
4. Auburn
5. St. John’s
6. Tennessee
7. Alabama
8. Michigan State
9. Texas Tech
10. Louisville
11. Maryland
12. Clemson
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan
15. Iowa State
16. Memphis
17. BYU
18. Kentucky
19. Texas A&M
20. Saint Mary’s
21. Arizona
22. Purdue
23. Mizzou
24. Gonzaga
25. Oregon

Others receiving votes:

Drake 107, Marquette 69, UC San Diego 57, Illinois 55, VCU 28, Creighton 28, Mississippi 13, McNeese St. 4, UConn 4, Colorado St. 4, Kansas 3, High Point 3, UCLA 3, Akron 3.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.