The Gonzaga Bulldogs retook the top spot in the AP Poll, taking over for the Duke Blue Devils, which fell to No. 3 after losing by 16 at home to North Carolina. This is the second time this season that the Zags have been at the top, but they haven’t been atop the rankings since a two week stretch in late November/early December. The Zags have been cruising since dropping back-to-back losses to Tennessee and North Carolina, winning their last 18 games by an average margin 32 points per game.
NCAA Basketball Rankings: Gonzaga reclaims No. 1 in the AP Poll
The Zags take advantage of Duke’s stumble against North Carolina.
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Duke rebounded from its loss to UNC with a Zion Williamson-less win over the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Virginia jumped up one spot to No. 2 after picking up road wins over No. 20 Virginia Tech and No. 18 Louisville. With the win over the Cardinals, the Cavaliers became the first ACC team to record five road wins over AP Top-25 ranked teams in a single season.
Gonzaga got 44 first place votes, while the Cavaliers picked up 15. Duke (three votes) and Kentucky (two votes) were the only other teams to garner first place votes.
Kentucky stayed at No. 4, and North Carolina moved up three spots to No. 5 with their wins over Duke and then-No. 16 Florida State.
No. 15 Kansas and No. 16 Kansas State square off tonight at 9 p.m. on ESPN with a share of the Big-12 title on the line if the Wildcats can pull off the win in Allen Fieldhouse.
Villanova, Louisville, and Iowa State all dropped out of the rankings this week, making room for No. 23 Cincinnati, No. 24 Wofford, and No. 25 Washington. The Huskies joining the poll gives the Pac-12 its first ranked team since Arizona State was No. 17 in the Week 8 (Dec. 24) poll.
The Big Ten took over the top spot with six teams ranked this week, followed by the ACC with five, and the SEC and Big 12 with three each.
Check out the full poll below:
AP Poll - Week 17
Rank | Team | Conference | Record | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga | West Coast | 27-2 | 2 |
| 2 | Virginia | ACC | 24-2 | 3 |
| 3 | Duke | ACC | 24-3 | 1 |
| 4 | Kentucky | SEC | 23-4 | 4 |
| 5 | North Carolina | ACC | 22-5 | 8 |
| 6 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 23-5 | 10 |
| 7 | Tennessee | SEC | 24-3 | 5 |
| 8 | Houston | AAC | 26-1 | 9 |
| 9 | Michigan | Big Ten | 24-4 | 7 |
| 10 | Marquette | Big East | 23-4 | 11 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 22-5 | 14 |
| 12 | Nevada | Mountain West | 25-2 | 6 |
| 13 | LSU | SEC | 22-5 | 13 |
| 14 | Purdue | Big Ten | 20-7 | 15 |
| 15 | Kansas | Big 12 | 20-7 | 12 |
| 16 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 21-6 | 23 |
| 17 | Maryland | Big Ten | 21-7 | 24 |
| 18 | Florida State | ACC | 21-6 | 16 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 19-8 | 22 |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 21-6 | 20 |
| 21 | Buffalo | Mid-American | 24-3 | 25 |
| 22 | Iowa | Big Ten | 21-6 | 21 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | AAC | 23-4 | NR |
| 24 | Wofford | Southern | 24-4 | NR |
| 25 | Washington | Pac-12 | 22-5 | NR |
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