The Associated Press and coaches' polls released Monday both named the Florida Gators the new No. 1 team in the country, a week after the Gators won two close games and last week's top team, the previously unbeaten Syracuse Orange, lost two close games. You may have heard about Saturday's loss to Duke, but the Orange's overtime loss to Boston College on Tuesday was more damning.
NCAA basketball rankings: Florida takes over No. 1 after Syracuse’s long week
Florida, Wichita State, Arizona and Syracuse are in the top five of both polls.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
This is how Florida lost, the last time Florida lost:
The astute reader will observe that Florida was playing UConn in that game, and that Florida and UConn do not play in the same conference, so that game must have been some time ago. It was on Dec. 2, and Florida has won each of its 19 games since. The Gators escaped Wednesday when poor Auburn threw the game away, and Florida topped Ole Miss, 75-71, on the road Saturday to secure the No. 1 spot.
The Gators didn't have point guard Scottie Wilbekin in either of their losses this season — the other was on Nov. 12 against Wisconsin — and Dorian Finney-Smith didn't play against the Badgers. If the Gators were at their full roster for those two games, it's fun to wonder if they'd be undefeated. Still, they're No. 1 in the country with two weeks to go in the regular season, and their toughest regular-season games are behind them.
Syracuse dropped to No. 4 after its first two losses of the year. Wichita State is the only undefeated team left in Division I, and it moved up one spot to No. 2.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last week |
| 1 | Florida Gators | 25-2 | 2 |
| 2 | Wichita State Shockers | 29-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Arizona Wildcats | 25-2 | 4 |
| 4 | Syracuse Orange | 25-2 | 1 |
| 5 | Kansas Jayhawks | 21-6 | 8 |
| 6 | Duke Blue Devils | 22-6 | 5 |
| 7 | Louisville Cardinals | 24-3 | 11 |
| 8 | Villanova Wildcats | 24-3 | 9 |
| 9 | Creighton Bluejays | 23-4 | 11 |
| 10 | Saint Louis Billikens | 25-2 | 10 |
| 11 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 24-4 | 7 |
| 12 | Virginia Cavaliers | 23-5 | 14 |
| 13 | San Diego State Aztecs | 23-3 | 6 |
| 14 | Wisconsin Badgers | 22-5 | 16 |
| 15 | Iowa State Cyclones | 21-5 | 17 |
| 16 | Michigan Wolverines | 19-7 | 20 |
| 17 | Kentucky Wildcats | 21-6 | 18 |
| 18 | Michigan State Spartans | 22-6 | 13 |
| 19 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 20-7 | NR |
| 20 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 19-7 | 15 |
| 21 | Memphis Tigers | 21-6 | 22 |
| 22 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 22-6 | 24 |
| 23 | Southern Methodist Mustangs | 22-6 | NR |
| 24 | Texas Longhorns | 20-7 | 19 |
| 25 | New Mexico Lobos | 21-5 | NR |
The coaches’ poll looks largely the same, except that Louisville is up in the top five.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last week |
| 1 | Florida Gators | 25-2 | 2 |
| 2 | Wichita State Shockers | 29-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Arizona Wildcats | 25-2 | 4 |
| 4 | Louisville Cardinals | 23-4 | 5 |
| 5 | Syracuse Orange | 25-2 | 1 |
| 6 | Kansas Jayhawks | 21-6 | 8 |
| 7 | Duke Blue Devils | 22-6 | 6 |
| 8 | Saint Louis Billikens | 25-2 | 10 |
| 9 | Villanova Wildcats | 24-3 | 11 |
| 10 | Creighton Bluejays | 23-4 | 12 |
| 11 | Virginia Cavaliers | 23-5 | 13 |
| 12 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 24-4 | 9 |
| 13 | San Diego State Aztecs | 23-3 | 7 |
| 14 | Wisconsin Badgers | 22-5 | 18 |
| 15 | Kentucky Wildcats | 21-6 | 16 |
| 16 | Michigan Wolverines | 19-7 | 20 |
| 17 | Iowa State Cyclones | 21-5 | 19 |
| 18 | Michigan State Spartans | 22-6 | 14 |
| 19 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 19-7 | 15 |
| 20 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 22-6 | 23 |
| 21 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 20-7 | NR |
| 22 | Memphis Tigers | 21-6 | 24 |
| 23 | Texas Longhorns | 20-7 | 17 |
| 24 | Southern Methodist Mustangs | 22-6 | NR |
| 25 | Oklahoma Sooners | 20-7 | NR |
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