AP College Basketball Poll 2024: Final Rankings Released Before Men's March Madness

Joseph ZuckerMar 11, 2024

Houston maintained the top spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to close out the regular season.

The Cougars handed Kansas a 76-46 shellacking in their final game before the Big 12 tournament, a result that not only meant they'd stay at No. 1 but also strengthened their case for the top overall seed in the Big Dance.

TOP NEWS

With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Celtics' fourth-quarter comeback falls short in Game 7 loss to 76ers

Losses for Tennessee and Arizona on Saturday did shake up the Top Five a bit, though.

Week 19 Associated Press Top 25 Poll

Houston (28-3)
UConn (28-3)
Purdue (28-3)
North Carolina (25-6)
Tennessee (24-7)
Arizona (24-7)
Iowa State (24-7)
Creighton (23-8)
Kentucky (23-8)
Marquette (23-8)
Duke (24-7)
Auburn (24-7)
Illinois (23-8)
Baylor (22-9)
South Carolina (25-6)
Kansas (22-9)
Gonzaga (24-6)
Utah State (26-5)
Alabama (21-10)
BYU (22-9)
Saint Mary's (24-7)
Washington State (23-8)
Nevada (26-6)
Dayton (24-6)
Texas Tech (22-9)

UConn and Purdue kept pace with Houston in the race to lead the 68-team field for the NCAA tourney. The Huskies beat No. 8 Marquette before earning a double-digit victory over Providence in their finale. The Boilermakers overcame a 10-point deficit to outlast No. 12 Illinois and sent star Zach Edey out in style by taking down Wisconsin in his final home game.

Still, the Cougars delivered the most emphatic result from last week. They jumped out to a 34-9 lead on the Jayhawks with five minutes left in the first half and didn't look back from there.

If somebody told you before the game that Jamal Shead and L.J. Cryer would combine for 24 points on 9-of-25 shooting, you might have thought Houston would be in serious trouble. Instead, Kelvin Sampson's squad handed Kansas one of its worst losses of the Bill Self era.

For Self, the outcome was compounded by the fact that Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. suffered injuries that raised questions over their availability moving forward.

The 2023-24 regular season certainly went out with the bang.

Tennessee managed to be the last team standing in the SEC title race despite coming up short against Kentucky. That's because Alabama allowed 105 points in a defeat to Florida. The Crimson Tide finished one game behind the Vols along with Kentucky, Auburn and South Carolina.

Over in the ACC, North Carolina claimed the undisputed regular-season crown thanks to an 84-79 win over rival Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels players reveled in the reaction they received after the game from Blue Devils fans.

Saturday alone saw four Top 10 teams go down, with Iowa State joining Duke, Tennessee and Arizona. Baylor, which occupied the No. 11 position in the last AP poll, also lost.

One look at the records for the Top 25 schools tells you how much is still up for grabs in terms of March Madness seeding once the conference tournaments tip off.

One doesn't envy the selection committee right now.