March Madness 2012: Top-25 Teams That Are Falling Fast Heading into NCAA Tourney

It's not how you start, it's how you finish.

This saying can pertain to many things in life, but, in this case, we'll use it in college basketball terms.

As teams rev up for March Madness, this is the time for contenders to begin building up momentum. But there are some top-25 teams that are falling fast and are going to need a jump-start quickly if they expect to survive in the madness.

Here are three top-25 teams falling fast.

3. San Diego State (22-6, 8-4 MWC)

Despite losing Kawhi Leonard to the NBA, the Aztecs still had a team capable of doing damage headed into this season.

But they are going the wrong direction.

The Aztecs have lost three of their past five games, including against unranked New Mexico and Air Force. It took them overtime to dispatch of Wyoming.

A couple more wins would do the Aztecs well heading into March Madness.

2. Florida State (19-9, 10-4 ACC)

The Seminoles are on the brink of falling out of the top 25 after losing to Duke and Miami (Fla.) in back-to-back games.

You couldn't blame the Seminoles for their loss to Duke, but getting thrashed by the Hurricanes, 78-62, isn't exactly going in the right direction.

Florida State shot 40 percent and committed 18 turnovers against the Hurricanes.

1. Virginia (21-7, 8-6 ACC)

The Cavaliers have lost three of their past five games.

To be fair, two of those losses were against North Carolina, but the Cavaliers also lost to unranked Clemson.

Interestingly enough, the Cavaliers face the Seminoles on Thursday in a battle for momentum heading into the NCAA tournament.

The Seminoles won their first matchup on Feb. 4, 58-55.