NCAA Basketball Rankings 2015: Complete Week 16 College AP Poll Released

The regular season is nearly over, the conference tournaments are around the corner and before we know it, the NCAA tournament will commence. For college basketball fans, this is truly the best time of the year. 

Ah, but which teams are currently in position to snag high seeds in the tournament? Which squads are the front-runners to win their conference titles?   

Once again, The Associated Press poll ranked the top teams in the nation. Let's take a look at how this week's rankings played out.

Poll

Rank	Team	Record
1	Kentucky	27-0
2	Virginia	25-1
3	Gonzaga	28-1
4	Duke	24-3
5	Wisconsin	25-2
6	Villanova	25-2
7	Arizona	24-3
8	Kansas	22-5
9	Notre Dame	24-4
10	UNI	26-2
11	Wichita State	25-3
12	Iowa State	20-6
13	Utah	21-5
14	Maryland	22-5
15	North Carolina	19-8
16	Oklahoma	19-8
17	Louisville	21-6
18	Arkansas	22-5
19	Baylor	20-7
20	West Virginia	21-6
21	SMU	22-5
22	VCU	21-6
23	Butler	19-8
24	San Diego State	22-6
25	Providence	19-8

Analysis

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Death, taxes and Kentucky topping the AP poll—some things in life are certainties. 

The Wildcats went to 27-0 on the season with wins over Tennessee and Auburn last week. The team is now four wins away from finishing the regular season undefeated, though this week's matchup against Arkansas will be a major test. The Razorbacks come in having won nine of their last 10. However, they haven't faced a team as talented as Kentucky this season. 

And the smart money is on Kentucky to win out, per ESPN Stats & Info:

For all of Kentucky's talent, the team seems to be the right balance of loose and cocky, as Brett Dawson of Rivals.com found out and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports commented on:

So can any team beat Kentucky this year?

The ACC has a few candidates. No. 2 Virginia has just one loss on the year and is holding opponents to 50.5 points per game, best in the nation. Their only loss came to No. 4 Duke, the team that had the most impressive win of the week (a 92-90 thriller over North Carolina). The Blue Devils win with a potent offense, averaging 80.6 points per game, fourth in the country.

Those are the top candidates to best Kentucky in the tournament, but don't sleep on No. 5 Wisconsin. The Badgers have lost just once in Big Ten play, though games against Maryland, Michigan State and Ohio State will give them a chance to prove whether they are legitimate title contenders or simply pretenders. 

March Madness is nearly here, folks, and this year's theme continues to be determining which teams might actually be able to beat Kentucky. The list certainly appears to be pretty small.