NCAA Basketball Rankings 2015: Complete Week 19 College AP Poll Released

On Sunday, Kentucky clinched its undefeated regular season and ascended to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. The Associated Press kept the good times rolling Monday, giving the Wildcats their long-awaited, wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking. 

Kentucky had already become the 12th team in history to go through the entire regular season at No. 1 last week. This ranking keeps head coach John Calipari and Co. on their path to the first 40-0 season in college basketball history, a journey they continued over the weekend by winning the SEC tournament championship.

Following Kentucky at No. 2 is Villanova, which jumps two spots after taking the Big East crown. Filling out the remainder of the Top Five are No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Arizona. 

Here is how the Top 25 played out:

Ranking	Team
1	Kentucky
2	Villanova
3	Wisconsin
4	Duke
5	Arizona
6	Virginia
7	Gonzaga
8	Notre Dame
9	Iowa State
10	Kansas
11	Northern Iowa
12	Maryland
13	Oklahoma
14	Wichita State
15	North Carolina
16	Baylor
17	Louisville
18	SMU
19	Utah
20	West Virginia
21	Arkansas
22	Georgetown
23	Michigan State
24	Butler
25	VCU

As for teams moving their way into the title conversation, perhaps no fringe contender did more for itself during conference tournament week than Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish took down Duke and North Carolina in successive days to win their first ACC crown and first conference tournament championship under head coach Mike Brey. They got past both teams by forcing their way to the free-throw line, shooting a combined 57 foul shots despite the pro-Carolina crowd.    

"There's been a special vibe about this group since we came to town Monday night," Brey said, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I felt great about tonight. I felt good about last night. And for us to do it, through Duke and Carolina, on Tobacco Road, it's just amazing."

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The conference championship ascended Notre Dame to a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region. Northeastern awaits in the round of 64, but the Irish's overarching goal will be being the first team to take down Kentucky. The two sides would meet in the Elite Eight if they are able to advance.

Also establishing itself as perhaps the biggest threat to Kentucky outside its region was Wisconsin, which overcame a 10-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining to force overtime and beat Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Sophomore forward Nigel Hayes scored a game-high 25 points, making all 12 of his free-throw attempts and adding three three-pointers. The Badgers were 13-of-26 overall beyond the arc, and they shut out Michigan State in the overtime period.

"I thought we played one of the greatest games we've played through 32, 35, 36 minutes," Spartans coach Tom Izzo told reporters. "And then we made a couple of mistakes and they made a couple of great shots. That's the way the game goes."

Bo Ryan's team earned a No. 1 seed in the West, which leaves a potential Kentucky matchup waiting until the Final Four in Indianapolis. Joining the Badgers out West is Pac-12 champion Arizona, which won its three tournament games by a combined 56 points to take its first tournament crown under head coach Sean Miller. Ken Pomeroy's final pre-tournament rankings had the Wildcats as the second-best team in the country.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

"The four one seeds are very deserving," Miller said, per Steve Rivera of Fox Sports Arizona. "You could have made the argument six or seven teams could have been (a No. 1). The quality of play of the one seeds speaks for itself. The quality of play for the two seeds speaks for itself as well. I'm happy to be one of them."

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

On the flip side, the biggest losers of the week saw their potential seed go in the wrong direction. Butler's disappointing loss to Xavier in the Big East tournament moved the Bulldogs to a No. 6 seed, where they'll play a wildly talented and inconsistent Texas team.

Boise State is stuck playing Dayton in Dayton to earn the East's No. 11 seed and the right to play Providence. To a lesser extent, West Virginia set itself up to be a popular No. 5 vs. No. 12 upset pick with its loss to Baylor.

Overall, it was hard to move the needle too far in a bad direction. Fifteen of the 25 ranked teams from last week dropped a game, and that's not including Wichita State and Northern Iowa, which got to relax while the major conferences did battle. There are only so many tournament championships to go around; losing was unlikely to do much to alter the committee's opinion on tournament worthiness, just possibly seeding.

With the tournament approaching, though, there is no more time for losses. Any slip-up and your season is over. It doesn't matter if you're Kentucky, Arizona or New Mexico State. The final blow is coming for 67 of the 68 teams making the trip.

The only question remaining is who will be that final one.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.

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