AP College Basketball Poll 2026 Week 18 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

With the regular season in the books, Duke remains the No. 1 team in country after avenging its earlier loss to rival North Carolina.

The Blue Devils were the overwhelming choice for voters in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the third straight week. They received 56 first-place votes.

UConn, meanwhile, might've seen its hopes of securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament dashed thanks to a 68-62 upset at the hands of Marquette. The Huskies fell from fourth to sixth in the newest rankings.

St. John's jumped five spots to No. 13 ahead of the Big East tournament. Texas Tech, on the other hand, lost six places and is now well outside the top 10 (No. 16).

Week 18 AP Top 25

1. Duke (29-2)

2. Arizona (29-2)

3. Michigan (29-2)

4. Florida (25-6)

5. Houston (26-5)

6. UConn (27-4)

7. Iowa State (25-6)

8. Michigan State (25-6)

9. Illinois (24-7)

10. Virginia (27-4)

11. Nebraska (26-5)

12. Gonzaga (28-3)

13. St. John's (25-6)

14. Kansas (22-9)

15. Alabama (23-8)

16. Texas Tech (22-9)

17. Arkansas (23-8)

18. Purdue (23-8)

19. North Carolina (24-7)

20. Miami Ohio (31-0)

21. Saint Mary's (27-4)

22. Vanderbilt (24-7)

23. Wisconsin (22-9)

24. Louisville (22-9)

25. Tennessee (21-10)

Florida was the biggest beneficiary of the Huskies' loss as the reigning national champion is poised to be a top seed in the Big Dance.

The Gators took care of business against Mississippi State and Kentucky, extending their winning streak to 11 games.

Head coach Todd Golden wasn't thrilled with how his team performed in the second half, though. Florida was up 17 at the half but allowed the Wildcats to trim the gap to single digits toward the end.

Florida Gets Over Kentucky 🐊

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"We've won 16 out of our last 17, and went 8-1 on the road in this league, which is absurd. It's the best league in America," Golden told reporters. "And our team has really come together and started playing some really great basketball. I think the great thing is, also, we got a lot we can teach off of after this game tonight, in regards to the way we finish. We gotta finish stronger than that."

Duke or Arizona would probably be favored in a head-to-head matchup, but Florida can claim to be the hotter team heading into the NCAA tourney. It's bound to have a much easier road in its repeat bid than it was poised to have back in January, when it fell out of the Top 25.

Miami (Ohio) is focused less on seeding and more on simply punching its ticket to the Big Dance for the first time since 2007.

The RedHawks completed a perfect regular season by outlasting Ohio 110-108 in overtime. Junior guard Eian Elmer had a career-high 32 points along with 12 rebounds for his first-ever double-double.

Miami OH Perfect

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ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi projects Miami as a No. 11 seed, and sitting 20th in the AP poll despite a 31-0 record reflects the general skepticism about the team's true quality.

Nothing is assured until the selection committee weighs in, but it's hard to justify a one-loss Miami missing the cut if it fails to win the MAC tournament. Even against a weak schedule, 31 straight wins is nothing to scoff at. Gonzaga was the last program to be unbeaten in the regular season, and that was back in 2020-21.

Especially when underdog stories are the lifeblood of the NCAA tourney, denying the RedHawks an at-large bid if it comes to that would be the wrong move.