With less than a month to go before the NCAA tournament, the AP Top-25 Poll provides a preview of the possible top seeds in the March Madness bracket. As it currently stands, the most likely No. 1 seeds in the tournament are No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Duke, and No. 5 Houston from the AP’s men’s college basketball rankings.
After losing to No. 1 Auburn at home, the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide lost their next game against No. 15 Missouri. Alabama coach Nate Oats and his team were able right the ship with a 96-83 win over No. 17 Kentucky, but how far will the Crimson Tide fall? On the other hand, Missouri lost to unranked Arkansas after upsetting Alabama. Do the Tigers still have a chance at earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament?
The unranked Oregon Ducks upset the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin. The Ducks trailed by as many as 17 points, but they stormed back to force overtime before eventually beating the Badgers 77-73. Wisconsin should remain within the top-15 while the Ducks’ five-game losing streak from earlier in the season likely keeps them unranked.
Also in the Big Ten No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers are sliding, losing a third and fourth consecutive game during the week. After falling six spots in the rankings, Purdue lost to No. 14 Michigan State and Indiana. Will the Boilermakers still be ranked in the latest release of the AP Top-25 Poll?
No. 5 Houston solidified its resume with an 11-point win over No. 8 Iowa State. The Cougars are set to face No. 9 Texas Tech on Monday night, although the game is unlikely to be a top-10 matchup after Texas Tech fell to unranked TCU during the week.
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No. 7 Texas A&M is also expected to face one of the biggest drops when the rankings are released on Monday. The Aggies lost both of their games during the week, falling to No. 21 Mississippi State on the road before losing to No. 6 Tennessee at home.
No. 12 Michigan rose eight spots in the last edition of the AP Poll, but the Wolverines are expected to drop after losing 75-62 at home against No. 14 Michigan State. The Spartans lost to USC, UCLA, and Indiana, three unranked teams in the beginning of February, but they currently sit atop the Big Ten standings after beating Michigan.
Here is the AP Top-25 Poll from Feb. 17. This article will be updated after Monday’s latest rankings release for men’s college basketball.
1 Auburn
2 Florida
3 Duke
4 Alabama
5 Houston
6 Tennessee
7 Texas A&M
8 Iowa State
9 Texas Tech
10 St. John’s
11 Wisconsin
12 Michigan
13 Purdue
14 Michigan State
15 Missouri
16 Marquette
17 Kentucky
18 Clemson
19 Arizona
20 Maryland
21 Mississippi State
22 Memphis
23 Kansas
24 Ole Miss
25 Louisville
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