AP top 25: The dance is almost near

It has been a wild ride all season but now we finally get to the final week of the AP poll until a new champion is crowned. This season has been a wild ride as no team has instilled a dominant sense of fear across the country. There have been four different teams ranked #1 with Villanova holding it for eight weeks. Though the Wildcats have been at the top, they have still suffered four losses including a bad one to a St. Johns team with a sub-.500 record.

Seasons like these usually lead to wild NCAA tournaments as there is no clear cut favorite. Teams like Virginia, Xavier, and Texas Tech are having one of the greatest seasons in their history but still have a ways to go before they are able to truly break new ground. As we’ve seen already from the Big 10 tournament, going forward we can expect the unexpected.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders dropped a little bit in the rankings, but that seems to be more of a reaction to the four-game losing streak. The win on Saturday kept Tech in the top 15 which sets the school record with the ninth consecutive week in the top 15, and extends the school record of weeks being ranked to 14. When the postseason poll comes out, Tech will surely push that record to 15.

1. Virginia, 28-2 (-)
2. Villanova, 27-4 (+2)
3. Xavier, 27-4 (-)
4. Michigan State, 29-4 (-2)
5. Duke, 25-6 (-)
6. Gonzaga, 28-4 (+1)
7. Michigan, 28-7 (+8)
8. Cincinnati, 27-4 (+2)
9. Kansas, 24-7 (-3)
10. Purdue, 28-6 (-2)
11. Wichita State, 24-6 (-)
12. North Carolina, 22-9 (-3)
13. Tennessee, 23-7 (+3)
14. Texas Tech, 23-8 (-2)
15. Arizona, 24-7 (+4)
16. Auburn, 25-6 (-2)
17. Ohio State, 24-8 (-4)
18. West Virginia, 22-9 (+2)
19. Clemson, 22-8 (-1)
20. Saint Mary’s, 28-4 (+2)
21. Houston, 24-6 (+4)
22. Nevada, 26-6 (-1)
23. Florida, 20-11 (NR)
24. Miami, 22-8 (NR)
25. Rhode Island, 23-6 (-8)