NCAA Basketball Rankings: New AP Top 25 Poll Sees A Lot Of Movement As March Madness Nears
In a little over two weeks, the 2019 NCAA Tournament is going to begin, and there will be March Madness as far as the eye can see. By this time, some may think that the rankings have a small semblance of normalcy, but that isn’t the case this year. On Monday afternoon, the new Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll was revealed.
The Virginia Cavaliers are fighting and scraping as they have a record of 26-2, but they are still in the second spot in the poll. The Gonzaga Bulldogs, with a record of 29-2, kept a hold on the No. 1 spot. There are only a few games left for all teams in the NCAA.
The poll was released by the Associated Press, and saw a bit more movement than usual in the top 10 as numerous teams suffered losses last week. Other than Gonzaga and Virginia, not a single team remained in their position from last week. That includes two new teams which jumped into the Top 25.
Duke fell from No. 3 to No. 4 as they’re still trying to figure out how to survive without Zion Williamson, who is injured. North Carolina jumped up two spots — from fifth to third — while the Kentucky Wildcats fell out of the top five to No. 6.
Besides No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Virginia, every team in the AP Top 25 switched positions. Read the story: https://t.co/VlVPYL1xJn
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) March 4, 2019
Michigan is continuing to have a great season — they moved up two spots to No. 7. Texas Tech broke into the top 10, and landed at No. 8. The Red Raiders are followed by No. 9, Michigan State, who fell three spots.
The surprising LSU Tigers are currently sitting on top of the SEC, and have landed at No. 10 for this week’s poll. If the Tigers win their final two games this week, they will win the SEC regular season title, as they have victories over both Tennessee and Kentucky.
The full Top 25 Associated Press Poll released on March 4, 2019, follows.
1.) Gonzaga
2.) Virginia
3.) North Carolina
4.) Duke
5.) Tennessee
6.) Kentucky
7.) Michigan
8.) Texas Tech
9.) Michigan State
10.) LSU
11.) Purdue
12.) Houston
13.) Kansas
14.) Florida State
15.) Virginia Tech
16.) Marquette
17.) Nevada
18.) Kansas State
19.) Buffalo
20.) Cincinnati
21.) Wisconsin
22.) Wofford
23.) Villanova
24.) Maryland
25.) UCF
The 2019 NCAA basketball tournament officially begins on March 19, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played before that time. Teams have to finish out their regular season contests, and the conference tournaments will begin next week. This week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll proves that nothing is certain, and that every single game counts. It also proves that this year’s March Madness is going to be even more exciting than usual.
