AP Top 25 poll: Florida, Arkansas jump, Miami falls in latest college basketball rankings

The final AP Top 25 poll before Selection Sunday featured significant movement throughout. Notably, Florida jumped one spot — ahead of UConn — and checked in at No. 4 in the poll. The Gators enter the final week before the NCAA Tournament in a prime position to secure the final No. 1 seed later this weekend.

To no surprise, Duke remained No. 1 in the poll. The Blue Devils will likely be the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday, depending on how this week’s ACC Tournament goes. Michigan and Arizona, the Nos. 2 and 3 teams in this week’s poll, could challenge Duke for the top line.

UConn was the presumptive final No. 1 seed before suffering an upset loss last weekend to Marquette. That loss allowed St. John’s to clinch the Big East title outright. St. John’s and UConn could be on a collision course to face each other for a third time at the Big East Tournament later this week.

The team that ended St. John’s season last year, Arkansas, got a boost in this week’s rankings. The Razorbacks jumped three spots to No. 17 after ending the season with a dramatic win over Missouri despite star guard Darius Acuff Jr. not being in the lineup. Arkansas went 2-0 last week with wins over Texas and Missouri after losing to Florida in blowout fashion on the road.

Undefeated Miami (Ohio) dropped a spot, falling from No. 19 last week to No. 20 despite winning its last two regular season games and heads to this week’s MAC Tournament with a 31-0 record. Another team that dropped in the rankings this week was Tennessee. The Volunteers dropped two spots to No. 25 in the latest poll after losing to Vanderbilt. Tennessee has lost three of its last four games heading into the SEC Tournament.

AP Top 25 

1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. Michigan
4. Florida
5. Houston
6. UConn
7. Iowa State
8. Michigan State
9. Illinois
10. Virginia
11. Nebraska
12. Gonzaga
13. St. John’s
14. Kansas
15. Alabama
16. Texas Tech
17. Arkansas
18. Purdue
19. North Carolina
20. Miami (Ohio)
21. Saint Mary’s
22. Vanderbilt
23. Wisconsin
24. Louisville
25. Tennessee

Others receiving votes: Miami 60, TCU 19, BYU 18, Saint Louis 12, High Point 11, Georgia 10, Villanova 10, UCLA 3, VCU 3, Stephen F Austin 2, Utah State 2, Ohio State 2, Missouri 2, Akron 1.