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College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings Week 18
Ohio State Buckeyes stay atop the AP Top 25 while Kansas Jayhawks, UCLA Bruins, Wisconsin Badgers, Memphis Tigers keep pushing.
The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes waited a long time to make it back to #1 in the AP Rankings last week and they were determined not to lose that after one week. The Buckeyes survived a determined Michigan Wolverines squad on Saturday but came out with a four point win. The Buckeyes completed their regular season with a 27-3 record and will have the week off to prepare for the Big-Ten Tournament.
Jumping up one spot in the AP Top 25 Rankings are the #2 Kansas Jayhawks. Looking to grab one of the four number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament the Jayhawks beat the Oklahoma Sooners 67-65 last Monday and then came back to beat The then #15 Texas Longhorns 90-86 on Saturday. Kansas finished the regular season with a 27-4 record and the Big 12 regular season title. They have no games this week as they prepare for their conference tournament.
The Wisconsin Badgers who barely survived to beat an unranked Michigan State Spartans team on Saturday improved to #3 in the AP Top 25 Rankings. The Badgers wrapped up their regular season second in the Big Ten and finished with a 27-4 record. A solid showing in the Big Ten tournament could get the Badgers a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The #4 UCLA Bruins were able to beat the then #13 Washington State Cougars 53-45 on Thursday but then were upset by an unranked Washington Huskies squad 61-51 on Saturday. The Bruins locked up the Pac-10 with their win over the Cougars and finished their regular season with a 26-4 record. They have no games scheduled this week.
Moving up one spot to #5 are the Memphis Tigers who knocked off the UTEP Miners and the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the week. The Tigers completed a perfect 16-0 run through Conference USA action and finished their regular season with a 27-3 record. Memphis has no games scheduled this week.
Continuing to play their way out of a number one seed come NCAA Tournament time are the #6 Florida Gators. On Tuesday the Gators fell by 10 to the unranked Tennessee Volunteers. They rebounded from the loss with an 85-72 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday. The Gators completed their regular season with a 26-5 record and will go into the SEC Tournament with a number one seed.
Sticking at #7 this week in the AP Top 25 Rankings are the Texas A&M Aggies. After losing a 98-96 double-overtime battle with the then #15 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday the Aggies bounced back with a 16-point win over the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. The Aggies finished one game behind the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 and ended the regular season with a 25-5 record. They have no games scheduled this week.
The #8 North Carolina Tar Heels are another squad that stayed in the same spot from a week ago. The Tar Heels dropped a road game to the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 84-77 on Thursday but followed that up with an 86-72 beating of the then #14 Duke Blue Devils. North Carolina finished the regular season with a 25-6 record and will head into the ACC Tournament with a number one seed.
Just last week the #9 Georgetown Hoyas climbed into the Top 10 and then followed the accomplishment with a loss to the unranked Syracuse Orange 72-58 last Monday. The Hoyas bounced back to beat UConn 59-46 on Saturday. The Hoyas won the Big East title and finished their regular season with a 23-6 record. They have no games scheduled this week.
The #10 Nevada Wolf Pack remained at #10 this week after dropping a two point game to the unranked Utah State Aggies on Thursday and then beating the New Mexico State Aggies by four on Saturday. The Wolf Pack won the WAC regular season title and finished their regular season with a 27-3 record. They have no games scheduled this week.
AP Top 25 Rankings for Men’s College Basketball Week 18
1. Ohio State (70) 27-3
2. Kansas (2) 27-4
3. Wisconsin 27-4
4. UCLA 26-4
5. Memphis 27-3
6. Florida 26-5
7. Texas A&M 25-5
8. North Carolina 25-6
9. Georgetown 23-6
10. Nevada 27-3
11. Washington State 24-6
12. Louisville 22-8
13. Pittsburgh 25-6
14. Southern Illinois 27-6
15. Texas 22-8
16. Oregon 23-7
17. Maryland 24-7
18. Marquette 23-8
19. Butler 27-5
20. Notre Dame 23-6
21. Duke 22-9
22. Tennessee 22-9
23. Brigham Young 23-7
24. Winthrop 28-4
25. UNLV 25-6
