Nell Redmond/Associated Press
Duke earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and is now the No. 1 overall team in the latest Associated Press poll released Monday.
The return of Zion Williamson helped the Blue Devils win the ACC men’s basketball tournament, including victories over North Carolina and Florida State. With previously top-ranked Gonzaga losing in the WCC final to Saint Mary’s, it left an opening for Duke to climb four spots to become the new No. 1.
Here are the full rankings heading into the first round of March Madness.
1. Duke
2. Virginia
3. North Carolina
4. Gonzaga
5. Michigan State
6. Tennessee
7. Kentucky
8. Michigan
9. Texas Tech
10. Florida State
11. Houston
12. LSU
13. Purdue
14. Auburn
15. Buffalo
16. Virginia Tech
17. Kansas
18. Kansas State
19. Wofford
20. Nevada
21. Wisconsin
22. Cincinnati
23. Villanova
24. Iowa State
25. Utah State
The top of the rankings coincide with the NCAA tournament bracket, with the top four teams all No. 1 seeds in order. If the seeds hold, Duke would play Gonzaga in the national semifinals, while Virginia would take on North Carolina in the other side of the Final Four.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 seeds also follow suit with the rankings from five through eight with Michigan State, Tennessee, Kentucky and Michigan. Michigan State was the only one of these four teams to win its conference title with a win over Michigan in the Big Ten final, which was likely enough to put it at No. 5.
However, there are a few teams ranked much higher than their seeds, which could provide some indication as to what to expect in the coming days and weeks.
No. 15 Buffalo dominated the MAC and will now get a chance to show what it can do as a No. 6 seed. Wofford went undefeated through the Southern Conference to earn a No. 7 seed, while voters had more faith ranking them No. 19 in the country.
No. 20 Nevada and No. 22 Cincinnati are also seven seeds, which means there could be some interesting battles in the second round.
Still, these rankings won’t mean much once the tournament begins and teams get a chance to prove themselves on the court.
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