Duke extends No. 1 record in AP Top
25 as Michigan State, Nebraska and Texas Tech crash top 10
[March 03, 2026]
By JOHN MARSHALL
Duke is No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll
for the second straight week, extending its all-time record with the
program's 149th appearance in the top spot.
The Blue Devils received 55 of 59 first-place votes in Monday's poll
following lopsided wins over Notre Dame and then-No. 11 Virginia
last week.
No. 2 Arizona received four first-place votes after clinching a
share of the Big 12 regular-season title with Saturday's 84-61 win
over No. 14 Kansas. Michigan, UConn and Florida rounded out the top
five.
Duke (27-2) has been dominant defensively since losing to rival
North Carolina on Feb. 7, holding its last six opponents to an
average of 57 points per game.
The Blue Devils opened the week by handing Notre Dame its worst home
loss since 1898 with a 100-56 win. Duke then turned its showdown
with Virginia into another rout, crushing the Cavaliers 77-51 on
Saturday to clinch the top seed for the Atlantic Coast Conference
Tournament.
NET vs. AP Top 25
The latest NET rankings mirror the AP Top 25 with Duke on top, but
the rest of the top 10 differed.
The NET, which the NCAA uses to help select its tournament field,
had Michigan at No. 2, one ahead of Arizona, with Florida at No. 4.
Illinois is No. 11 in the AP poll, but is all the way up to No. 5 in
the NET. No. 12 Gonzaga is seven spots better in the NET and No. 4
UConn is four places lower at No. 8.
Houston is No. 7 in both rankings, but the NET has No. 15 Purdue at
No. 9 in its rankings and No. 6 Iowa State at No. 10.
Rising and falling
No. 10 Texas Tech had the biggest jump of the week, climbing six
places with wins over Cincinnati and at Iowa State last week.
[to top of second column] |
Arizona guard Anthony Dell'orso reacts after scoring against Kansas
during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday,
Feb. 28, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
No. 8 Michigan State moved up five places following
its 76-74 win over Purdue on Thursday and Sunday's 13-point win over
Indiana. Fellow Big Ten school Nebraska climbed three spots to No. 9
little more than a month after reaching a program-best No. 5.
No. 19 Miami (Ohio), Division I’s only remaining
undefeated team, climbed two spots for its highest ranking since
reaching No. 12 in 1952-53.
No. 15 Purdue had the biggest drop of the week, losing seven places
following losses to Michigan State and Ohio State.
No. 12 Gonzaga lost three places following its 70-59 loss to rival
Saint Mary's.
In and out
By beating Gonzaga, Saint Mary's earned a share of the West Coast
Conference regular-season title and moved into the AP Top 25 for the
first time this season at No. 21.
No. 22 Miami is ranked for the first time since 2023 following wins
over Florida State and Boston College.
BYU dropped out of the poll from No. 19 with three losses in four
games since sharpshooting guard Richie Saunders went down with a
season-ending knee injury.
Louisville's losses to North Carolina and Clemson last week knocked
the Cardinals out of the poll from No. 25.
Conference watch
The Big 12 is tied with the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences for
the most ranked teams at five following BYU's departure. The ACC is
next with four teams, followed by the Big East and West Coast
conferences with two each. The Mid-American Conference and Atlantic
10 each have one ranked team.
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