By AARON BEARD
Michigan is No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the 2025-26 season after winning the program’s first national championship in 37 years.
The Wolverines (37-3) claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday’s poll in the third year the AP has released its final rankings after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 in Indianapolis on Monday night to complete the winningest season in program history, along with winning its first NCAA title since 1989 and the Big Ten’s first since 2000.
Michigan spent a week at No. 1 in mid-February and didn’t rank lower than fourth after November in its second season under Dusty May.
Yaxel Lendeborg, an AP first-team All-American, had said before the Final Four that this could go down as the best team in program history, including the famed “Fab Five” freshman teams that reached the NCAA title game in 1992 and 1993. Standing amid the confetti on the court after Monday night’s win, Lendeborg figured this year’s group had done enough to earn that distinction.
“I think we are, man,” said Lendeborg, who battled through ankle and knee injuries suffered in the win against Arizona in the national semifinals. “I’m waiting for the Fab Five to give us the approval. But if they do, then I’ll let it be said that we’re the best team ever.”
The top tier
UConn (34-6) jumped five spots to No. 2 after its March Madness run, including an incredible comeback from 19 down to stun Duke in the Elite Eight and keep alive its chances for a third national title in four seasons. Arizona was third, followed by Duke, which held the No. 1 ranking before March Madness and was the tournament’s top overall seed before a loss to UConn in the Elite Eight.
Illinois was next, climbing eight spots to No. 5 after the program’s first trip to the Final Four since 2005. That marked the second time that a team went from being ranked outside the top 10 to cracking the top five after a Final Four run, the other being Alabama jumping 16 spots to No. 3 to end the 2024 season.
Purdue, Houston, Iowa State, Florida and St. John’s rounded out the top 10.
Climbing to final position
Tennessee finished at No. 12 after reaching the Elite Eight for the third straight year. The Volunteers’ postseason push vaulted them 11 spots, making them the biggest climber from the March 16 poll before the NCAA Tournament.
In all, nine teams ranked from the previous poll moved up in the season’s final rankings.
Last slide
Virginia had the poll’s biggest tumble, falling eight spots to No. 17 after falling in the second round to the Volunteers as a 3-seed.
No. 18 Gonzaga and No. 25 Wisconsin both fell six spots after failing to make the second weekend. The Cavaliers, Zags and Badgers were among 11 ranked teams from March 16 to tumble while still remaining inside the final poll.
In and out
Iowa and Texas both jumped into the poll after being unranked heading into March Madness. The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked No. 15 after reaching the Elite Eight in a run that included a second-round upset of top-seeded Florida.
Iowa’s jump marked the third time a team that was unranked going into the NCAAs hopped into the top 15 in the post-tournament AP poll. The other two came in 2024, with N.C. State sitting at No. 10 after its improbable Final Four run and Clemson at No. 14 after reaching the Elite Eight.
The 22nd-ranked Longhorns entered the poll after going from the First Four to the Sweet 16.
Iowa and Texas replaced North Carolina (No. 21) and St. Mary’s (No. 22) from the previous poll.
Conference watch
The Big Ten dominated this year’s tournament, first by getting a league-record six teams into the Sweet 16 then tying the tournament’s overall record with four teams in the Elite Eight before ultimately sending Michigan and Illinois to Indianapolis. The league finished with a national-best seven teams in the final AP Top 25 of the season.
The Southeastern Conference was next with six ranked teams, followed by the Big 12 with five, the Atlantic Coast Conference with four and the Big East with two. The West Coast Conference with Gonzaga was the only league from outside the power conferences to have a Top 25 team.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
