College Basketball Rankings: Predicting the final AP Poll Top 25 after Michigan wins national championship

The final AP Poll Top 25 of the college basketball season is set to release after Michigan lifts the national championship, all but guaranteeing a spot at No. 1. The rest of the selections will comes from voters, sorting teams which made deep NCAA Tournament runs against those which closed a strong regular season.

This final AP Poll release is always the most interesting to predict, as every team in consideration took a loss since the last release but one. However, some picked up significantly more wins along that path.

After the final game of the college basketball season wraps up, it is time to look at how the results could impact the upcoming rankings. Here is an early projection of what the end-of-season AP Poll could look like after the NCAA Tournament.

Predicted AP Poll Top 25

1. Michigan (Last Week: 3)

Michigan lifts the national championship trophy after remaining near the top of the rankings all season. They now finish as a lock for the No. 1 spot in the final AP Poll.

2. UConn (Last Week 7)

UConn lost its conference tournament, but made a run all the way to the national championship game to erase all doubt about the strength of the season. The Huskies might have more losses, but they played the champions closer than most.

3. Arizona (Last Week: 2)

Arizona made a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament. However, a blowout loss to Michigan eliminated any chance they could remain in the second spot of the final AP Poll.

4. Duke (Last Week: 1)

Duke did not make it into the Final Four, suffering an upset loss against UConn at the buzzer in the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils could still come in ahead of one Final Four participant based on the strength of the regular season.

5. Illinois (Last Week: 13)

Illinois made it to the Final Four as a 3-seed team in the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Illini certainly have a case for an even bigger jump in the AP Poll rankings, but will do well to finish in the Top Five.

6. Purdue (Last Week: 8)

Purdue made a run to the Elite Eight before falling against 1-seed Arizona, wrapping up a strong postseason. The Boilermakers backed up a Big Ten Tournament win which included a victory over the national champions.

7. Florida (Last Week: 4)

Despite an upset loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, paired with an SEC Tournament loss earlier in the postseason, Florida should not fall too far. The Iowa team which upset them continued to perform well in future games, helping make the case.

8. Houston (Last Week: 5)

Houston missed out on the Elite Eight, falling in the Sweet 16 against Illinois. However, the Cougars put together a strong resume throughout the season which promises to keep them in the Top 10.

9. Iowa State (Last Week: 6)

Iowa State bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16, losing star forward Joshua Jefferson to injury for the contest. That will not take away from a strong season worthy of a Top 10 nod.

10. Michigan State (Last Week: 11)

Michigan State fell out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 against runner-up UConn. The Spartans still made a strong case that they belong with the top teams in the final rankings.

Predicting 11-25

11. St. John’s (Last Week: 10)
12. Arkansas (Last Week: 14)
13. Alabama (Last Week: 18)
14. Tennessee (Last Week: 23)
15. Virginia (Last Week: 9)
16. Iowa (Last Week: NR)
17. Nebraska (Last Week: 15)
18. Gonzaga (Last Week: 12)
19. Vanderbilt (Last Week: 16)
20. Kansas (Last Week: 17)
21. Texas Tech (Last Week: 20)
22. Louisville (Last Week: 23)
23. Texas (Last Week: NR)
24. Miami (Last Week: 25)
25. Wisconsin (Last Week: 19)

Projected to drop out: North Carolina (Last Week: 21), St. Mary’s (Last Week: 22)