With the regular season in the books and the top men’s basketball teams heading into conference tournament week, the top portion of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll more or less mirrors bracket projections as Selection Sunday looms.
Duke enters the ACC tournament as the top-ranked team in the nation with a chance to secure the first overall seed. The Blue Devils once again received 28 of 31 first-place votes. The remaining three firsts again go to No. 2 Arizona, the Big 12 tourney top seed also well positioned to head a regional in the Big Dance. Big Ten regular season champ Michigan holds at No. 3 in the poll, with Surging Florida continuing its upward trajectory climbing to fourth. Houston is back in the top five as Connecticut slips two positions to No. 6 after a loss to Marquette.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll
The rest of the top 10 is shuffled slightly, though No. 7 Iowa State and NO. 8 Michigan State hold steady. Illinois moves back up to No. 9, edging ahead of Nebraska, as Texas Tech slides four spots to No. 14.
No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 24 Louisville return to the poll as Saint Louis and Tennessee drop out.
