Gonzaga and Virginia have become the clear choices for AP Top 25 voters.
The Zags and Cavaliers were ranked 1-2 atop Monday’s latest poll, marking their third straight week in those spots. But it was the first time in those weeks that the two teams claimed all the first-place votes.
The Zags (29-2) earned 41 of the 64 first-place votes while the Cavaliers (28-2) earned the remaining 23. They had all but five of those first-place votes when they first rose to their current perches two weeks ago, then all but one in last week’s poll.
For Monday’s poll, voter Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal moved his vote from Duke to Gonzaga after the Blue Devils’ second loss to third-ranked rival North Carolina. Two other voters — Donna Ditota of the Syracuse Post-Standard and Zach Osterman of The Indianapolis Star — switched from Gonzaga to Virginia.
Both teams look like favorites for No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament as they enter their league tournaments. Gonzaga’s only losses have come to UNC and No. 8 Tennessee , while Virginia’s two losses came against Duke — which had freshman star Zion Williamson healthy both times.
Gonzaga didn’t play last week after wrapping up its regular-season schedule on March 2. The Zags return to the court against Pepperdine on Monday night to start play in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Virginia beat Louisville at home Saturday to finish tied with UNC atop the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings, though the Cavaliers will have the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina, by virtue of winning last month’s matchup with the Tar Heels.
THE TOP 10
The Tar Heels (26-5) have lost just once since mid-January and remained at No. 3 for a second straight week after earning their first regular-season sweep of Duke since 2009.
Kentucky climbed two spots to fourth, followed by the Blue Devils — who are hoping to get Williamson back for the ACC Tournament. Williamson has missed nearly six full games since suffering a knee sprain in the first loss to UNC, though coach Mike Krzyzewski has said the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson is expected to start contact work in practice this week.
Michigan State, Texas Tech, Tennessee, LSU and Michigan rounded out the top 10.
Baylor maintained its spot as the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.
The Lady Bears, who have been atop the rankings for seven weeks, received all 28 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday. The Lady Bears have won 22 straight games — the longest winning streak in the country. They will try and win their 10th Big 12 Conference Tournament championship Monday night when they face No. 13 Iowa State. Baylor has won eight of the last 10 titles.
UConn, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville follow Baylor. The Irish won the ACC Tournament routing Louisville. The Lady Bulldogs were SEC Tournament champions for the first time in school history.
Stanford and Oregon flipped places in the poll after the Cardinal topped the Ducks for the Pac-12 title Sunday night. Iowa, Maryland and N.C. State round out the first 10 teams in the poll.
The Cyclones made the biggest leap, moving up six spots this week after beating Kansas twice and then-No. 21 Texas.
The final poll of the season will be released next Monday.
Here are some other tidbits from the AP Top 25 this week:
While most of the Power Five tournaments are finished with the exception of the Big 12, many of the mid-major conferences play their tournaments this week. No. 21 Drake opens up Missouri Valley play on Friday. No. 24 Rice begins Conference USA Tournament play on Thursday.