Duke has a No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 again to go with its top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils are back on top followed by Virginia and North Carolina to give the Atlantic Coast Conference a 1-2-3 showing in the final AP Top 25 poll this season.
The Blue Devils (29-5) jumped from fifth to first Monday after winning last week’s league tournament with the return of freshman star Zion Williamson from a knee sprain that had sidelined him nearly six full games. That made Duke the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament when the field of 68 teams was unveiled Sunday night.
The Cavaliers (29-3) and Tar Heels (27-6) stayed in their positions in what is believed to be the first time a conference has claimed the top three spots in the final AP poll. Both also earned No. 1 seeds to headline their own NCAA regions.
Duke claimed 58 of 64 first-place votes, while Virginia claimed five and No. 4 Gonzaga got the other vote. That gave Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski his eighth No. 1 ranking in the final AP poll, breaking a tie with late UCLA coach John Wooden for the most all-time.
It’s part of a season in which the Blue Devils were regarded as the title favorite much of the way behind Williamson and fellow high-scoring freshman RJ Barrett, and now again that Williamson is healthy to lead Duke’s charge in to the NCAA Tournament.
“Our guys have talked about winning a national championship together for a long time,” associate head coach Jon Scheyer said after the FSU win. “We know it’s here.”
Gonzaga, the fourth NCAA 1-seed, fell from No. 1 in last week’s poll after losing to Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game for its first loss since December.
Big Ten Tournament champion Michigan State moved up a spot to fifth, followed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas Tech and Florida State — which upset Virginia in the ACC semifinals to round out the top 10.
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey knew her team was going to be pretty good this season. She just didn’t know how good because the Lady Bears had too many unknowns.
They turned out to be the best team in the country before the NCAA Tournament, finishing as a unanimous No. 1 in the last Associated Press women’s basketball poll of the season released Monday.
“I don’t know that I had the expectations that we were going to finish No. 1, start No. 1,” Mulkey said. “I had the expectation that we were one of about five or six teams that could win it all, and that could be ranked high. But I knew we would be a top team. “
The Lady Bears, who have been atop the rankings for eight weeks, received all 28 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday. It’s the third time in school history that the team finished with the No. 1 ranking. Baylor was the top choice in 2012 and 2013 in the final poll.
“It doesn’t bring me the satisfaction that a national championship would,” Mulkey said of being No. 1. “What it does mean is that we’re still relevant. We’re still a talked-about team and on a national scale.”
The Lady Bears have won 23 straight games — the longest winning streak in the country. They are expected to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced Monday night.
UConn, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville follow Baylor.
There was no change in the top 11 teams in the poll with most of the teams finishing their conference tournaments last week. Stanford, Oregon, Iowa, Maryland and N.C. State round out the first 10 teams in the poll.
DePaul entered the Top 25 after beating Marquette to win the Big East championship. The Golden Eagles fell five places to 18. Drake fell out of the poll.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma earned his 522nd ranking with UConn moving him into a tie with former Georgia coach Andy Landers for third place on the all-time coaches ranking list. Both coaches did it at one school. Auriemma trails Tara VanDerveer (558) and Pat Summitt (618).