For the third consecutive season, Iowa ended the season ranked inside the final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes (26-10) ended up ranked No. 21 after losing in the NCAA Tournament’s first round against the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders, 67-63. The Hawkeyes finished No. 25 in the final poll of the 2019-20 season and No. 13 in the final poll of the 2020-21 season.
Iowa climbed to its season-high ranking of No. 19 after winning the Big Ten tournament title with a 75-66 win over then-No. 9 Purdue. Sophomore standout forward [autotag]Keegan Murray[/autotag] scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten tournament championship game victory over the Boilermakers.
After rallying to win over North Carolina, 72-69, to capture the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament championship, Kansas finished ranked No. 1. It’s actually the second time in the past three seasons that the Jayhawks finished atop the rankings. KU finished ranked No. 1 to end the 2019-20 men’s basketball season, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
After Kansas, the other three Final Four participants grabbed the next three slots. Despite being outside the poll entering the tournament, North Carolina climbed all the way up to No. 2. Duke was ranked No. 3 and Villanova was No. 4. The rest of the top 10 of the final USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll looked like this: Gonzaga No. 5, Arizona No. 6, Houston No. 7, Arkansas No. 8, Baylor No. 9 and Purdue No. 10.
Other Big Ten teams that finished ranked included No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Illinois and No. 25 Michigan. Here’s a look at the full final Ferris Mowers Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Kansas | 34-6 | 800 (32) | +2 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 29-10 | 741 | +26 |
| 3 | Duke | 32-7 | 706 | +7 |
| 4 | Villanova | 30-8 | 705 | +1 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 28-4 | 644 | -4 |
| 6 | Arizona | 33-4 | 619 | -4 |
| 7 | Houston | 32-6 | 540 | +8 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 28-9 | 518 | +10 |
| 9 | Baylor | 27-7 | 499 | -5 |
| 10 | Purdue | 29-8 | 463 | -1 |
| 11 | UCLA | 27-8 | 453 | +1 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 27-10 | 440 | -1 |
| 13 | Providence | 27-6 | 400 | – |
| 14 | Auburn | 28-6 | 386 | -7 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 27-8 | 379 | -7 |
| 16 | Miami (Fl) | 26-11 | 264 | – |
| 16 | Kentucky | 26-8 | 264 | -10 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 25-8 | 228 | -4 |
| 19 | Illinois | 23-10 | 223 | -3 |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s | 26-8 | 149 | -4 |
| 21 | Iowa | 26-10 | 133 | -2 |
| 22 | Murray State | 31-3 | 115 | -2 |
| 23 | Iowa State | 22-13 | 112 | – |
| 24 | Saint Peter’s | 22-12 | 111 | – |
| 25 | Michigan | 19-15 | 108 | – |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 21 Connecticut; No. 22 Southern California; No. 23 Boise St.; No. 24 Virginia Tech; No. 25 Texas
Others Receiving Votes
Texas 104; Connecticut 59; Southern California 45; Michigan St 35; Virginia Tech 24; Ohio St. 23; Creighton 22; Notre Dame 20; Texas Christian 19; Memphis 15; Xavier 9; Boise St. 9; San Francisco 4; Colorado St. 4; Seton Hall 3; Rutgers 2; Louisiana State 2; Texas A&M 1
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