Gators finish outside AP Poll top 25 after SEC Tournament run

Florida is still outside the AP Poll’s top 25 despite a fantastic showing in Nashville this past week.

Todd Golden and his Florida basketball team fought hard this past week in Nashville, pushing their way through three conference peers in the SEC Tournament only to fall short against the Auburn Tigers in the title game. Still, it was a valiant effort that has not gone unnoticed.

Except for the Associated Press Poll, which omitted the Gators once again from its top-25 rankings.

The Orange and Blue at least made significant improvements in votes received, jumping from just eight last week to 120 in the Week 20 update, which makes Golden’s gang a de facto No. 27 team in the rankings — right behind the New Mexico Lobos’ 134.

The week before, they held 39 votes while two weeks prior Florida was ranked No. 24.

Looking around the Southeastern Conference the Tennessee Volunteers are ranked No. 6, followed by Auburn (No. 7), the Kentucky Wildcats (No. 12), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 16) and Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 19). The Mississippi State Bulldogs also received five votes.

Florida is the No. 7 seed in the South Region this year according to the official NCAA Tournament bracket and will face the winner of the Boise State Broncos-Colorado Buffaloes play-in game.

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Alabama basketball remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll

Do the Crimson Tide fall in the Week 20 AP Poll after SEC quarterfinal exit vs. Florida?

After an early quarterfinal exit from the SEC Tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide will need to regroup as the NCAA Tournament tips off this weekend. The No. 4 seeded Crimson Tide will open up Tournament play against Charleston on Friday at 6:35 p.m. C.T. in Spokane, WA. Alabama enters the contest against the Coastal Athletic Association champions as 9.5-point favorites with an absurd over/under of 172.5 points.

With the March Madness field already selected, it doesn’t mean a ton, but the Crimson Tide remains ranked No. 19 in the Week 20 AP Poll. Unfortunately, both Auburn and Tennessee crack the top ten at No. 6 and 7 in the country, but both have tougher paths ahead in the Tournament than Alabama.

Despite the unfortunate ending to SEC play, it was another successful season in Tuscaloosa as they tied for second in the conference. Which is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when you have to replace ten players as well as all three assistant coaches from a season ago. The biggest win of the entire season came on Friday as Nate Oats inked an extension with the Tide that will keep him in Alabama for quite some time as his buyout has reportedly increased to $18 million.

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Associated Press releases pre-tournament Top 25, Duke firmly out of top 10

The Associated Press released one more top 25 before the NCAA Tournament is set to tip off, and the Blue Devils slid even farther down.

With March Madness finally here and the tournament field set, the Associated Press released one last top-25 ranking on Monday before the festivities really begin.

The Blue Devils, after the upset loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament, dropped two more spots down to 13th. The ranking reflects their position as the No. 4 seed in the South region, outside of the top 12 overall teams.

Duke finished the regular season and conference tournament with a 24-8 record, finishing with 834 points in the voting.

Defending national champion Connecticut moved back atop the rankings with Houston in second, followed by Purdue. Iowa State, despite being a No. 2 seed in the bracket, took the fourth spot ahead of North Carolina, who dropped to fifth.

Tennessee, Auburn, Marquette, Arizona, and Illinois made up the lower half of the top 10, with Creighton and Kentucky taking the spots ahead of Duke.

Wisconsin returns to AP Top 25 in final edition ahead of March Madness

Wisconsin returns to AP Top 25 ahead of March Madness

Wisconsin basketball is back in the AP Top 25 with March Madness set to begin later this week.

The Badgers check in at No. 23 in the latest edition of the poll after not even receiving votes in last week’s edition.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers vs. James Madison Dukes: TV channel, betting line, game notes for NCAA Tournament Round of 64

The big moves comes on the heels of a 3-1 week at the Big Ten Tournament. Greg Gard’s team blew out top-70 Maryland team, comfortably defeated Northwestern even without point guard Chucky Hepburn, upset top-ranked Purdue and finally fell to a red-hot Illinois team.

Wisconsin is one of three Big Ten teams included in the poll along with Purdue at No. 3 and Illinois at No. 10.

The Badgers start their NCAA Tournament quest Friday night in Brooklyn, New York against No. 12-seed James Madison.

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Alabama basketball drops three spots in Week 19 AP Poll

How does Alabama Hoops fare in the Week 19 AP Poll?

After dropping three of their final fives games of the regular season, Alabama basketball was able to cap off SEC play with a nice 92-88 OT victory over Arkansas on Saturday. The Tide trailed 74-68 with 2:05 left in the game, but a massive [autotag]Grant Nelson[/autotag] three pointer sparked life back into the Crimson Tide.

It might have been a different story if [autotag]Latrell Wrightsell[/autotag] was able to stay healthy, but with him missing time late in the season, Alabama just never looked the same. The Volunteers were unfortunately able to pull away and earn the title of SEC regular season champs after the series sweep of the Tide. Alabama, alongside Auburn, South Carolina and Kentucky finished the season in second place with a 13-5 record. With post-season play starting this week, the Crimson Tide will be the three-seed in the SEC tournament this week.

The Week 19 AP Poll saw the Crimson Tide drop three spots after going 1-1 last week. However, they should still be a four-seed in March Madness per ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

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Duke drops to 11th in latest AP Poll

Duke dropped three spots and out of the top 10 in the latest Associated Press poll on Monday while UNC vaulted into the top four.

After Saturday’s loss to North Carolina, the Blue Devils dropped out of the top 10 in the Associated Press poll.

AP released an updated Top 25 on Monday, and Duke slipped down two spots to 11th in the new rankings.

Duke finished the regular season with a 24-7 record and a 15-5 record against ACC opponents, finishing two games behind North Carolina in the conference race.

The Tar Heels, after their road win in Cameron Indoor Stadium, climbed within the top four of the national rankings.

Houston maintained its hold as the No. 1 team in the country, with Connecticut, Purdue, UNC, and Tennessee completing the top five.

Arizona, Iowa State, Creighton, Kentucky, and Marquette rounded out the top 10, the same teams as the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released the same day but in a different order.

The Blue Devils finished with 976 points in the voting, 35 points behind Marquette in 10th.

Gators remain outside AP Poll top 25 after disappointing Vandy loss

The ‘Bama win almost assured Florida a top-25 spot but the Vandy loss negated those gains.

Florida basketball was flying high heading into the final weekend of the regular season. But instead of closing things out against a struggling Vanderbilt Commodores program, the Gators fell flat in the final minutes and lost on the road, 79-78, to end things on a sour note.

As a result, the Orange and Blue was unable to climb back into the Associated Press Poll‘s top 25, leaving Todd Golden’s gang with just eight votes. Last week, they held 39 votes while the two weeks prior Florida was ranked No. 24.

Looking around the Southeastern Conference the Tennessee Volunteers are ranked No. 5, followed by the Kentucky Wildcats (No. 9), Auburn Tigers (No. 12), South Carolina Gamecocks (No. 15) and Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 19). No other SEC school earned votes.

Florida is a No. 6 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, giving it a first-round bye and matching the Gators up with the winner of Game 2 on Thursday, March 14, inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Tipoff is slated for a late 9:30 p.m. ET start on the SEC Network.

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Wisconsin fails to receive votes in latest AP and USA TODAY Coaches Polls

Wisconsin fails to receive votes in latest AP and USA TODAY Coaches Polls

Wisconsin basketball failed to receive votes in the latest editions of both the AP Poll and USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The team is off a 1-1 week which saw a comfortable home victory against Rutgers and a narrow road defeat at the hands of top-ranked Purdue. The regular season-ending frame put the Badgers record at 19-12 overall and 11-9 in Big Ten play — marks good enough for an NCAA Tournament birth but not good enough for inclusion in either top 25.

Today was the final edition of each poll before most postseason tournaments begin. Next week will be the final polls before the start of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin is scheduled to play its first Big Ten Tournament contest Thursday afternoon against the winner of Rutgers and Maryland. Wins would mean more matchups for Greg Gard’s team, something it may need to improve its standing before Selection Sunday.

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Wisconsin remains on outside of both AP and USA TODAY Coaches Polls

What do you expect from Wisconsin basketball in March?

Wisconsin basketball remains on the outside looking in on the latest edition of both the AP Poll and USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The ranking is no surprise. The Badgers are off a 0-2 week which saw an inexplicable road loss to Indiana and a demoralizing home defeat to No. 12 Illinois.

Greg Gard’s team is now 18-11 overall and 10-8 in Big Ten play, down significantly from the 16-4 (8-1 Big Ten) marks entering February. That’s what a streak of losing seven of nine will do, especially in a sport as volatile as college basketball.

The Badgers have faced one of the nation’s toughest schedules. But that isn’t an excuse for the steep regression in the last five weeks.

Wisconsin returns to the court Thursday night at the Kohl Center against 15-14 (7-11 Big Ten) Rutgers. The Badgers will look for revenge after suffering a blowout loss to the Scarlet Knights, a loss which was a big part of their big losing skid.

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Oklahoma Sooners move up one spot in latest Women’s Basketball AP Poll

After beating Texas, the Sooners move up one spot to No. 19 in the latest Women’s Basketball AP Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners prepare for the Big 12 tournament starting March 7 in Kansas City. The Sooners head into the tournament coming off of a big win over No. 3 Texas but were upset in Lawrence on the final day of the regular season.

Still, with a Big 12 regular season title in hand, OU is a threat to win the Big 12 tournament.

The win over Texas, more than the loss to Kansas, helped the Sooners rise one spot in the latest AP Top 25 to No. 19 in the nation. They’re the fourth highest-ranked Big 12 team behind Texas at No. 6, Kansas State at No. 16, and Baylor at No. 17.

Though they weren’t able to make a significant move this week in the poll, a strong showing in the Big 12 tournament could get them closer to the top 10.

The South Carolina Gamecocks head into tournament play as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation.

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