Associated Press reveals final top 25 poll

(WYMT/AP) - The Associated Press unveiled their final top 25 rankings for men’s college basketball ahead of the NCAA Tournament on Monday.

The Alabama Crimson Tide jumped to #1 after their dominant performances in the SEC Tournament this past weekend. The run culminated in an SEC Tournament Championship with an 82-63 victory against Texas A&M Sunday. The Crimson Tide also claimed the #1 overall seed for March Madness, marking the first time the men’s basketball program has gone into the big dance as a #1 seed in school history. The Crimson Tide received 48 out of 61 possible first-place votes in this week’s top 25 poll.

Houston dropped to #2 following their loss to Memphis in the AAC Championship, 75-65 on Sunday. The Cougars also lost senior guard Marcus Sasser during the weekend due to injury in their 69-48 victory against Cincinnati. The Cougars picked up nine first-place votes while Purdue, who won the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday, garnered three. UCLA received the final first-place vote, despite falling to Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship, 61-59 on Saturday.

Texas A&M was named the 17th-ranked team this week while Tennessee fell to #20. Missouri was the final team to make the cut out of the SEC at #23.

Kentucky fell out of the rankings after holding the 23rd spot last week, but John Calipari’s squad did receive 39 votes to get back into the top 25. Only Creighton and Oral Roberts received more as far as non-ranked teams go.

1. Alabama (29-5)

2. Houston (31-3)

3. Purdue (29-5)

4. Kansas (27-7)

5. Texas (26-8)

6. Marquette (28-6)

7. UCLA (29-5)

8. Arizona (28-6)

9. Gonzaga (28-5)

10. UConn (25-8)

11. Baylor (22-10)

12. Duke (26-8)