The regular season is over, and Selection Sunday is now less than a week away.
Here’s everything you missed in the final week of the regular season, and the last relevant Associated Press poll of the 2025-26 campaign.
Duke ends at No. 1
Now to be clear, this poll doesn’t matter much. With the NCAA tournament bracket reveal coming on Sunday, and the final conference tournaments getting underway in the coming days, the national rankings are secondary.
But Duke is entering the postseason at No. 1 in the country, and that has to count for something.
The Blue Devils ended the regular season at 29-2, fresh off a dominant 76-61 win over North Carolina on Saturday night. That capped an eight-game win streak, and gave them their second consecutive regular season ACC title. Star Cameron Boozer is playing as good, if not better, than anyone else in the country, too. He averaged 22.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season while helping Duke to the top seed in the ACC tournament.
Duke, assuming they don’t completely fall apart this week in Charlotte, has a pretty clear path to not only securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but the top overall seed in the tournament.
Arizona, the top seed in the Big 12 tournament, and Michigan, the Big Ten’s top seed, held their spots in this week’s poll. Florida moved up a spot to No. 4 this week. The Gators ran the table in the SEC and seem poised to actually put up a solid title defense this March, something that didn't seem possible just a few months ago. Houston then jumped two spots to round out the top five.
Outside of the five major tournaments, keep an eye on Miami (Ohio) this week. The RedHawks completed their undefeated season, but still aren’t a lock to earn an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. They aren’t even the favorite to win the MAC tournament, either. That honor goes to Akron, which only lost to Miami (Ohio) by three points. That championship game is set for Saturday night.
Championship Games this week
All times ET
Saturday, March 14
Big 12 championship game | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN
Big East championship game | 6:30 p.m. | Fox
MAC championship game | 8 p.m. | ESPN2
ACC championship game | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN
Sunday, March 15
SEC championship game | 1 p.m. | ESPN
Big Ten championship game | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
Selection Sunday | 6 p.m. | CBS
AP Top 25
The full Associated Press men’s basketball poll from March 9, 2026.
1. Duke (29-2)
2. Arizona (29-2)
3. Michigan (29-2)
4. Florida (25-6)
5. Houston (26-5)
6. UConn (27-4)
7. Iowa State (25-6)
8. Michigan State (25-6)
9. Illinois (24-7)
10. Virginia (27-4)
11. Nebraska (26-5)
12. Gonzaga (28-3)
13. St. John's (25-6)
14. Kansas (22-9)
15. Alabama (23-8)
16. Texas Tech (22-9)
17. Arkansas (23-8)
18. Purdue (23-8)
19. North Carolina (24-7)
20. Miami (OH) (31-0)
21. Saint Mary's (27-4)
22. Vanderbilt (24-7)
23. Wisconsin (22-9)
24. Louisville (22-9)
25. Tennessee (21-10)
Others receiving votes: Miami 60, TCU 19, BYU 18, Saint Louis 12, High Point 11, Georgia 10, Villanova 10, UCLA 3, VCU 3, Stephen F Austin 2, Utah State 2, Ohio State 2, Missouri 2, Akron 1