AP Men’s Basketball Poll: Six Big 12 Teams Land in Top 25
Six Big 12 teams, led by No. 1 Houston, were among the nation’s best as the Associated Press Men’s Basketball Top 25 was released after the conclusion of the regular season.
The Big 12 ranked teams included:
Houston at No. 1 (No. 1 last week);
Iowa State at No. 7 (No. 6 last week);
Baylor at No. 14 (No. 11 last week);
Kansas at No. 16 (No. 14 last week);
BYU at No. 20 (No. 20 last week);
Texas Tech at No. 25 (receiving votes last week).
Houston (28-3, 15-3) won the outright Big 12 regular-season title with victories over UCF (67-59) and Kansas (76-46) last week. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will play on Thursday.
The Cougars are No. 1 in the country for the third week in a row.
Iowa State (24-7, 13-5) split last week and finished second in the regular-season standings. The Cyclones defeated BYU, 68-63, and lost to Kansas State, 65-58. The Cyclones will be the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will not play until Thursday.
Baylor (22-9, 11-7) is the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament after splitting last week, beating Texas, 93-85, and falling to Texas Tech, 78-68.
Kansas (22-9, 10-8) split last week, beating Kansas State, 90-68, and falling to Houston, 76-46. The Jayhawks are the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will play on Wednesday against either Cincinnati or West Virginia.
BYU (21-8, 9-7) is the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and maintained their rankings after a loss to Iowa State (68-53) and a win over Oklahoma State (85-71).
Texas Tech (22-9, 11-7) is the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and will play on Thursday. The Red Raiders moved back into the Top 25 on the strength of wins over Oklahoma State (75-58) and Baylor (78-68).
AP Top 25 Men’s Poll for March 11
No. 1 Houston
No. 2 UConn
No. 3 Purdue
No. 4 North Carolina
No. 5 Tennessee
No. 6 Arizona
No. 7 Iowa State
No. 8 Creighton
No. 9 Kentucky
No. 10 Marquette
No. 11 Duke
No. 12 Auburn
No. 13 Illinois
No. 14 Baylor
No. 15 South Carolina
No. 16 Kansas
No. 17 Gonzaga
No. 18 Utah State
No. 19 Alabama
No. 18 Washington State
No. 20 BYU
No. 21 Saint Mary’s
No. 22 Washington State
No. 23 Nevada
No. 21 Dayton
No. 24 Dayton
No. 25 Texas Tech
Big 12 teams receiving votes: Texas 14.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
