Duke’s 28-of-31 first-place hammer keeps the Blue Devils on top, but the real story is the carnage beneath them—Texas Tech’s six-slot leap, Purdue’s six-slot plunge, and Saint Mary’s crashing the party at No. 21.
Snapshot: the reshuffled top 25
- 1. Duke (28 first-place votes) – swept Virginia, locked ACC crown.
- 2. Arizona (3 first-place votes) – owned Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse.
- 3. Michigan – won at Illinois, stays put but gaining believers.
- 4. Connecticut – up two spots; Huskies peaking at the right time.
- 5. Florida – also up two; SEC co-leaders smelling a 1-seed.
- 6. Houston – down two after tight Big-12 war.
- 7. Iowa State – Tech comeback drops Cyclones two slots.
- 8. Michigan State – five-place rocket ride; Izzo timing the sprint.
- 9. Nebraska – slipped one, but still最安全十大网赌平台 in decades.
- 10. Texas Tech – six-rung climb the week’s biggest vault.
Why the top three refused to budge
Duke isn’t just hoarding votes—its 77-58 clinic at Virginia marked the seventh straight game holding a power-conference foe under 0.95 PPP. Pair that with freshman forward Conor McKenna averaging 19-9-4 since February 1 and you get a roster no coach wants to face in March.
Michigan’s unchanged No. 3 slot belies momentum: the Wolverines’ defense forced Illinois into 36 percent shooting, and Dug McDaniel has committed just six turnovers across his last four games. Any voter hesitation stems from an upcoming stretch at Wisconsin and home versus rival Ohio State.
Biggest winners of the week
- Texas Tech (+6) – Kevin McCullar’s 25-point masterpiece at Iowa State vaulted the Red Raiders back into top-10 territory and shoved them into the Big-12 double-bye picture.
- Michigan State (+5) – Tom Izzo owns three quadrant-1 wins in February; Tyson Walker’s assist-to-turnover ratio during that span is 4.3-1.
- Saint Mary’s (new at 21) – Randy Bennett’s gauntlet defense held Gonzaga to 0.87 PPP, forcing the poll to recognize the WCC isn’t a two-team league.
- Connecticut (+2) – Alex Karaban’s late-game shotmaking has the Huskies 7-1 since February 1, the nation’s fourth-best efficiency margin in that window.
Free-fall alert: Purdue, Gonzaga, Houston
Purdue slips six rungs to No. 14 after back-to-back losses to Illinois and Indiana. Zach Edey still puts up 24-12 nightly, but perimeter defenders are allowing 11.2 made threes per game in February—up from 7.4 in December.
Gonzaga drops three to No. 12 following its Saint Mary’s stumble. Drew Timme’s 31-point Herculean effort masked the Zags coughing up 19 offensive boards; Few’s crew must clean the glass or risk a 5-seed.
Houston falls two to No. 6 after letting Texas A&M nudge them at the stripe. The Cougars still rate No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, yet a 29-percent mark from deep in their last three games has AAC foes packing the paint.
Bracketology nuggets the poll validates
- The Big 12 now owns six top-25 teams—its deepest poll presence since 2017.
- The Big Ten places four in the top 11, setting up a bloodbath conference tournament that could steal three No. 1 seeds.
- Saint Mary’s entry means eight west-coast programs have appeared in the poll this season; selection-committee analytics already slot the Gaels as a 9-seed.
March forecast: what happens next
Duke visits UNC in a rivalry rubber match that doubles as a 1-seed eliminator. A win clinches the ACC outright by two games and buries any doubt about the tournament’s top line.
Keep one eye on Lawrence: Kansas still hosts Texas Tech; a split there would open the door for Baylor to swipe the Big 12 outright and pin three league champions vying for the final No. 1.
And don’t sleep on the SEC logjam: if Florida wins at Tennessee and Alabama in Gainesville the Gators could ride a nine-game win streak into Championship Week, forcing the committee to weigh a 17-1 finish against power-league giants.
Bottom line
The coaches poll confirms what eyeballs have screamed for weeks: parity rules 2025-26. Four teams can plausibly claim the final No. 1 seed, six others are a hot shooting night from the Final Four, and Saint Mary’s just proved any road to Houston can detour through Moraga. Buckle up—March is here a week early.
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