Luke DeCock’s AP Top 25 basketball poll ballot: Week 19
Only one poll left after this one, and this is really the last one that isn’t inevitably influenced by what happens Sunday night. The last one that’s a true measure of voters’ opinions, without the gravitational pull of NCAA seedings.
That said, it feels like the top six teams on this ballot are going to end up with the four No. 1 seeds no matter what else happens this week. It’s just a question of who gets left out. (My guess: Dayton and San Diego State, because the committee often leans toward the bigger names and conferences. Not consciously, perhaps. But it does.) Which is a long way of saying, I’m also still not sure Duke can’t squeak back onto the 1 line with wins over N.C. State, Florida State and Virginia/Louisville and a little help elsewhere. Or onto the 2 line in the East, which would basically be the same thing.
Because, as Pete Gillen said it for eternity, Duke is Duke.
A rare week in which teams at the bottom of the ballot lost but stayed on the ballot. Illinois (25) lost at Ohio State but beat Iowa at home and Houston (23) lost at Connecticut but beat Memphis at home. Compared to the other teams still under consideration — Butler and Rutgers, with Virginia already replacing Ohio State — it didn’t seem like any further change was warranted.
THIS SEASON’S BALLOTS
Week 1 (Preseason) Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18
THIS WEEK’S TOP 25 BASKETBALL BALLOT
1. Kansas (Last week: 1)
2. Gonzaga (2)
3. Dayton (5)
4. San Diego State (3)
5. Duke (8)
6. Baylor (4)
7. Florida State (12)
8. Creighton (9)
9. Michigan State (15)
10. Maryland (7)
11. Villanova (13)
12. BYU (10)
13. Louisville (11)
14. West Virginia (21)
15. Wisconsin (17)
16. Kentucky (14)
17. Oregon (24)
18. East Tennessee State (22)
19. Ohio State (18)
20. Seton Hall (6)
21. Michigan (20)
22. Iowa (16)
23. Virginia (NR)
24. Houston (23)
25. Illinois (25)
OUT Penn State (19)
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 8:24 AM.
