Luke DeCock’s AP Top 25 basketball poll ballot: Week 16
This is always the most pointless poll. Once the NCAA puts numbers next to 68 teams, these rankings don’t matter. But it is worth taking a moment to congratulate Gonzaga for a wire-to-wire run in the No. 1 spot, and slightly lesser congratulations to Baylor, which spent all but two weeks in the No. 2 spot on this ballot. Michigan had it two weeks ago; Illinois claims it this week.
My Final Four in December was Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois and Texas; I learned with Arizona in 1997 that those early first impressions do matter, so I’ll probably stick with that, but the deeper bracket analysis is coming later Monday. I reserve the right to change my mind.
Take a moment to note that Loyola is a top-10 team on this ballot and a No. 8 seed in the bracket (although with Illinois looming it’s a moot point). Fifth-seeded Tennessee is the biggest outlier in the other direction.
THIS SEASON’S BALLOTS
Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15
THIS WEEK’S TOP 25 BASKETBALL BALLOT
1. Gonzaga (last week: 1)
2. Illinois (4)
3. Michigan (3)
4. Baylor (2)
5. Iowa (5)
6. Alabama (7)
7. Houston (6)
8. Ohio State (8)
9. Loyola-Chicago (11)
10. Purdue (9)
11. Arkansas (10)
12. Virginia (13)
13. Villanova (12)
14. USC (14)
15. Florida State (15)
16. Creighton (16)
17. Texas (22)
18. Kansas (18)
19. San Diego State (21)
20. BYU (17)
21. West Virginia (20)
22. Colorado (19)
23. Connecticut (23)
24. Wisconsin (24)
25. Oklahoma State (25)
OUT None
