Villanova ranked No. 1 in final AP poll of season

Villanova is the top team in the final poll of the season by The Associated Press, taking 59of 65first-place votes. Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona and North Carolina round out the top five.

Villanova, the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, is No. 1 in the final Associated Press college basketball poll of the season.

The Wildcats (31-3) were a runaway choice Monday, receiving 59 first-place votes from the 65-member media panel.

Gonzaga (32-1), which received the other six firstplace votes, and Kansas, two No. 1 seeds for the tournament, were second and third, but the poll and the selection committee disagreed on the fourth No. 1.

Arizona was fourth in the poll, while North Carolina, the fourth No. 1 seed, was ranked fifth.

Kentucky was sixth, followed by Duke, UCLA, Oregon and Louisville.

SMU was 11th, followed by Baylor, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Purdue, Florida State, Iowa State, Cin- cinnati, Wichita State and Florida.

The last five ranked teams were Butler, Saint Mary’s, Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin.

This was Villanova’s eighth week as No. 1 this season. Gonzaga was on top of the poll for four weeks while Duke, Kentucky and Kansas were all there for two weeks and Baylor for one. Baylor’s climb was the most impressive considering the Bears weren’t ranked in the preseason poll. Fifteen teams were ranked the entire season, with Villanova and Kansas the only two who spent the entire season in the top 10.

Kansas ends the season with the longest current streak, 161 polls dating to February 2009. Arizona is next at 97, then Villanova at 73. UCLA holds the record of 221 consecutive polls from 1966-80. There were seven one-week wonders. Connecticut, California, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Kansas State, Northwestern and Miami were all in the Top 25 for one week. Fortytwo teams were ranked this season and the Atlantic Coast Conference led the waywith nine schools in the Top 25. The Big Ten had eight ranked schools, while the Big 12 had six, Pac-12 five and Big East four.

Women’s basketball

UConn heads into the NCAA Tournament in a familiar place — No. 1 in the poll. For the 14th time in school history, the Huskies sit atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll in the final week.

“Obviously the AP poll is the oldest and the most recognized poll in our sport, and for us to finish at the top again says a lot about how hard our kids worked this season and how people around the country view us,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s an honor to once again be in this situation and I hopewe are still on top next month.”

The Huskies (32-0) were the unanimous choice from the 33-member national media panel on Monday, holding the No. 1 spot for the last 15 weeks of the season. They’ve won 107 consecutive games and most likely will be the overall No. 1 seed when the women’s NCAA Tournament field is revealed Monday night.

It’s the fourth straight year that the Huskies are the No. 1 choice in the final poll.

Notre Dame, South Carolina, Maryland and Baylor follow UConn. The Lady Bears dropped three spots to fifth after losing in the Big 12 title game to West Virginia last week.

The Mountaineers entered the poll at No. 22 while Creighton fell out.

Tennessee missed the final poll for the second consecutive season. The Lady Vols had been in the last ranking every season until last year.