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College Basketball Rankings, Week 19: Villanova ascends to #1

Wildcats grab the top spot in the final regular season poll.

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-South Regional-Kansas vs Villanova Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time program history, the Villanova Wildcats (31-3) are the #1 team at the conclusion of the Regular Season and Conference Championships.

‘Nova, who won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship over the weekend, ascended to the top spot in the newest AP Poll released on Monday as the ‘Cats collected 59 of 65 first place votes.

Gonzaga (who received the balance of the first-place votes), Kansas, Arizona, and Kentucky round out the top 5. Butler is the other squad representing the BIG EAST.

Villanova, the #1 seed in the East Region, will next play in Buffalo on Thursday at 7:15p ET against the winner of the New Orleans v. Mount St. Mary’s play-in game. This is the eighth week that ‘Nova has held the top spot during the 2016-17 season.

AP Poll Week 19 (March 13)

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Villanova (59) 31-3 1,619
2 Gonzaga (6) 32-1 1,520
3 Kansas 28-4 1,479
4 Arizona 30-4 1,427
5 Kentucky 29-5 1,276
6 North Carolina 27-7 1,256
7 Duke 27-8 1,251
8 UCLA 29-4 1,208
9 Oregon 29-5 1,196
10 Louisville 24-8 983
11 SMU 30-4 953
12 Baylor 25-7 861
13 West Virginia 26-8 844
14 Notre Dame 25-9 684
15 Purdue 25-7 654
16 Florida State 25-8 570
17 Iowa State 23-10 562
18 Cincinnati 29-5 522
19 Wichita State 30-4 438
20 Florida 24-8 390
21 Butler 23-8 361
22 Saint Mary's 28-4 305
23 Michigan 24-11 254
24 Virginia 22-10 240
25 Wisconsin 25-9 153
Others receiving votes: Middle Tennessee 37, Minnesota 20, Rhode Island 13, Creighton 11, Oklahoma State 8, Iowa 8, Nevada 5, Princeton 5, Vermont 4, Virginia Tech 3, Seton Hall 2, VCU 1, Arkansas 1, Northwestern 1