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While most of the attention is now on the NCAA Tournament seeding number next to a team’s name, there is one final set of college basketball rankings until a national champion is crowned.
In the last AP poll until the end of the NCAA Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats rose to No. 6.
After winning another Big East Tournament, Villanova’s fifth since conference realignment to improve to 26-7 overall, the ‘Cats have now attained their highest ranking since Dec. 6, when they were previously ranked sixth in the country.
The top two teams, Gonzaga and Arizona, hold firm for another week.
There are only two other Big East teams in the top 25, No. 13 Providence and No. 21 UConn.
Creighton and Seton Hall received votes.
The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament. They will begin their NCAA Tournament journey in Pittsburgh on Friday, at 2:45 p.m. ET, when they play 15th-seeded Delaware.
AP Top 25 — 2021-22 season Week 19 poll
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Record | Points |
| 1 | Gonzaga (54) | 26-3 | 1518 |
| 2 | Arizona (7) | 31-3 | 1470 |
| 3 | Kansas | 28-6 | 1388 |
| 4 | Baylor | 26-6 | 1286 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 26-7 | 1235 |
| 6 | Villanova | 26-7 | 1211 |
| 7 | Kentucky | 26-7 | 1178 |
| 8 | Auburn | 27-5 | 1144 |
| 9 | Duke | 28-6 | 986 |
| 10 | Purdue | 27-7 | 958 |
| 11 | UCLA | 25-7 | 823 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 25-9 | 819 |
| 13 | Providence | 25-5 | 723 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 24-7 | 685 |
| 15 | Houston | 29-5 | 665 |
| 16 | Iowa | 26-9 | 661 |
| 17 | Arkansas | 25-8 | 578 |
| 18 | Saint Mary's | 25-7 | 508 |
| 19 | Illinois | 22-9 | 457 |
| 20 | Murray State | 30-2 | 425 |
| 21 | UConn | 23-9 | 353 |
| 22 | USC | 26-7 | 170 |
| 23 | Boise State | 27-7 | 165 |
| 24 | Colorado State | 25-5 | 82 |
| 25 | Texas | 21-11 | 72 |
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