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With the regular season officially over, every program that successfully made it into the NCAA Tournament is now setting their sights on garnering postseason glory. While national rankings are all but irrelevant at this point, it is still intriguing to see where all of the reputable programs in college basketball ultimately ended up based on their performances during the regular season. Remaining at the top of the AP Poll once again, the Cavaliers rightfully earned to be unanimously voted into the top spot as they only sustained two losses during the regular season and won the ACC Tournament, arguably the toughest conference in college basketball. While the anemic offense of the Cavaliers could cause them to slip up and lose early on in the tournament, their top-ranked defense has proven more than capable enough to take down even the most prolific of opposing offenses this season.
Top 25 College Basketball Rankings 2018: Final Week
After losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 semi-final game, the Red Raiders were fortunate to both garner a number three seed in the tournament while only dropping three spots in the final AP Poll. With the Red Raiders defense struggling mightily and their offense lacking the necessary playmakers to outscore their opponents, it becomes difficult not to assume the worst for a program that was riding high until the final few weeks of the regular season. While there have been teams in the past that have experienced some type of resurgence in the NCAA Tournament after getting some time to recuperate, the Red Raiders need to rectify several problems on their ailing team if they hope to make it out of the first weekend of March Madness.
| Ranking | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Virginia (65) |
| 2 | Villanova |
| 3 | Xavier |
| 4 | Kansas |
| 5 | Michigan State |
| 6 | Cincinnati |
| 7 | Michigan |
| 8 | Gonzaga |
| 9 | Duke |
| 10 | North Carolina |
| 11 | Purdue |
| 12 | Arizona |
| 13 | Tennessee |
| 14 | Texas Tech |
| 15 | West Virginia |
| 16 | Wichita State |
| 17 | Ohio State |
| 18 | Kentucky |
| 19 | Auburn |
| 20 | Clemson |
| 21 | Houston |
| 22 | Miami |
| 23 | Florida |
| 24 | Nevada |
| 25 | Saint Mary’s |
Jumping up five spots from ninth to fourth in the final AP Poll, the Kansas Jayhawks have looked incredibly elite offensively as they have been able to rely on a blend of unselfish passing and accurate shooting from their gifted athletes. Assuming the Jayhawks inconsistent defense can perform adequately in the NCAA Tournament, this is a program that has the dynamic athletes and elite coaching to eventually win it all.
Dropped from rankings: Rhode Island 25
Others receiving votes that did not make the poll: Arkansas 69, Loyola-Chicago 68, Rhode Island 66, TCU 40, Providence 22, New Mexico State 15, Butler 9, St. Bonaventure 8, USC 7, Kansas State 6, Buffalo 5, UCLA 5, Seton Hall 5, Creighton 4, South Dakota State 3, Murray State 2, San Diego State 2, Middle Tennessee 2, Virginia Tech 2, Davidson 1, Missouri 1
