College basketball rankings: Illinois jumps to No. 2 in final AP Top 25 before NCAA Tournament
Illinois is ranked No. 2, its highest ranking since the 2004-05 college basketball season

For the first time all season, the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings do not feature Gonzaga and Baylor at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The undefeated Zags held their top perch in Monday's update, but Baylor fell one spot to No. 3 while Illinois jumped up one spot to No. 2. It's the highest ranking for the Illini all season, and the highest since they finished No. 1 in the AP poll in the 2004-05 season.
Baylor's loss in the Big 12 Tournament semifinal round to Oklahoma State opened the door for Brad Underwood's Illini to jump to No. 2. But the Illini's rapid rise was in large part their own doing. They won 14 of their final 15 games to close the season, and capped off that run with a Big Ten Tournament championship on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the rankings, there was another shakeup in the top five as Alabama rose one spot to claim the No. 5 ranking from Iowa. The Crimson Tide, winners of the SEC regular season, won the SEC Tournament on Sunday. It's the program highest ranking in the AP poll all season and highest ranking as a program in more than 15 years.
AP Poll
- Gonzaga
- Illinois
- Baylor
- Michigan
- Alabama
- Houston
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Texas
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma State
- Kansas
- West Virginia
- Florida State
- Virginia
- San Diego State
- Loyola Chicago
- Villanova
- Creighton
- Purdue
- Texas Tech
- Colorado
- BYU
- USC
- Virginia Tech
Others receiving votes: Georgia Tech 103, Tennessee 72, St. Bonaventure 71, Connecticut 62, LSU 54, Oregon 40, Oklahoma 40, Wisconsin 26, Winthrop 10, Clemson 5, UC Santa Barbara 2, Missouri 2, Cleveland State 2, Georgetown 1
















