Auburn No. 4, Alabama No. 6 in final AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll

Florida forward Alex Condon celebrates after their win against the Houston in the national championship at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 7, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Florida is No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the 2024-25 season after winning the national championship.

The Gators (36-4) received all 61 first-place votes, the second year the AP has released its last poll after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Todd Golden’s team beat Houston 65-63 on Monday night to clinch the program’s third national title and first since Billy Donovan’s repeat titles in 2006 and 2007.

The win also lifted Florida to the top spot in the poll for the first time since the last four polls of the 2013-14 season.

Auburn (32-6) stayed at No. 4 after falling to Florida. Alabama (28-9) finished at No. 6, rising one position in the final standings.

Elsewhere, Houston (35-5) remained at No. 2 after its first title-game appearance since 1984, capping a season that saw Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars reach the Final Four for the second time in five seasons and beat Duke (35-4) in the national semifinals with a shocking late comeback.

The Blue Devils — who were No. 1 in the last two polls before March Madness — were third in what amounted to a swap with the Gators as the only change to the top quartet.

Tennessee was fifth. Following Alabama at sixth, Michigan State was next at No. 7, followed by Texas Tech, which had Florida on the brink of defeat in the Elite Eight before Gators star Walter Clayton Jr. sparked a wild comeback. A Big Ten duo of Maryland and Michigan rounded out the top 10.

Louisville had the biggest tumble, falling 11 spots to No. 21 after the Cardinals entered March Madness ranked 10th but received only an 8-seed and suffered a first-round loss to Creighton. Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference program Clemson was next with a 10-spot tumble to No. 22 after a first-round loss to 12th-seeded McNeese.

No. 25 Memphis fell nine spots after being shorthanded in a loss to 12th-seeded Colorado State, while No. 11 St. John’s fell six spots after shooting 28% in its second-round loss to Arkansas.

In all, eight teams fell from the pre-tournament poll.

John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks checked in at No. 20 after reaching the Sweet 16, joining No. 18 Ole Miss as the final poll’s two additions. Like Arkansas, the Rebels upended a higher-seeded team (Iowa State) to reach the second weekend. Both were ranked previously this season.

Missouri (No. 23) and Oregon (No. 25) fell out from the pre-tournament poll.

AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll (SEC teams in bold):

1. Florida
2. Houston
3. Duke
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. Alabama
7. Michigan State
8. Texas Tech
9. Maryland
10. Michigan
11. St. John’s
12. Kentucky
13. BYU
14. Purdue
15. Arizona
16. Wisconsin
17. Iowa State
18. Ole Miss
19. Texas A&M
20. Arkansas
21. Louisville
22. Clemson
23. Gonzaga
24. Saint Mary’s
25. Memphis

Others receiving votes: Drake 122, Oregon 105, Illinois 80, UConn 76, Creighton 60, Colorado St. 49, UCLA 36, McNeese St. 17, Missouri 16, New Mexico 10, UC San Diego 6, Kansas 5, Marquette 2.

Florida’s rise to No. 1 meant five different teams held the top spot of the AP Top 25 this season, starting with Kansas for the preseason and the first four weeks of the regular season. Tennessee followed for five weeks, then Auburn for eight and finally Duke for the last two pre-tournament polls. In all, 50 teams spent at least one week in the poll this season.

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