Duke rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25 men’s hoops poll for record 148th time; Florida, Alabama make leaps

Duke rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25 men’s hoops poll for record 148th time; Florida, Alabama make leaps 1 of 3 | Duke head coach Jon Scheyer greets fans after his team defeated Syracuse in an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown) 2 of 3 | Duke forward Cameron Boozer dunks during the second half in an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File) 3 of 3 | Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov, top, attempts to secure a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker) 1 of 3 Duke head coach Jon Scheyer greets fans after his team defeated Syracuse in an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 3 Duke forward Cameron Boozer dunks during the second half in an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 3 Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov, top, attempts to secure a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Duke’s win against Michigan has propelled the Blue Devils to a familiar perch: No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.The Blue Devils climbed two spots to top Monday’s poll, marking the 148th appearance at No. 1 to add to what was already the record for any program. Duke (25-2) claimed 56 of 61 first-place votes to supplant Michigan (25-2) after Saturday’s 68-63 win against the Wolverines in Washington.That win came in a matchup of the top two teams in the NCAA men’s selection committee’s preliminary top 16 seeds for March Madness, released hours before the game. The Blue Devils enter this week with a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins, along with nine wins against AP Top 25 teams.And now the latest such win has pushed the Blue Devils back to a No. 1 ranking for the second straight season under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer. Last year’s Final Four team sat atop the last two polls entering the NCAA Tournament, the first time Duke had reached No. 1 since Scheyer took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski in 2022.Arizona rose two spots to No. 2 after beating BYU and winning at Houston, and secured the other five first-place votes. Michigan fell to No. 3 as its first appearance at No. 1 since January 2013 turned into a one-week stay, followed by a pair of Big 12 teams in Iowa State and Houston. The top tierUConn fell one spot to No. 6 after a week that included a home loss to Creighton, while reigning national champion Florida leapt five spots to No. 7 to return to the top 10 for the first time since late November. The Gators were ranked No. 3 in the preseason and spent a week among the unranked in early January. They have won seven straight and 12 of 13.Purdue, Gonzaga and Illinois rounded out the top 10. Beard covers sports in North Carolina for The Associated Press with an emphasis on college basketball. His coverage includes ACC sports and the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.