UConn finishes at No. 1 in first post-March Madness AP Top 25 poll after run to repeat NCAA title

UConn finished atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll to be released after March Madness following its run to the first back-to-back national championship in 17 years.

The Huskies (37-3) topped all 58 ballots Tuesday, coming roughly 12 hours after they beat Purdue 75-60 in the title game. That win allowed UConn to become the first men's repeat champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007, as well as joining the Gators and Duke (1991 and 1992) as the only back-to-back champs since UCLA won seven straight titles under John Wooden from 1967-73.

“I just think it’s the best two-year run I think in a very, very long time just because of everything we lost from last year’s team,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said after the win.

The Boilermakers (34-5) were next at No. 2 as they nearly matched Virginia in 2019 with an incredible turnaround. The Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in UMBC in 2018 before winning the title the next year. Purdue has the only other 16-vs-1 upset loss, to Fairleigh Dickinson last year, but followed that by coming within a win of the title, too.

Houston and Alabama — which reached its first Final Four — were next in a tie for No. 3, followed by Tennessee at No. 5.

UConn ultimately spent eight weeks at No. 1 this season, while its lowest ranking was sixth in the preseason poll.

The Huskies spent six straight weeks from mid-January into late February at No. 1, fell to No. 3 on Feb. 26 after a loss at Creighton, then had two weeks at No. 2 before returning to No. 1 for the final pre-tournament poll on March 18.

Purdue had been within range of the Huskies all season in what became largely a clear top tier. The Boilermakers, led by a two-time AP national player of the year in 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, spent five weeks at No. 1, nine weeks at No. 2 and was never ranked lower than fourth.

Once in the tournament, the Huskies won six tournament games by a combined 23.3 points, with the closest call being a 14-point win against the Crimson Tide in the national semifinals. Ultimately, UConn and Purdue ranked 1-2 six times this season.

Regional finalist Illinois was next at No. 6, followed by North Carolina, Iowa State and Duke — all of which reached the second weekend of the NCAAs. Then came North Carolina State, which rode its first Final Four run since 1983 as an 11-seed to check in at No. 10 after being unranked all season.

The Southeastern Conference led the way with five ranked teams in the final poll, including No. 18 Auburn, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 25 South Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Conference had four, with No. 14 Clemson joining the North Carolina-based trio in the top 10 after its run to the Elite Eight. The Big 12 also had four, including No. 16 Baylor and No. 19 Kansas.

The Big East had three with No. 11 Marquette and No. 13 Creighton joining UConn. The Big Ten, Pac-12, West Coast and Mountain West conferences each had two, while the Atlantic 10 had one.

The poll celebrated its 75th anniversary earlier this year, and this marked the 20th season in which there were at least five different teams to reach No. 1 — the record is seven in 1983 and 2020 — since that January 1949 launch.

Preseason No. 1 Kansas spent three weeks at No. 1, matched by Houston and followed by Arizona with two weeks.

In all, 52 teams were ranked at some point this year, making this only the fourth season in poll history to have at least 50 different teams make the poll. Last year marked the record with 54, while there were 53 in both 2010 and 2015.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

NC State guard DJ Horne (0) shoots as p15= defends during the first half of the NCAA college basketball game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )

Alabama guard Aaron Estrada (55) watches the ball fall out of bounds as UConn guard Stephon Castle defends during the second half of the NCAA college basketball game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )

Purdue center Zach Edey (15) watches as UConn celebrates their win in the NCAA college Final Four championship basketball game, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

UConn head coach Dan Hurley greets fans after their win against Purdue in the NCAA college Final Four championship basketball game, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

UConn guard Stephon Castle (5) greets fans after their win against Purdue in the NCAA college Final Four championship basketball game, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

UConn finishes at No. 1 in first post-March Madness AP Top 25 poll after run to repeat NCAA title

UConn finishes at No. 1 in first post-March Madness AP Top 25 poll after run to repeat NCAA title

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi 76-62 on Friday night and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocks for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four. The Tigers beat N.C. State 80-73 earlier Friday.

UCLA coach Cori Close called Betts a “generational player.”

“She’s not only dominant for herself, but she makes everybody on the floor better. And so you just want to put the ball in her hands as many ways and as many times as possible,” Close said.

Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2).

Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times, but not since 2007.

Betts had a similar line — 30 points and 14 rebounds — in the Bruins' second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond.

“We’ve worked so hard to get here and I’m just so proud of the selflessness,” Betts said. “I think that to get to this point, it doesn’t matter who’s having their best game, it’s just getting wins at the end of the day. It took a lot of grit from everybody tonight, but I’m so proud of this program.”

Betts is one of just three players to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament in the last 25 seasons.

Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.

“When I look at the season, no one wanted us here, and no one thought we would be here. And we’re still here," Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “We got this far, but unfortunately, we ran into a tough team tonight and did not prevail. But at the end of the day, we will continue to build."

Betts' layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans' jumper.

Deans' fast-break layup at the end of the first half got the Rebels within 30-29 at the break.

The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on Londynn Jones' 3-pointer.

Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened after that.

UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and Southern California before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating USC 72-67.

“Honestly, I feel like ever since our loss to SC, I’ve just completely changed my mindset going forward. I think just being aggressive, no matter what, and doing whatever I need to do to help my team and just continuing to be positive regardless of what happens,” Betts said.

The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State.

There were not enough superlatives for Betts' performance. She scored 16 of UCLA's 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she's scored more than half of the Bruins' points in a half.

She finished the game with a plus-23 rating, the highest of any player. And the Big Ten's defensive player of the year now has 93 blocks this season.

Last year, UCLA lost to LSU 78-69 in the Sweet 16. Now the Bruins have a chance at revenge.

“We expected to be in this position and it’ll be a good opportunity for all of us who were on the team last year because LSU’s the team that knocked us out,” Rice said. “So obviously want to come out, play hard and play really well against them.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) runs to guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) and forward Kendall Dudley (22) as they celebrate after the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

UCLA head coach Cori Close directs her team during the first half against Mississippi in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) dribbles the ball during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around the defense of Mississippi guard Sira Thienou (0) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) looks to pass the ball as Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) defends during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)