Duke remains at No. 1 in AP Top 25 entering March Madness; St. John's rises to No. 5

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Duke remains at No. 1 in AP Top 25 entering March Madness; St. John's rises to No. 5

2025-03-18 01:56 Last Updated At：02:00

Duke remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll on Monday a day after the committee that selects the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament went with Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed.

The Blue Devils (31-3) earned 49 of 59 first-place votes in the latest poll after sweeping the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles. That marks Duke's second straight week at No. 1, the first such stint in the three-year tenure of Jon Scheyer as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.

The Blue Devils completed its ACC title run despite losing freshman star Cooper Flagg (ankle) and versatile defender Maliq Brown (shoulder) to injuries in the quarterfinals. Scheyer has said he's optimistic Flagg will be ready to go for the first round of the NCAAs, with the Blue Devils headlining the East Region.

Big 12 Tournament champion Houston also stayed at No. 2 while collecting six-first-place votes, followed by Southeastern Conference Tournament champion Florida and then Auburn, which had spent a national-best eight weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season.

The Gators and Tigers each earned the remaining two first-place votes, and the top four teams of the AP Top 25 all earned 1-seeds for March Madness with Sunday night's bracket unveiling.

St. John's climbed one spot to No. 5 after winning the Big East title, with Rick Pitino guiding the Red Storm to its highest ranking since spending a week at the same spot in January 1991. St. John's (30-4) has reached the 30-win mark for the first time since late coaching great Lou Carnesecca won a program-record 31 games in both the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons.

SEC runner-up Tennessee, which beat Auburn in that league's semifinals, was next at No. 6, followed by Alabama, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Louisville.

Michigan made the biggest jump among ranked teams, jumping eight spots to No. 14 after beating three straight ranked teams on the way to Big Ten title. Runner-up Wisconsin also made a healthy jump of five spots to No. 13 after beating regular-season champ Michigan State in the semifinals. Only six ranked teams moved up in the poll this week.

No. 19 Texas A&M took the week's biggest tumble, falling five spots after losing to Texas in a one-and-done showing at the SEC Tournament. No. 15 Iowa State and No. 18 Kentucky each fell three spots. In all, 11 ranked teams slid from last week's position.

Six teams held their position from last week, including No. 11 Maryland, No. 16 Memphis and No. 17 BYU.

No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 Gonzaga were the week's new additions, though they had both been in the poll for numerous weeks this season. The Wildcats reached the Big 12 title game before falling to Houston, while the Zags beat regular-season champion Saint Mary's to win the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Illinois (No. 24) and Marquette (25th) fell out to make room for Arizona and Gonzaga.

The SEC, which thrice had as many as 10 ranked teams this season, led the way with seven AP Top 25 teams. The Big Ten was next with six, followed by the Big 12 with five, the Atlantic Coast Conference with three and the WCC with two.

The Big East and American Athletic Conference each had one.

Four teams have held the No. 1 ranking through 20 polls this season, starting with Kansas for the preseason and the first four weeks of the regular season. Tennessee took over for five weeks before giving way to Auburn's long reign and now Duke.

In all, 50 teams have spent at least one week in the poll this season. Forty-three ultimately earned NCAA bids, with West Virginia, Cincinnati, Dayton, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Rutgers and Ohio State as the outliers. Of that group, the Mountaineers were the first team out, followed by the Hoosiers and Buckeyes.

This is the penultimate edition of the AP Top 25 for the 2024-25 season. The final rankings will move April 8, the day after the NCAA championship game. This is the second year with a post-tournament poll.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-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.

North Macedonia holds mass funerals for young victims of nightclub fire

2025-03-20 22:59 Last Updated At：23:02

KOCANI, North Macedonia (AP) — Thousands of mourners flocked to funerals Thursday in North Macedonia for the dozens of victims of last weekend’s devastating nightclub fire, bringing flowers and photographs and some of them collapsing in grief.

The March 16 blaze claimed 59 lives, mostly young people, including several members of the pop band DNA, who were performing when flames engulfed the venue in the eastern town of Kocani. Authorities have set up cordons around burial sites to provide privacy for mourning families.

Burials were held in several cities and towns throughout the country, but the main funeral was in Kocani, a town of about 25,000 people east of the capital, where 30 of the victims were being buried, with coffins lined up near graves dug by excavators.

Thousands of mourners walked solemnly along dirt paths to the freshly dug graves marked with paper signs. Many carried baskets of white flowers or clutched photographs of their loved ones. Many wore t-shirts and badges with pictures and names of the deceased.

Several people overcome by grief required medical attention. A weeping man rested his head on the edge of one of the coffins.

Ana Kostadinovska, a backing vocalist for the band DNA, who survived the fire, wrote in an online post: “A part of my second family has left. Along with them, my soul.”

“All that remains is ashes and emptiness ... and who would have thought that emptiness could hurt so much,” she wrote.

The fire, and emerging stories of the harrowing scenes at the nightclub, have triggered an outpouring of grief and protests, led mostly by young people.

Thursday’s religious service at the cemetery in Kocani was led by clergy from the country’s Orthodox Church, while Red Cross and emergency personnel were present to support grieving families.

Ahead of the funerals, the country’s spiritual leader, Orthodox Archbishop Stefan, called for national unity in prayer for the victims and their families.

“We pray constantly for the salvation of the innocent victims, holding memorial services for the deceased and offering prayers for the healing of the injured, as well as for the comfort of their families and loved ones,” he said.

“National solidarity and unity are most needed in such difficult times,” he added. “We call on all the faithful to preserve peace within ourselves and peace among ourselves, and, praying diligently, to mourn with dignity.” Stefan presided over the Kocani funerals. Separate funeral services took place in the capital, Skopje, and five other towns – several neighboring Kocani – where many local businesses closed as a sign of respect. Public tributes were also made for Ile Gocevski, a Kocani ambulance driver who died of apparent heart failure after completing 11 hospital runs on the night of the fire.

The investigation into the tragedy continues to widen. Seven police officers are among more than 20 people detained as authorities probe the lack of fire safety measures at the Pulse nightclub, as well as allegations that the club’s permits had been obtained illegally.

Health Minister Arben Taravari said 72 people remain hospitalized across the country, while 101 patients are receiving treatment abroad. He described the condition of those being treated for burns, smoke inhalation, and trampling injuries as “stable or improved,” easing earlier concerns that the death toll could rise further.

Testorides reported from Skopje, North Macedonia. Florent Bajrami and Armin Durgut in Kocani, and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece contributed.