Kansas ends coronavirus-abbreviated 2019-20 season as No. 1 in AP men's college basketball poll
Kansas can declare itself the best men’s college basketball team in the country.
The Jayhawks end the shortened 2019-20 season as the top team in the final AP poll released on Wednesday. The poll, which came out a day before the NCAA tournament was set to fully begin, is the last of the season because of the mass coronavirus cancellations.
The NCAA canceled the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments a week ago as conference tournaments were also canceled when the seriousness of the spread of the virus became clear to college officials.
The Jayhawks ended the season as Big 12 regular season champions a year after they didn’t win the conference title for the first time since 2003-04. KU won the title outright after Baylor lost to West Virginia on the final day of the regular season.
In a crazy twist, star Kansas center Udoka Azubuike ends his four-year career without playing in a Big 12 tournament game because of the tournament cancellations. Azuibuke missed the tournament in 2019 after playing just nine games, missed the 2018 tournament thanks to a knee injury and didn’t play past Dec. 17, 2016 as a freshman because of a hand injury.
Gonzaga ends the season at No. 2 after winning both the regular season and conference tournaments in the West Coast Conference. Dayton is No. 3 after winning the Atlantic 10 while Florida State and Baylor round out the top five.
The full top 25 is below.
Full top 25
1. Kansas (28-3)
2. Gonzaga (31-2)
3. Dayton (29-2)
4. Florida State (26-5)
5. Baylor (26-4)
6. San Diego State (30-2)
7. Creighton (24-7)
8. Kentucky (25-6)
9. Michigan State (22-9)
10. Villanova (24-7)
11. Duke (25-6)
12. Maryland (24-7)
13. Oregon (24-7)
14. Louisville (24-7)
15. Seton Hall (21-9)
16. Virginia (23-7)
17. Wisconsin (21-10)
18. BYU (24-8)
19. Ohio State (21-10)
20. Auburn (25-6)
21. Illinois (21-10)
22. Houston (23-8)
23. Butler (22-9)
24. West Virginia (21-10)
25. Iowa (20-11)
Other teams that got votes
Stephen F. Austin, East Tennessee State, Providence, Michigan, Utah State, St. Mary’s, Penn State, Arizona, Rutgers, Richmond, USC, New Mexico State, Texas Tech, UCLA, Vermont, Purdue, Belmont, Liberty, Utah
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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