Caption:CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 27: DaJuan Coleman #32 of the Syracuse Orange shoots against Mike Tobey #10 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Final at United Center on March 27, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Everyone in the AP has agreed Virginia’s men’s basketball team is the best in the nation this year.
The Cavaliers earned all 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll after finishing four games ahead of the field in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season race.
Virginia joined fellow ACC team Duke as squads to be unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season. The Cavs were predicted to finish sixth in the ACC during the preseason.
Villanova took the No. 2 spot (having jumped from No. 4), while Xavier remained third.
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Michigan State fell to fourth, followed by Duke and Gonzaga. Michigan climbed eight spots to No. 7 after beating the Spartans and Purdue to win a second straight Big Ten Tournament title.
No. 15 Arizona — which won the Pac-12 regular-season title — and No. 21 Houston had the second-largest climbs, with each rising four spots.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island had the biggest drop. The Rams fell eight spots to No. 25 following a 30-point home loss to St. Joseph’s and then a defeat at Davidson.
Florida and Miami were ranked 23rd and 24th, respectively.
Kentucky and Middle Tennessee both fell out of the poll after brutal losses to end their seasons.
Here are the full poll standings:
| 1 | Virginia (65) ACC Record: 28-2 | PV Rank 1 Points 1,625 | |
| 2 | Villanova Big East Record: 27-4 | 4 1,516 | |
| 3 | Xavier Big East Record: 27-4 | 3 1,510 | |
| 4 | Michigan State Big Ten Record: 29-4 | 2 1,346 | |
| 5 | Duke ACC Record: 25-6 | 5 1,340 | |
| 6 | Gonzaga West Coast Record: 28-4 | 7 1,254 | |
| 7 | Michigan Big Ten Record: 28-7 | 15 1,231 | |
| 8 | Cincinnati American Athletic Conference (AAC) Record: 27-4 | 10 1,213 | |
| 9 | Kansas Big 12 Record: 24-7 | 6 1,129 | |
| 10 | Purdue Big Ten Record: 28-6 | 8 1,096 | |
| 11 | Wichita State American Athletic Conference (AAC) Record: 24-6 | 11 861 | |
| 12 | North Carolina ACC Record: 22-9 | 9 852 | |
| 13 | Tennessee SEC Record: 23-7 | 16 825 | |
| 14 | Texas Tech Big 12 Record: 23-8 | 12 784 | |
| 15 | Arizona Pac-12 Record: 24-7 | 19 739 | |
| 16 | Auburn SEC Record: 25-6 | 14 692 | |
| 17 | Ohio State Big Ten Record: 24-8 | 13 603 | |
| 18 | West Virginia Big 12 Record: 22-9 | 20 486 | |
| 19 | Clemson ACC Record: 22-8 | 18 422 | |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s (Cal.) West Coast Record: 28-4 | 22 385 | |
| 21 | Houston American Athletic Conference (AAC) Record: 24-6 | 25 247 | |
| 22 | Nevada Mountain West Record: 26-6 | 21 218 | |
| 23 | Florida SEC Record: 20-11 | – 192 | |
| 24 | Miami (FL) ACC Record: 22-8 | – 191 | |
| 25 | Rhode Island Atlantic 10 Record: 23-6 | 17 86 |
Caption:CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 27: DaJuan Coleman #32 of the Syracuse Orange shoots against Mike Tobey #10 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Final at United Center on March 27, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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