Monday marks Week 18 of the college basketball season and, more importantly, the final week of the regular season. It also brings the first AP Top 25 Poll in March. With the first conference tournaments underway, we will soon have a list of teams who have qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
While the AP Poll is by no means the be-all and end-all for determining how good a college basketball team is, it is an important capsule for determining who is playing the best basketball at any given week. Here are two big takeaways from the latest AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll.
Jayhawks failing to take flight
After an impressive non-conference slate that includes wins over UConn, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the Kansas Jayhawks have succumbed to the rigors of Big 12 play. Kansas is now 2-6 in Big 12 road games this season — including losses at West Virginia and Central Florida. This past week also marked the Jayhawks' first home loss of the season as Bill Self's team blew a 12-point second-half lead against BYU.
Add in a road defeat to Baylor on Saturday and KU's two-game losing streak drops the Jayhawks to 14th in the latest AP Poll. Not only is this their lowest ranking of the season, but it is also the first time since the end of the 2020-21 season that Bill Self finds himself outside of the top 10.
Kansas closes out the regular with a home game against rivals Kansas State and a road contest at Houston — needing a win in at least one of these games to avoid its first non-winning season in the Big 12 1988-89 (back when it was known as the Big Eight).
Mountain West's top team deserves validation
The revolving door of Mountain West teams in the top 25 this year has been well-documented in this column. San Diego State, Utah State, and Colorado State have all been regulars, with New Mexico also making the occasional appearance and Nevada often popping up in the “Others Receiving Votes” section.
Despite the MWC's frequent recognition, the league's top team is still waiting for its first appearance in the AP Top 25 Poll. The Boise State Broncos are 21-8 overall and, at 12-4 in the MWC, are in first place in the league. They are also the hottest team in the conference winning five in a row, including an 89-79 victory over New Mexico on Saturday. The Broncos have an adjusted offensive efficiency of 126.2 during this run while pushing BSU toward just its second regular season conference title in the last quarter century.
Leon Rice's team is still just outside the top 25 (third among other teams receiving votes), but a pair of wins over Nevada and San Diego State to close out the season should be enough to earn Boise State a spot in the AP Poll for just the third time in program history.
Marquette without Tyler Kolek
Few players are more valuable to their team than Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek. The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year is ninth on Evan Miyakawa's list of most indispensable players but is set to miss the last two games of the regular season with an oblique injury. The Golden Eagles sorely missed their playmaker in a 14-point road loss to Creighton on Saturday. Kolek will be re-evaluated ahead of the BIG EAST Tournament and his health will be crucial in Marquette's success in the NCAA Tournament.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles are 10 points better per 100 possessions when Kolek is on the play. On the other end of the court, Marquette is six points worse per 100 possessions its star point guard is on the bench. With the team's tempo of 70 possessions per game, we can calculate that Marquette is 11 points worse per game when Tyler Kolek does not play.
For now, MU is still eighth in the AP Top 25 Poll. But with tough tests against Xavier and UConn coming up this week, this Marquette squad will be tested.
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