Virginia back in the top-20 in latest AP Poll

The Virginia Cavaliers climbed back up to No. 16 in the latest AP poll after closing out the regular season with a big road win over Louisville. The victory secured the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament for Virginia, setting up a Thursday game against the winner of No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 NC State.

Virginia comes in just behind Florida State, which fell to No. 15 after their flat effort at Notre Dame led to a 10-point loss. Virginia Tech, which hasn’t played a game since a February 27 win over Wake Forest, stayed put at No. 22 to round out ACC teams in the rankings.

Gonzaga stayed No. 1 for the 17th straight week, and Baylor returned to No. 2 after a short stay at No. 3. Illinois took over the third spot, and Michigan fell to No. 4 after a loss to Michigan State. Fellow Big Ten team Iowa rounded out the top five, with three of the Big Ten’s five ranked teams falling in spots No. 3-5.

The Big 12 once again held onto the top spot with seven ranked teams. Only one team — Wisconsin — fell out of the rankings this week, and USC jumped in at No. 24.

We are in the final week of action as conference tournaments continue before we get Selection Sunday on March 14. This year’s tournament feels more wide open than those in recent memory as a bunch of teams have flirted with solid play this season.

Check out the full poll here: