| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Kentucky | If Kentucky was going to lose in conference play, at Florida would have made sense, but they won big. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Syracuse | The Orange finished the regular season with a very impressive 17-1 Big East mark and a 30-1 overall record. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Kansas | Kansas is cruising along nicely and has an eight game winning streak headed into the conference tournament. | 3 |
| 4 |  | North Carolina | The Tar Heels got revenge, and then some, for their earlier loss at Duke. These teams may meet again this week. | 6 |
| 5 |  | Missouri | Missouri got a couple nice wins to finish off the regular season. Now we'll see how tired teams handle their offense. | 7 |
| 6 |  | Marquette | Marquette had a tough loss to Cincinnati, but followed it up with big win over Georgetown to finish second. | 8 |
| 7 |  | Duke | Duke didn't look very good against Wake Forest and got pounded by UNC. The ACC Tournament may be telling. | 4 |
| 8 |  | Ohio State | Ohio State survived road trips to Northwestern and Michigan State to win a share of the Big Ten title. | 10 |
| 9 |  | Michigan State | The Spartans just needed to beat Indiana or Ohio State to win the conference crown. They'll settle for a share. | 5 |
| 10 |  | Murray State | It was close, but the Racers got the best of Tennessee State and won the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAAs. | 11 |
| 11 |  | Michigan | Road games are never easy even if they are against Illinois and Penn State. This is a tough Michigan team. | 13 |
| 12 |  | Baylor | The Bears lost a tough game at Iowa State last weekend and now have to face Kansas State in the #4/#5 game. | 9 |
| 13 |  | Wisconsin | The Badgers thwarted most of the hope Illinois and Minnesota had of going to the NCAA Tournament this week. | 15 |
| 14 |  | Georgetown | Georgetown had a nice win against Notre Dame on Monday, but fell fast to Marquette and missed the double bye. | 12 |
| 15 |  | Indiana | The Hoosiers finished the regular season very strong with wins over Michigan State and Purdue. | 19 |
| 16 |  | UNLV | UNLV lost on the road to Colorado State, which was a huge win for the Rams. Now UNLV hosts the rest of the MWC. | 14 |
| 17 |  | Wichita State | Wichita State lost in the MVC Tournament to Illinois State, but the important tournament is coming up next. | 16 |
| 18 |  | Creighton | Creighton beat Drake, Evansville and a scrappy Illinois State squad to win Arch Madness and earn an auto bid. | 20 |
| 19 |  | Florida State | Florida State got a nice win at Virginia and got some momentum back heading into the ACC Tournament. | 21 |
| 20 |  | San Diego State | The Aztecs got a couple road wins last week and now the road takes them to Las Vegas for the conference tournament. | 25 |
| 21 |  | Gonzaga | Gonzaga may not have won the WCC regular season title, but they'll get another try at Saint Mary's on Monday. | NR |
| 22 |  | Florida | Florida finished the regular season with three losses in a row, but they were all tough games. | 17 |
| 23 |  | Iowa State | Iowa State hung around at Missouri and beat Baylor at home. The Cyclones are a surprise #3 seed in the Big 12. | 23 |
| 24 |  | Louisville | Louisville lost both their games last week and have lost four of their last six. The Big East Tournament awaits. | 18 |
| 25 |  | Notre Dame | The Irish offense did not show up against Georgetown, but they returned for the weekend win over Providence. | 22 |
3/5 Men's Basketball Top 25
Sun, 03/04/2012
