| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Kentucky | Kentucky finished off their impressive regular season with a brilliant run through the NCAA Tournament. | 1 |
| 2 |  | Kansas | Kansas could not quite get the job done against Kentucky, but they surprised many by making it to the title game. | 3 |
| 3 |  | Syracuse | Syracuse's season ended at the hands of Ohio State in the Elite Eight, but they played pretty well without Melo. | 2 |
| 4 |  | North Carolina | Injuries derailed North Carolina's tournament run, which ended in the Elite Eight, but they still had a fine season. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Ohio State | The Buckeyes were very close to playing in the national title game, but their run to the Final Four was still impressive. | 8 |
| 6 |  | Missouri | Missouri may have laid an egg in their opening NCAA Tournament game, but they still ended 27-4 overall. | 5 |
| 7 |  | Michigan State | Michigan State lost a tough game to Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen, but had a surprisingly good 2011-2012 campaign. | 9 |
| 8 |  | Marquette | Marquette ran into a tough Florida team in the Sweet Sixteen, but got past a tough Murray State squad. | 6 |
| 9 |  | Duke | Duke was the other #2 seed to lose, along with Mizzou. But like Missouri, the Blue Devils had a nice body of work. | 7 |
| 10 |  | Baylor | Baylor made it to the Elite Eight, although the road was pretty easy. They proved they could play with anybody. | 12 |
| 11 |  | Wisconsin | The Badgers got a couple nice wins in the tournament, but they could not take advantage of an ailing Cuse squad. | 13 |
| 12 |  | Indiana | Indiana got hit by the injury bug, but they still reached the Sweet Sixteen and gave Kentucky a decent game. | 15 |
| 13 |  | Louisville | Louisville made a great run to the Final Four, knocking off Davidson, New Mexico, MSU and Florida along the way. | 24 |
| 14 |  | Michigan | Michigan was outplayed by Ohio in the big dance, but this is still a growing team that will have more success soon. | 11 |
| 15 |  | Murray State | Murray State was exposed by Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, but going 28-1 deserves a spot in the top 15. | 10 |
| 16 |  | Florida | UF made a nice tournament run with a quality victory over Marquette. They gave Louisville a good game too. | 22 |
| 17 |  | Florida State | Florida State's stellar defense was not enough to earn a berth to the Sweet Sixteen, but they finished #3 in the ACC. | 19 |
| 18 |  | Georgetown | Georgetown was upset by North Carolina State in the third round, but overall this was a good season for the Hoyas. | 14 |
| 19 |  | Creighton | Creighton got stuck in the #8/#9 game. They beat Alabama, but didn't have much of a chance against UNC. | 18 |
| 20 |  | UNLV | UNLV ran into a tough Baylor squad with too much size for them to handle, but still deserve a ranking in the end. | 16 |
| 21 |  | Cincinnati | Cincinnati beat Texas and Florida State before finally falling to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen. | NR |
| 22 |  | Gonzaga | Gonzaga got a nice victory over West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. OSU was too much. | 21 |
| 23 |  | Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt broke their streak and actually won an NCAA Tournament game. Then they lost to Wisconsin. | NR |
| 24 |  | Wichita State | Wichita State can add itself to the list of teams that had their NCAA hopes and dreams crushed by VCU. | 17 |
| 25 |  | Iowa State | Iowa State beat Uconn in the Second Round and there is certainly no shame in losing to Kentucky. | 23 |
Postseason Men's Basketball Top 25
Sat, 04/07/2012
