Arizona men’s basketball’s season ended short of the ultimate goal, but the team’s place among the best in program history was solidified again Tuesday in the final Associated Press poll of the season.
Arizona is ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25, behind national champion Michigan and runner-up UConn. Arizona spanned nearly the entire regular season ranked inside the top five after being ranked No. 13 in the preseason.
Arizona ends the year with five wins over teams ranked in the top 10 of the final poll:
No. 2 UConn, No. 6 Purdue, No. 7 Houston, No. 8 Iowa State and No. 9 Florida. Arizona also finishes with wins over No. 13 Arkansas, No. 16 Alabama and No. 20 Kansas.
The Wildcats have ranked in the top five of 19 straight polls, the second-longest streak in program behind 2013-14/2014-15 (25 weeks).
Arizona received 1,311 points in the final poll, not far behind UConn’s 1,352 and well ahead of No. 4 Duke’s 1,237. Illinois, which like Arizona reached the national semifinals, finishes the year No. 5.
