No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Arizona and No. 3 Michigan get top-15 tests this week

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No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Arizona and No. 3 Michigan get top-15 tests this week

2026-02-24 19:00 Last Updated At：19:11

The committee that will select the NCAA Tournament field has zeroed in on a clear top tier of Duke, Arizona and Michigan.

Those three teams — now ranked 1-2-3 atop the AP Top 25 — have matching 25-2 records and a similar path for the week ahead: a Tuesday game against an opponent lower down the conference standings followed by a challenging test against a top-15 squad.

The Blue Devils, who pushed their record total of No. 1 appearances to 148 on Monday, visit Notre Dame before hosting No. 11 Virginia on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the Big 12, the second-ranked Wildcats visit Baylor before hosting No. 14 Kansas on Saturday.

And in the Big Ten, the Wolverines follow a home game against Minnesota with Friday's trip to No. 10 Illinois.

The committee had Michigan as its top overall seed in Saturday's reveal of the top 16 seeds for March Madness, followed by Duke and Arizona. But the Blue Devils beat the Wolverines and the Wildcats won at Houston later that day, shuffling the order in Monday's new AP poll.

No matter the order, selection committee chairman and Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill pointed to that trio as having a clear separation from Iowa State, the fourth 1-seed in those preliminary rankings.

And those rankings generally experience only minor fluctuations by Selection Sunday. For example, 25 of the 32 teams (78.1%) to hold a No. 1 seed in the preliminary rankings since the debut show in 2017 ultimately secured a 1-seed for the NCAAs. That data excludes 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of that year’s tournament.

As of Monday afternoon, KenPom and Evan Miyakawa ranked the order as Michigan-Duke-Arizona, while Bart Torvik had it Michigan-Arizona-Duke.

“This is where there was some consensus though in terms of these teams being 1, 2 and 3,” Gill said during Saturday's CBS show to unveil the seedings. “When we get to the 4 overall seed, that's where there was a lot more debate.”

The Big East has a marquee throwdown between its top two teams, with sixth-ranked UConn (25-3) hosting No. 15 St. John's on Wednesday. That comes just shy of three weeks since the Red Storm took an 81-72 win at Madison Square Garden to end the Huskies' 18-game winning streak.

St. John's (22-5) has won 13 straight games since falling to Providence in early January.

Four other games stand out on the AP Top 25 schedule:

—No. 8 Purdue hosts No. 13 Michigan State on Thursday in the first meeting between the longtime Big Ten foes;

—No. 4 Iowa State hosts No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday in the Big 12, with the Red Raiders trying to regroup after losing AP preseason All-America selection JT Toppin to a season-ending knee injury;

—And there are two ranked-vs.-ranked games in the Southeastern Conference on Saturday, with No. 7 Florida hosting No. 20 Arkansas, and No. 17 Alabama visiting No. 22 Tennessee looking to avenge an earlier home loss.

The nation's lone undefeated team remains Miami (Ohio) of the Mid-American Conference, which opens this week at 27-0 and with a No. 21 ranking.

The RedHawks have a pair of road games against teams that enter the week with a combined 7-22 league record, first with Tuesday's stop at Eastern Michigan and then Friday's visit to Western Michigan.

Wisconsin (19-8) fell out of the poll from No. 24 last week and was the leading vote-getter among unranked teams. The Badgers' schedule this week takes them to the Pacific Northwest in the westernmost reaches of the Big Ten's coast-to-coast footprint, starting with Wednesday's game at Oregon followed by Saturday's trip to Washington.

Saint Mary's (25-4) is next up. The Gaels host 23-win Santa Clara on Wednesday, then host No. 9 Gonzaga on Saturday to close the regular season in the West Coast Conference.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

PSG coach Luis Enrique must decide whether to protect lead or attack against Monaco

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique may be unsure how to approach the second leg of the Champions League playoff against Monaco on Wednesday.

Although PSG is 3-2 ahead, protecting leads is not his style. But attacking too much against a technically strong Monaco side could expose his team to costly counterattacks.

Coach Sébastien Pocognoli's Monaco has 13 goals in the past six games. Although two of those have been defeats, the attack is looking much sharper.

Monaco went 2-0 up inside 20 minutes against PSG last week, only for clumsy defending to allow PSG back into the game. Against Lens on Saturday, Monaco overturned a 2-0 deficit with a three-goal burst in 10 second-half minutes.

PSG's defense looks weaker than last season — conceding against Monaco after just 55 seconds — and is not helped by uncertainty over the goalkeeper.

Since Gianluigi Donnarumma’s departure, Luis Enrique has alternated between Matvei Safonov and summer signing Lucas Chevalier.

Pairing Ansu Fati and Folarin Balogun in attack could be Pocognoli’s best option.

Fati has nine goals in 20 games, including a fine lob in against Lens on Saturday.

The former Barcelona teenage prodigy has been hampered by minor injuries this season. He went on as a substitute against Lens but Pocognoli is likely to start him against PSG.

Balogun has also dealt with injuries but finally seems fully fit. The American forward's two goals against PSG last week and his opportunist strike against Lens showed he is back in form.

Their movement up front, allied to the runs of attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche, may stretch PSG's defense and leave space for midfielders behind.

Fati and Akliouche can dribble at speed, while Balogun’s versatility allows him to play wide or through the middle.

Rapid counterattacks are Monaco's strength.

When Monaco beat PSG 1-0 in Ligue 1 in November the goal came from a quick break. On Saturday, the third goal against Lens was a slick counterattack ending with Fati's lob.

PSG showed vulnerability to quick balls played behind the full backs when it lost at Rennes 3-1 this month; while Monaco's first goal last Tuesday saw left back Caio Henrique finding space behind right back Achraf Hakimi and Aleksandr Golovin crossing for Balogun to head in.

Henrique and right back Vanderson both like to attack. This may force Luis Enrique to instruct his own attacking full backs, Hakimi and left back Nuno Gomes, not to push up too much.

PSG will be without star forward Ousmane Dembélé

The Ballon d’Or winner came off with a calf injury last Tuesday and missed Saturday’s home game against Metz in Ligue 1.

Dembélé has been hampered by injuries and has hardly played a full season during his career, with setbacks affecting his six seasons at Barcelona before he joined PSG.

Fabián Ruiz remains sidelined. The Spain midfielder has not played for PSG since hurting his left knee on Jan. 20 in the 2-1 defeat at Sporting Lisbon.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer