Florida finishes No. 1 in final AP Top 25 men's basketball poll - ESPN

The Florida Gators are No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll of the 2024-25 season after winning the national championship.

Florida (36-4) received all 61 first-place votes Tuesday, the second year the AP has released its last poll after the completion of the NCAA tournament. Todd Golden's team beat Houston 65-63 on Monday night to clinch the program's third national title and first since Billy Donovan's repeat titles in 2006 and 2007.

The win also lifted the Gators to the top spot in the poll for the first time since the last four polls of the 2013-14 season.

«Obviously we have an incredibly talented group, one of the most talented groups individually in America,» Golden said after the title-clinching win. «I do think what separates us and has separated us all season long is our team talent, how our guys have played together and for each other all year. Because of that, we can call each other national champions for the rest of our lives.»

Houston (35-5) remained at No. 2 after its first title-game appearance since 1984, capping a season that saw Kelvin Sampson's Cougars reach the Final Four for the second time in five seasons and beat Duke (35-4) in the national semifinals with a shocking late comeback.

The Blue Devils — who were No. 1 in the last two polls before March Madness — were third in what amounted to a swap with the Gators as the only change to the top quartet. Auburn (32-6) stayed at No. 4 after falling to Florida in the Alamodome, rounding out only the second all-chalk Final Four of 1-seeds since seeding began in 1979.

Florida's rise to No. 1 meant five different teams held the top spot of the AP Top 25 this season, starting with Kansas for the preseason and the first four