Two human polls make up the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls.
Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week Italics Number of first place votes (#-#) Win–loss record т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
AP poll The Associated Press (AP) preseason poll was released on October 28, 2011. This poll is compiled by sportswriters across the nation. In Division I men's and women's college basketball, the AP Poll is largely just a tool to compare schools throughout the season and spark debate, as it has no bearing on postseason play. Generally, all top 25 teams in the poll at the end of the regular season are invited to the NCAA basketball tournament, also known as March Madness.
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is the second oldest poll still in use after the AP Poll. It is compiled by a rotating group of 31 college Division I head coaches. The Poll operates by Borda count. Each voting member ranks teams from 1 to 25. Each team then receives points for their ranking in reverse order: Number 1 earns 25 points, number 2 earns 24 points, and so forth. The points are then combined and the team with the highest points is then ranked #1; second highest is ranked #2 and so forth. Only the top 25 teams with points are ranked, with teams receiving first place votes noted the quantity next to their name. Any team receiving votes after the top 25 are listed after the top 25 by their point totals. However, these are not real rankings: They are not considered #26, #27, etc. The maximum points a single team can earn is 775. The preseason poll was released on October 20, 2011.
Preseason polls Various publications and news sources release their preseason top 25 months before the season commences. Athlon Lindy's Sporting News Fox Sports CBS Sports Rivals.com Blue Ribbon 1. North Carolina Ohio State North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina 2. Kentucky North Carolina Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky 3. Ohio State Kentucky Ohio State Ohio State Connecticut Connecticut Ohio State 4. Connecticut Vanderbilt Connecticut Connecticut Syracuse Ohio State Syracuse 5. Syracuse Duke Duke Syracuse Ohio State Duke Connecticut 6. Duke Pittsburgh Syracuse Duke Duke Syracuse Duke 7. Vanderbilt Michigan Florida Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Florida Vanderbilt 8. Louisville Connecticut Memphis Florida Louisville Vanderbilt Pittsburgh 9. Florida Syracuse Baylor Louisville Memphis Pittsburgh Florida 10. Pittsburgh Florida Vanderbilt Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Baylor Arizona 11. Baylor California Pittsburgh Memphis Florida Memphis Kansas 12. Memphis Louisville Arizona Baylor Baylor Kansas Memphis 13. Kansas Memphis Wisconsin Kansas Xavier Wisconsin Louisville 14. Wisconsin Gonzaga Kansas Xavier Kansas Marquette Xavier 15. Xavier Washington UCLA Wisconsin Arizona Arizona Wisconsin 16. Alabama Michigan State Louisville Arizona Cincinnati Louisville Texas A&M 17. Marquette Baylor Cincinnati UCLA Texas A&M Xavier Florida State 18. Cincinnati Xavier Xavier Michigan Gonzaga Gonzaga Alabama 19. Michigan State New Mexico Michigan Alabama Florida State Alabama Baylor 20. UCLA UCLA Gonzaga Texas A&M Michigan Michigan Michigan State 21. California Missouri Marquette Cincinnati UCLA Texas A&M California 22. Florida State Arizona California Marquette Alabama California Marquette 23. Texas A&M Creighton Alabama Gonzaga Missouri Cincinnati UCLA 24. Missouri Butler Washington California Wisconsin Florida State Missouri 25. Arizona Alabama Michigan State Missouri Villanova Temple Michigan
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