"Not much," Michigan coach Dusty May said when asked by the AP after Saturday's rout of UCLA about the significance of potentially topping the poll. "It means we haven't drank our own Kool-Aid. We've put ourselves in a position to be playing the types of games in mid-February that we want to be in, but we've got to continue to improve."
The Wildcats received 33 of 60 first-place votes from a national media panel to claim No. 1 for the first time since Dec. 11, 2023, and only the third time since the 2013-14 season. They edged No. 2 Michigan, which earned 19 first-place votes, thanks in part to wins over Florida, UConn and UCLA, along with their 97-68 romp over the then-No. 20 Tigers on Saturday night.