Last season’s National Champion and runner-up are at No. 1 and No. 2 in the final Student Media Poll before the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga remains No. 1 with 18 first-place votes, while Baylor is up two spots to No. 2 with two first-place votes.
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | TREND |
| 1 | Gonzaga (18) | 565 | — |
| 2 | Baylor (2) | 524 | +2 |
| 3 | Arizona | 517 | -2 |
| 4 | Auburn | 496 | +2 |
| 5 | Kentucky (2) | 494 | +2 |
| 6 | Duke | 444 | -3 |
| 7 | Kansas | 429 | -2 |
| 8 | Purdue | 388 | — |
| 9 | Villanova | 386 | +3 |
| 10 | Tennessee | 358 | +4 |
| 11 | Providence | 318 | -2 |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 289 | -1 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 284 | -3 |
| 14 | UCLA | 271 | +2 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 265 | -2 |
| 16 | Illinois | 258 | +4 |
| 17 | Saint Mary’s | 202 | +2 |
| 18 | Houston | 189 | -3 |
| 19 | Murray State | 148 | +2 |
| 20 | UConn | 147 | -2 |
| 21 | USC | 106 | -4 |
| 22 | Iowa | 93 | +2 |
| 23 | Texas | 70 | -1 |
| 24 | Colorado State | 46 | NR |
| 25 | North Carolina | 43 | NR |
Dropped out: Ohio State (23), Michigan State (25)
Receiving votes: South Dakota State (27), Loyola Chicago (19), LSU (19), San Diego State (13), Memphis (10), Ohio State (9), Boise State (9), San Francisco (9), Michigan State (8), Wake Forest (8), Michigan (4), Seton Hall (4), Vermont (3), Alabama (2), Davidson (1).
Student Media Poll 