Tar Heels, Vols Final No. 1’S

For the last six weeks of the season the same four teams held the top four spots in the men’s AP college basketball poll and it’s no coincidence they are also the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina, which moved back to No. 1, Kansas, Duke and Arizona were the four top teams since late January and that was their order in the final poll.

Kentucky jumped from seventh to fifth and was followed by Connecticut, Utah, Princeton, Cincinnati and Stanford. UCLA is ranked 19th.

Tennessee completed a run at the top of the AP women’s poll that was just as impressive as its romp through the season.

Coach Pat Summitt’s Vols (33-0) remained a unanimous choice for No. 1 in the final poll, making them the first team in 13 years and only the fourth of all time to go wire-to-wire at the top.

Stanford finished fifth and Arizona ninth. Washington fell out of the rankings, but UCLA joined the rankings at No. 25.

Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw was a unanimous selection to the AP women’s All-America basketball team.

She was joined on the first team by Connecticut’s injured star, Nykesha Sales; Old Dominion’s Ticha Penicheiro; Texas Tech’s Alicia Thompson; and North Carolina’s Tracy Reid.

Tennessee freshman Tamika Catchings made the second team, along with Alabama’s Dominique Canty, Florida’s Murriel Page, Stanford’s Kristin Folkl and Louisiana Tech’s Alisa Burras. The third team had Old Dominion’s Nyree Roberts, Arizona’s Adia Barnes, Illinois’ Ashley Berggren, Maine’s Cindy Blodgett and Stephen F. Austin’s Katrina Price.