In its 75th year, the AP Top 25 men's basketball poll is still driving discussion across the sport
Associated Press
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FILE - Indiana coach Bob Knight, right, celebrates with the team and fans after the team's win over Marquette in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Mideast regionals in Baton Rouge, La., in March 1976. When it was introduced 75 years ago, the purpose of the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was to foster discussion and debate. That has not changed. (AP Photo, File)FILE - DePaul University basketball coach Ray Meyer, listens in as Oklahoma A&M coach Henry Iba outlines a play for the Aggie team during a practice session in New York, March 19, 1944, in preparation for the National Invitational Tournament. Players are, left to right: Tom Jaquet, kneeling; Danny Doyle; Floyd Burdette kneeling; Bill Crowe; and Bob Kurland. When it was introduced 75 years ago, the purpose of the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was to foster discussion and debate. That has not changed. (AP Photo/File)This undated photo provided by Saint Louis University Archives shows Saint Louis University NCAA college basketball coach Eddie Hickey and unidentified players. When the first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published in January 1949, Saint Louis was installed at No. 1 ahead of mighty Kentucky, thanks to a head-to-head win a few weeks earlier in New Orleans.(Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis University Archives via AP)This photo provided by Saint Louis University Archives shows Saint Louis forward Joe Ossola grabbing a rebound over Kentucky's Dale Barnstable (18) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Sugar Bowl tournament in New Orleans, Dec. 30, 1948. Saint Louis beat Kentucky 42-40. When the first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published in January 1949, Saint Louis was installed at No. 1 ahead of mighty Kentucky, thanks to a head-to-head win a few weeks earlier in New Orleans. (Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis University Archives via AP)FILE - University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and his team admire the NCAA basketball title cup which they won at Seattle, March 26, 1949, by defeating Oklahoma A&M, 46-36. Front row, left to right: Jim Line, Walter Hirsch, Coach Rupp; Ralph Beard, and Clifford Barker. Star center Alex Groza looks over Rupp's shoulder. Others are unidentified. The first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published on Jan. 17, 1949. Saint Louis was installed at No. 1 ahead of mighty Kentucky. (AP Photo/Paul Wagner, File)FILE - Bob Cousy, Holy Cross forward, second from right, intercepts a pass intended for Tony Lavelli, (8) of Yale, left, in first period of an NCAA college basketball game Feb. 19, 1949, in New Haven, Conn. Rob McMullen of Holy Cross, left, comes in on the play. Art Fizgerald, (7) of Yale is at right. (AP Photo/File)FILE - San Francisco forward Don Lofgran, center, and Pete Newell, coach of the University of San Francisco basketball team, embrace after San Francisco won the National Invitation Basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York, March 19, 1949. San Francisco defeated Loyola of Chicago 48-47. Lofgran holds the trophy awarded him as most valuable player and Newell the Kelleher Memorial Trophy as coach of the winning team. Person at left is unidentified. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)FILE - University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp looks over the jacket worn by Johnny Cox, December 1, 1958, at the Lexington, Ky. campus. When the first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published on Jan. 17, 1949, Saint Louis was installed at No. 1 ahead of mighty Kentucky. (AP Photo/File)FILE - Associated Press Personnel Manager Alan Gould is shown in Newark, N.J., Jan. 27, 1942. The first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published on Jan. 17, 1949. The poll did exactly what was intended, and what it has continued to do for 75 years: It sparked debate. It was a case of thinking up ideas to develop interest, Alan J. Gould, then the sports editor for The Associated Press, explained years later. (AP Photo/L.G. Johrden, File)FILE - Kentucky forward Jim Line, left, and St. John's Dick McGuire chase a loose ball in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Dec. 24, 1947. Kentucky won the game 52-40. The first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published on Jan. 17, 1949. The notion of subjectivity always has been essential to the Top 25. Voters understand there is no room for biases, and given that individual ballots are made public each week, they also know full-well that their opinions may come under intense scrutiny. (AP Photo/File)FILE - University of Kentucky's Ralph Beard (12) takes off for a shot at the basket as Hayden Riley (99) of Alabama defends, in Lexington, Kentucky, Feb. 16, 1948. When the first AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was published in January 1949, Saint Louis was installed at No. 1 ahead of mighty Kentucky, thanks to a head-to-head win in the Sugar Bowl Championship game a few weeks earlier in New Orleans. (AP Photo/File)
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FILE - Indiana coach Bob Knight, right, celebrates with the team and fans after the team's win over Marquette in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Mideast regionals in Baton Rouge, La., in March 1976. When it was introduced 75 years ago, the purpose of the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll was to foster discussion and debate. That has not changed. (AP Photo, File)
