Notre Dame men’s basketball earns a few votes in latest AP Top 25

Notre Dame is as close to the Associated Press Top 25 as it has been all season.

The Irish received three votes in Monday’s new poll for a total of nine points, which puts them unofficially at No. 30. That’s their highest “ranking” this season, though the four total votes and 17 points they earned in the Feb. 14 update stand as the season-best totals in those categories.

The three votes this week were two placements at No. 22 and a No. 25 ranking. The other 58 voters did not put Notre Dame in the top 25.

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Duke, which moved up seven spots to No. 4 after a chaotic week in the top 10, remains the ACC’s lone ranked team. No ACC team other than Notre Dame received votes. Notre Dame is 1-3 against teams currently in the top 25. Its victory is over No. 7 Kentucky, while the losses came against Duke, No. 19 Saint Mary’s and No. 20 Illinois.

Notre Dame went 2-0 last week, with both victories coming at home. They Irish beat Syracuse 79-69 Feb. 23 and Georgia Tech 90-56 Feb. 26. They enter the final week of the regular season with a 21-8 record and 14-4 mark in the ACC. They sit alone in second place in the league standings.

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Notre Dame clinched a double bye in the ACC Tournament with its defeat of Georgia Tech. The Irish are still in play for the ACC regular-season title with two games left. But they need help to earn at least a split. The first order of business is winning at Florida State on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and beating Pittsburgh at home March 5. First-place Duke must also lose at least one of its two games — at Pittsburgh on Wednesday and at home vs. North Carolina March 5.

The ACC Tournament begins March 8. Notre Dame’s first game will be in the quarterfinals March 10.

Feb. 28 Associated Press Top 25

1. Gonzaga (24-3)

2. Arizona (25-3)

3. Baylor (24-5)

4. Duke (25-4)

5. Auburn (25-4)

6. Kansas (23-5)

7. Kentucky (23-6)

8. Purdue (24-5)

9. Providence (24-3)

10. Wisconsin (23-5)

11. Villanova (21-7)

12. Texas Tech (22-7)

13. Tennessee (21-7)

14. Arkansas (23-6)

15. Houston (24-4)

16. USC (25-4)

17. UCLA (21-6)

18. UConn (21-7)

19. St. Mary’s (24-6)

20. Illinois (20-8)

21. Texas (21-8)

22. Murray State (28-2)

23. Ohio State (18-8)

24. Iowa (20-8)

25. Alabama (19-10)