1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

The 1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings was made up of two human polls, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various other preseason polls.

1973–74 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Season	1973–74
NCAA Tournament	1974
Preseason #1	UCLA
NCAA Tournament Champions	NC State
NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings ← 1972–73 1974–75 →

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		New to rankings from previous week
Italics		Number of first place votes
(#–#)		Win-loss record
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

AP Poll

The January 21, 1974 poll was the first where UCLA was not ranked #1 since the rankings on February 1, 1971 – a string of 46 consecutive AP polls that stretched across parts of four seasons. The Bruins would regain the top ranking for three more weeks before NC State would grab the top spot for the final six weeks.

	Preseason  [1]	Week 1 Dec. 3[1]	Week 2 Dec. 10[1]	Week 3 Dec. 17[1]	Week 4 Dec. 24[1]	Week 5 Dec. 31[1]	Week 6 Jan. 7[1]	Week 7 Jan. 14[1]	Week 8 Jan. 21[1]	Week 9 Jan. 28[1]	Week 10 Feb. 4[1]	Week 11 Feb. 11[1]	Week 12 Feb. 18[2]	Week 13 Feb. 25[2]	Week 14 Mar. 4[2]	Week 15 Mar. 11[2]	Week 16 Mar. 18[2]	Final Mar. 26[2][3][4]
1.	UCLA	UCLA (2–0)	UCLA (3–0)	UCLA (4–0)	UCLA (6–0)	UCLA (8–0)	UCLA (9–0)	UCLA (11–0)	Notre Dame (10–0)	UCLA (15–1)	UCLA (16–1)	UCLA (18–1)	NC State (20–1)	NC State (22–1)	NC State (24–1)	NC State (26–1)	NC State (28–1)	NC State (30–1)	1.
2.	NC State								UCLA (13–1)	NC State (13–1)	NC State (15–1)	NC State (17–1)	Notre Dame (20–1)	Notre Dame (22–1)	Notre Dame (24–1)	UCLA (23–3)	UCLA (25–3)	UCLA (26–4)	2.
3.	Indiana									Notre Dame (12–1)	Notre Dame (15–1)	Notre Dame (18–1)	UCLA (18–3)	UCLA (20–3)	UCLA (22–3)	Notre Dame (25–2)	Marquette (25–4)	Marquette (26–5)	3.
4.	Maryland																Maryland (23–5)	Maryland (23–5)	4.
5.	North Carolina																Notre Dame (26–3)	Notre Dame (26–3)	5.
6.	Providence																	Michigan (22–5)	6.
7.	Marquette																	Kansas (23–7)	7.
8.	Notre Dame																	Providence (28–4)	8.
9.	Louisville																	Indiana (23–5)	9.
10.	Kentucky																	Long Beach State (23–2)	10.
11.	San Francisco																	Purdue (21–9)	11.
12.	Long Beach State																	North Carolina (22–6)	12.
13.	Kansas																	Vanderbilt (23–5)	13.
14.	Houston																	Alabama (22–4)	14.
15.	Arizona																	Utah (22–8)	15.
16.	Penn																	Pittsburgh (25–4)	16.
17.	Jacksonville																	USC (24–5)	17.
18.	Alabama																	Oral Roberts (23–5)	18.
19.	UNLV																	South Carolina (22–5)	19.
20.	Memphis State															Dayton (20–7)		Dayton (20–9)	20.
	Preseason  [1]	Week 1 Dec. 3[1]	Week 2 Dec. 10[1]	Week 3 Dec. 17[1]	Week 4 Dec. 24[1]	Week 5 Dec. 31[1]	Week 6 Jan. 7[1]	Week 7 Jan. 14[1]	Week 8 Jan. 21[1]	Week 9 Jan. 28[1]	Week 10 Feb. 4[1]	Week 11 Feb. 11[1]	Week 12 Feb. 18[2]	Week 13 Feb. 25[2]	Week 14 Mar. 4[2]	Week 15 Mar. 11[2]	Week 16 Mar. 18[2]	Final Mar. 26[2][5][6]
		None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	Dropped: New Mexico

UPI Poll

	Week 2 Dec. 11[1]	Week 3 Dec. 18[1]	Week 4 Dec. 25[1]	Week 5 Jan. 2[1]	Week 6 Jan. 8[1]	Week 7 Jan. 15[1]	Week 8 Jan. 22[1]	Week 9 Jan. 29[1]	Week 10 Feb. 5[1]	Week 11 Feb. 12[1]	Week 12 Feb. 19[2]	Week 13 Feb. 26[2]	Week 14 Mar. 5[2]	Final Mar. 12[2]
1.	UCLA (3–0)													NC State (26–1)	1.
2.	NC State (2–0)													UCLA (23–3)	2.
3.	Indiana (3–0)													Notre Dame (25–2)	3.
4.	North Carolina (2–0)													Maryland (23–5)	4.
5.	Maryland (1–1)													Marquette (23–4)	5.
6.	Marquette (4–0)													Providence (27–3)	6.
7.	Notre Dame (4–0)													Vanderbilt (23–3)	7.
8.	Providence (1–0)													North Carolina (22–5)	8.
9.	Memphis State (4–0)													Indiana (20–4)	9.
10.	Louisville (3–1)													Kansas (21–5)	10.
11.	Alabama (2–0)													Long Beach State (23–2)	11.
12.	Long Beach State (2–1)													Michigan (20–4)	12.
13.	South Carolina (3–0)													USC (22–4)	13.
14.	Kansas State (3–1)													Pittsburgh (24–3)	14.
15.	Cincinnati (3–0)													Louisville (21–5)	15.
16.	New Mexico (4–0)													South Carolina (22–5)	16.
17.	Penn (3–0) т													Creighton (22–6)	17.
18.	Arizona (3–1) т													New Mexico (21–6)	18.
19.	USC (2–1) т													Alabama (22–4) т	19.
20.	Vanderbilt (4–0) т													Dayton (20–7) т	20.
	Week 2 Dec. 11[1]	Week 3 Dec. 18[1]	Week 4 Dec. 25[1]	Week 5 Jan. 2[1]	Week 6 Jan. 8[1]	Week 7 Jan. 15[1]	Week 8 Jan. 22[1]	Week 9 Jan. 29[1]	Week 10 Feb. 5[1]	Week 11 Feb. 12[1]	Week 12 Feb. 19[2]	Week 13 Feb. 26[2]	Week 14 Mar. 5[2]	Final Mar. 12[2]
		None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	Dropped: Syracuse

References

1. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 806. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
2. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 807. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
3. "1974 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
4. "1973-74 College Basketball Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
5. "1974 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
6. "1973-74 College Basketball Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 26, 2020.