1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings explained

Year:	1981
Preseason Number 1:	North Carolina
Ncaa Champions:	North Carolina

The 1981–82 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.

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 final writers' poll was released on Monday, March 8.^[1]

UPI Poll

The final coaches' poll was released on Monday, March 8.^[1]

Notes and References

News: Scoreboard: basketball . Spokane Chronicle . (Washington) . wire services . March 9, 1982 . 19.