With Selection Sunday just under three weeks away, the college basketball season is coming down to the wire.
On Monday, The Associated Press released their updated top-25 poll, and there’s been some shuffling in the top-five.
For the second consecutive week, Gonzaga sits atop the rankings, receiving all 61 first place votes. The Zags are coming off a week where they defeated Pepperdine and Santa Clara handily. Mark Few’s team has won 16 straight games, with games against San Francisco and No. 23 St. Mary’s remaining on their regular season schedule.
“They could win the whole thing,” Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar said after an 86-66 loss to Gonzaga last Wednesday. “They have size, they have scoring ability, they can guard.”
The Arizona Wildcats moved up a spot in the rankings, taking over as the No. 2 team in the country following a tight win over Oregon and Auburn’s loss to unranked Florida.
In a game that Arizona lost countless times under former head coach Sean Miller, the Wildcats took down a feisty Oregon Ducks team 84-81 at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. First-year head coach Tommy Lloyd watched his team claw back from a 12-point first half deficit to win their eighth game in a row.
“I don’t think I’m nervous in a bad way, but I’m excited,’’ Lloyd said according to Greg Hansen of The Arizona Daily Star.
“I’m anxious to see what happens. I love competing and I love games. And to be honest, I don’t mind the losing,” Lloyd continued. “It’s part of the deal. I don’t want to lose a lot, but it comes with the territory. Why should you shy away from it? But I know this: I enjoy winning, and I’m happy for the guys that they’re getting to enjoy winning.”
Auburn’s 63-62 loss to unranked Florida was their second road loss in a row, after the Tigers went down in Fayetteville to Arkansas last week.
“Happy for them they got a chance to have that moment postgame, for sure,” said Florida coach Mike White. “Pretty special.”
Purdue and Kansas round out the top-5, and Kentucky falls two spots to No. 6 following a loss to Tennessee and a win over Alabama. The biggest jump of the week is Arkansas, coming in at No. 18 after being ranked No. 23 the week before.
It sets up a fantastic Saturday of college basketball, with four top-25 matchups on the schedule.
The complete Associated Press Top-25 can be seen below.
- Gonzaga
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Duke
- Villanova
- Texas Tech
- Baylor
- Providence
- UCLA
- Wisconsin
- Houston
- Illinois
- USC (Southern California)
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Murray State
- Texas
- Connecticut (UConn)
- Ohio State
- Saint Mary’s
- Alabama
- Iowa
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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