For the first time in the history of college basketball, the top six teams in the Associated Press top-25 all lost. Gonzaga, Arizona, Auburn, Purdue, Kansas, and Kentucky all went down Saturday, setting the stage for what should be a wild NCAA tournament.
But even with all the chaos, the top ten remains largely the same as the week before, with a few exceptions.
Gonzaga is the No. 1 team in the country for the third week in a row, even after losing to St. Mary’s on the road. Gonzaga struggled against No. 23 St. Mary’s, ending their West Coast Conference perfect record in a 67-57 loss. Drew Timme struggled, scoring just six points on 2-10 shooting from the field.
“It’s kind of life in late February and early March, especially on the road,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.
Arizona stays at No. 2, after also going down on the road, losing to Colorado 79-63, in what was easily their worst loss of the season. The loss ended the Wildcats nine game winning streak. Colorado outscored Arizona 47-26 in the second half, getting double digit scoring from five players, including 19 from forward Tristan Da Silva.
“They were way more physical than us and got the game on their terms when they got that lead in the second half and were able to control the tempo and everything,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said.
Arizona travels to No. 16 USC Tuesday night.
Baylor (3) and Duke (4) move into the top five after wins over Kansas and Syracuse. Auburn drops three spots to No. 5 following their third consecutive road loss, losing to No. 13 Tennessee 67-62.
“Disappointed,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said after the loss. “We had an 11-point lead in the second half. To not do a better job taking advantage of the basketball and taking advantage of the position we put ourselves in. Played hard, defense was pretty good.”
Kansas and Kentucky come in at No. 6 and No. 7. Arkansas, which beat Kentucky on Saturday, moves up to No. 14. The win moves the Razorbacks into a second place tie with Kentucky and Tennessee in the SEC.
“I think we’re good enough, but we’ve got to keep getting better,” Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman said. “This place (Bud Walton Arena) is magical when we’re winning.”
Purdue fell four spots to No. 8 following their loss to Michigan State, with Providence and Wisconsin rounding out the top ten. Both the Friars and the Badgers have top-15 matchups Tuesday night.
The complete Associated Press Top-25 can be seen below.
- Gonzaga
- Arizona
- Baylor
- Duke
- Auburn
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Purdue
- Providence
- Wisconsin
- Villanova
- Texas Tech
- Tennessee
- Arkansas (tied for 14)
- Houston (tied for 14)
- USC (Southern California)
- UCLA
- Connecticut
- St. Mary’s
- Illinois
- Texas
- Murray State
- Ohio State
- Iowa
- Alabama
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].