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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga slides to No. 4 in both major polls

Gonzaga guards Silas Melson (left) and Jordan Mathews stand on the court during senior night speeches following Gonzaga’s loss to BYU on Saturday. (YOUNG KWAK / AP)
Gonzaga guards Silas Melson (left) and Jordan Mathews stand on the court during senior night speeches following Gonzaga’s loss to BYU on Saturday. (YOUNG KWAK / AP)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga dropped to No. 4 in both major college basketball polls, ending a program-record four-week run as the nation’s top-ranked team.

Kansas took over the top spot in the AP Top 25, earning of 58 of 65 first-place votes and 1,618 points. The Jayhawks are comfortably in front of Villanova, which remained No. 2 after a 1-1 week.

Kansas is the sixth No. 1 team this season, joining Duke, Kentucky, Villanova, Baylor and Gonzaga.

UCLA climbed two spots to No. 3 after Saturday’s road win over then-No. 4 Arizona, which fell to the Zags in December.

Gonzaga received two first-place votes and 1,419 points, 55 points behind the Bruins and 38 points ahead of No. 5 North Carolina. Oregon is No. 6, followed by Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky and West Virginia.

The shakeup was expected after three of the top four teams and five of the top 10 lost games last week.

Gonzaga also slipped to No. 4 in the USA Today rankings, behind Kansas, UCLA and Villanova. North Carolina, Oregon, Louisville, Arizona, Kentucky and West Virginia round out the top 10.

The Zags received one of 32 first-place votes in the coaches’ poll. Kansas was No. 1 on 23 ballots, followed Villanova (5) and UCLA (3). The Jayhawks were No. 1 for two weeks in January.

Gonzaga’s unbeaten run ended with a 79-71 loss to BYU on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center in the regular-season finale.

Top-seeded Gonzaga (29-1) opens the WCC tournament Saturday in the quarterfinals against the winner of Friday’s No. 8 Pepperdine/No. 9 Pacific game. Tip time is 7 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Second-seeded Saint Mary’s stayed at AP No. 20 and USA Today No. 18.

Florida, a 77-72 loser to Gonzaga in the AdvoCare Invitational semifinals in Orlando, is No. 12 in both polls. Iowa State, which lost to Gonzaga in the AdvoCare title game, returned to the rankings at No. 24 after defeating Baylor on Saturday.

Butler made the week’s biggest move, rising nine spots to AP No. 13 after knocking off Villanova for the second time this season. Duke had the biggest fall, sliding seven spots to No. 17.