Holding pattern keeps Gonzaga at No. 4 in AP Top 25

Gonzaga isn’t going anywhere in the AP Top 25 college basketball poll and the Zags aren’t alone.

For the third straight week, permanent marker could be used on the number attached to the top four teams. Shuffling in the latest rankings came right below No. 4 Gonzaga with Michigan and Michigan State suffering losses last week.

The Zags strengthened their hold on fourth. They have a 113-point edge over new No. 5 Kentucky compared to their one-point margin over Michigan a week ago.

No. 1 Tennessee keeps playing like a top-ranked team. The Volunteers posted a pair of double-digit SEC victories last week to extend their school-record winning streak to 16.

There could be movement on the horizon. No. 2 Duke visits No. 3 Virginia on Saturday. The Blue Devils edged Virginia 72-70 on Jan. 19.

Michigan slipped to seventh and Michigan State dropped from No. 6 to No. 9.

Nevada climbed up two spots to sixth. North Carolina is No. 8 and Marquette remained No. 10.

The Pac-12 remains on the outside looking in, but first-place Washington received 135 votes, just seven behind No. 25 Cincinnati.

Gonzaga continues to hold down the second spot in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, one of the metrics that will be used to select and seed NCAA Tournament teams.

Virginia remains No. 1. No. 3 Duke is followed by Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky, Houston, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Losses by Michgian and Michigan State allowed Gonzaga moved up to the No. 1 seed line, according to bracket projections by CBSsports.com, NBCsports.com and SI.com.

The USA Today’s top four remained the same: Tennessee, Duke Virginia and Gonzaga. Kentucky moved up one position to No. 5, followed by Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Marquette, Virginia Tech.

The Zags entertain San Francisco on Thursday and Saint Mary’s on Saturday.