No. 5 Gonzaga, top 10 remain in place in AP rankings
It was an eventful week on the court with three teams in the top five, including Gonzaga, involved in tight games before pulling out wins.
The result: an uneventful new AP men’s college basketball poll. There were no changes in the top 10 as those squads compiled a 19-0 record last week.
No. 5 Gonzaga did its part with a 67-36 home win over Pacific and a hard-fought 96-83 victory against San Francisco.
Duke, which defeated Florida State on a buzzer-beater on Saturday, stayed at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week. The Blue Devils are followed by Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia. GU knocked off Duke in Maui and lost to the Volunteers in Phoenix.
There will be no perfect record for the top teams this week, however, as Syracuse upset top-ranked Duke 95-91 in overtime on Monday night.
The Zags received 1,315 points, down four from last week, while No. 6 Michigan State gained one point to 1,292. GU trails fourth-ranked Virginia by 158 points.
Kansas, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech and Nevada rounded out the top 10.
Mississippi (13-2), led by former Idaho coach Kermit Davis, debuted at No. 18.
The Pac-12’s Washington and Arizona each received eight votes. Gonzaga edged the Huskies 81-79 in December and defeated the Wildcats 91-74 in Maui in November.
Gonzaga climbed past Michigan State into No. 5 in the USA Today coaches poll. The Zags have a three-point edge on the Spartans.