Gonzaga moves up to No. 7, Duke regains top spot in AP rankings

Gonzaga’s two-week slide in the Associated Press men’s college basketball poll came to a stop and the top spot changed hands again.

The Zags responded to two straight losses with consecutive blowouts over UT Arlington and Denver and climbed one spot to No. 7.

Duke returned to No. 1 for the first time since falling to Gonzaga in the championship game of the Maui Invitational. The victory propelled the Zags to No. 1 for two weeks until they lost to Tennessee.

Michigan (12-0), one of five unbeaten teams, leaped over No. 3 Tennessee into the second spot.

Virginia is No. 4 while Kansas dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 after suffering its first loss, on the road to Arizona State. The Sun Devils gained one spot to No. 17. They’re the lone Pac-12 team ranked.

Gonzaga (11-2) is 117 points behind No. 6 Nevada and 53 points in front of No. 8 Michigan State. The Zags edged the Spartans in a preseason scrimmage.

Florida State and Virginia Tech rounded out the top 10, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference four teams in the top 10.

The West Coast Conference’s San Francisco Dons (12-1) received one vote.

In the USA Today coaches poll, Virginia jumped from third to first while Duke stayed at No. 2. The Cavaliers have a two-point edge over the Blue Devils. The Zags are No. 8. Former No. 1 Kansas fell to No. 5.