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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga jumps four spots to No. 11 in Associated Press Top 25 after Alabama win

Gonzaga coach Mark Few directs his team against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

Gonzaga’s on the move in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after securing its first top-five win of the season.

Two days after beating fourth-ranked Alabama 100-90 in Birmingham, the Bulldogs climbed four spots to No. 11 in the seventh edition of the weekly AP rankings. Alabama dropped out of the top five with the loss to Gonzaga.

Monday’s top five featured Purdue at No. 1, UConn at No. 2, Houston at No. 3, Kansas at No. 4 and Arizona at No. 5. The Jayhawks and Wildcats, who are coached by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, managed to slip into the top five as a result of Alabama’s loss to the Zags and Virginia’s defeat against Houston.

Gonzaga’s first foray outside the top 15 in three years was brief. The Bulldogs fell to No. 18 in week five after losing to Baylor, but moved up three spots to No. 15 after beating Kent State and Washington at home and have now extended their win streak to four games with victories over Northern Illinois and Alabama.

Five of Gonzaga’s 12 nonconference opponents are still ranked inside the top 20 of the AP poll, including the top-ranked Boilermakers, who beat the Bulldogs 84-66 at the Phil Knight Legacy. Texas didn’t move in Monday’s poll, remaining at No. 7, Alabama fell to No. 9, Baylor dropped one spot to No. 12 and Kentucky moved down to No. 19.

The Bulldogs may not see another Top 25-caliber opponent until the NCAA Tournament. West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary’s has received Top 25 votes in four separate polls, but the Gaels have ground to make up after losing four of their last seven games.

Gonzaga also helped itself in the NCAA NET rankings, moving up from No. 14 to No. 13 after securing its second “Quad 1” win of the season. The Bulldogs are 2-3 in such games but 3-0 in “Quad 2” games, 1-0 in “Quad 1” games and 3-0 in “Quad 4” games.

Among teams inside the Top 25 of the NET rankings, Gonzaga is one of four to have played five “Quad 1” games and the only team to play eight total “Quad 1” and “Quad 2” games to this point.