Back to the top: Gonzaga returns to No. 1 in AP poll, Arizona moves up to No. 3
Gonzaga is back in the top spot in the Associated Press college basketball poll, and Arizona, a program with strong connections to the Zags, moved up to No. 3.
The Zags (21-2, 10-0 West Coast Conference) spent the last three weeks at No. 2 behind Auburn, which slipped to second after falling to Arkansas.
This is Gonzaga’s third stint at No. 1. The Zags were in the top spot at the outset of the season and stayed there until suffering a loss to Duke in Las Vegas in November. The Zags returned to No. 1 about a month ago but were replaced by Auburn one week later, even though they haven’t lost since falling to Alabama on Dec. 4.
Gonzaga, which routed Pacific and handled Saint Mary’s last week, collected 56 first-place votes and 1,496 points from the media panel. Auburn received four first-place votes and 1,413 points.
Arizona, coached by former longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, moved up one spot to third following convincing road wins over Washington State and Washington. The Wildcats (22-2, 12-1 Pac-12) earned 1,370 points.
The Zags are ranked No. 1 for the 38th time; they’ve spent time at the top in six of the last 10 seasons. Gonzaga has spent at least four weeks at No. 1 in each of the last four seasons.
Gonzaga, which visits Pepperdine on Wednesday and entertains Santa Clara on Senior Night on Saturday, is 61-7 when ranked No. 1.
“Not really too much … focusing on that type of stuff, more like teams’ statistics and stuff that is going to make our team get better,” GU senior guard Andrew Nembhard said. “We’re looking at that type of stuff and seeing how we can get better. When it comes to the AP poll and coaches rankings, not really too worried about that.”
Kentucky is fourth, followed by Purdue, Kansas, Baylor, Providence, Duke and Villanova.
Gonzaga has wins over No. 11 Texas Tech, No. 13 UCLA and No. 20 Texas. GU’s losses have been to No. 9 Duke and No. 25 Alabama.
Saint Mary’s, No. 22 last week, dropped into fourth among teams receiving votes with 22 points. Boise State, led by former Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice, received three points, and San Francisco had two points.
The Zags face the three teams immediately below them in the WCC standings to finish the regular season. Gonzaga, which visits Saint Mary’s on Feb. 26, holds a three-game edge in the loss column over the Gaels (20-6, 8-3). Gonzaga faces San Francisco (21-6, 8-4) on Feb. 24.
Fourth-place Santa Clara (17-9, 7-4) is a half-game behind USF.
“I really don’t think it matters where we’re ranked,” Zags junior forward Anton Watson said. “Ever since I got here, we’ve been ranked high. It’s always been that target on our backs. Even in the WCC, all the teams are trying their hardest to beat us. I’ve just kind of gotten used to it.”
Gonzaga is first and Arizona second in the NET rankings. Kentucky, Baylor and Houston round out the top five.
The Zags (90.0) and Wildcats (84.9) rank first and third, respectively, in scoring offense. Arizona has a three-game lead in the loss column over USC, UCLA and Oregon in the Pac-12. Arizona will be in the national spotlight Saturday when it hosts ESPN’s GameDay prior to facing the Ducks at 7 p.m. PST.
Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology for ESPN has Gonzaga as the top overall seed and Arizona third. Lunardi projects four WCC teams in the tournament with BYU as the last team in and San Francisco among the last four with byes.
Top-ranked Gonzaga received 30 of 32 first-place votes to extend its lead over No. 2 Auburn in the USA Today coaches poll. Kentucky is third, Arizona fourth and Duke fifth.