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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga rises to No. 4 in AP basketball poll after wins over Baylor, Arizona State

Gonzaga forward Braden Huff scrambles for a loose ball with Arizona State's Jayden Quaintance during the second half of the Zags' 88-80 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585
Gonzaga forward Braden Huff scrambles for a loose ball with Arizona State's Jayden Quaintance during the second half of the Zags' 88-80 victory at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

Gonzaga didn’t make the biggest jump in the first Associated Press regular-season basketball poll, but it’s 2-0 start certainly garnered national attention.

The Zags moved up two spots to No. 4 after pummeling No. 8 Baylor 101-63 in the season opener and handling Arizona State 88-80 on Sunday. Both games were televised on ESPN Networks.

Gonzaga received three first-place votes from the media panel and 1,371 points, 27 behind No. 3 UConn. The teams clash Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Zags have just one game this week, Friday against visiting UMass Lowell, before the next poll is released next Monday. 

Kansas stayed at No. 1 with 44 first-place votes, followed by Alabama. Auburn, which knocked off Houston, climbed six spots to No. 5 while the Cougars slipped from fourth to eighth.

Arizona, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, gained one spot to No. 9.

Baylor rebounded from the loss to GU with a 72-67 victory over Arkansas, but still dropped to No. 12. Arizona State received two points in the voting.

Kentucky, which faces Gonzaga on Dec. 7 in Seattle, moved up four spots to No. 19. UCLA, GU’s opponent Dec. 28 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, fell out of the rankings and didn’t receive a vote after falling 72-64 to New Mexico. The Bruins were No. 22 in the preseason poll.

In addition to Arizona, a potential GU opponent on the final day of the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Indiana Hoosiers, who could face the Zags on the second day in the Bahamas, are at No. 16.

Saint Mary’s went from five points in the preseason poll to zero in the new poll despite a 2-0 start.

Eight Southeastern Conference teams are in the top 25, followed by the Big 12’s six. The Big East and Big Ten both have four.

Gonzaga climbed two spots to No. 5 in the USA Today poll. Kansas, Alabama and UConn remained at 1-2-3 while Auburn soared from No. 11 to No. 4. The top five teams received at least one first-place vote.

The Gaels received 12 points and San Francisco one in the coaches’ poll.