Gonzaga stays at No. 3 in AP college basketball poll

Gonzaga remained third in the AP college basketball poll, but that could change by next week depending on how the Zags perform over three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

GU gained some ground on No. 2 UConn in the rankings – and that was before the Huskies suffered their first loss, 99-97, to unranked Memphis in a Maui Invitational opener.

Kansas stayed put at No. 1 with 51 of 62 first-place votes from the media panel. UConn was next with six first-place votes and 1,429 points. Gonzaga received two first-place votes and 1,428 points. The Zags trailed the Huskies by 19 points in last week’s rankings.

Gonzaga (5-0) and UConn collide Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden. Both teams will face stout competition prior to that showdown in New York City.

Gonzaga opens against West Virginia on Wednesday and could potentially face a pair of top 25 teams – No. 14 Indiana and No. 24 Arizona – in the Bahamas. UConn will face Colorado or Michigan State in the second round in Maui. The other half of the bracket is loaded with No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina.

Indiana is 4-0 entering Wednesday’s game vs. Louisville. Arizona dropped to 2-2 and fell seven spots in the poll after losing to Duke at the McKale Center. The 11th-ranked Blue Devils take on Kansas on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Auburn, Iowa State, Houston Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Marquette rounded out the top 10.

Gonzaga tangles with Kentucky on Dec. 7 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The Zags, No. 6 in the preseason poll, opened the season with a 38-point win over then No. 8 Baylor. The Bears are ranked 17th.

GU also defeated Arizona State, which received five votes in the latest poll. West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary’s was fifth in the receiving votes category with 52 points.

Nine SEC teams made the top 25. The Big 12 had six, followed by the Big East’s four.

Gonzaga is fourth in the USA Today coaches’ poll, behind Kansas, UConn and Auburn.