AP Top 25: Gonzaga has big drop after another close loss
Dec 30, 2024, 11:33 AM | Updated: 12:06 pm
Michael Ajayi and Graham Ike of Gonzaga battle for a rebound against UCLA on Dec. 28, 2024. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs lost yet another close game to a ranked opponent on Saturday, resulting in a big drop for the third time this season in the Associated Press’ weekly men’s basketball top 25 poll.
Gonzaga Bulldogs fall 65-62 in marquee battle against UCLA
Gonzaga lost 65-62 to UCLA on Saturday at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, Calif., to fall to 9-4 overall this season. That defeat dropped the Zags five spots from No. 14 last week to No. 19 in Monday’s new poll. It ties Gonzaga’s biggest fall in the rankings this season, as it previously dropped five spots in the Dec. 16 poll after back-to-back losses to Kentucky and UConn.
The Zags, who had a two-week stay at No. 3 in the AP poll, also fell four spots in the Dec. 2 rankings following an upset loss to West Virginia.
UCLA entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 22, and jumped seven spots to No. 15 in Monday’s poll.
Gonzaga had a close call just before the UCLA game after the team’s chartered plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, nearly ending up in the way of another jet taking off.
Gonzaga basketball team narrowly avoids disaster on LAX runway
The Zags wrapped up their tough nonconference schedule with the UCLA game and are set to begin WCC play at 7 p.m. Monday night at Pepperdine, which is also located in the Los Angeles area.
Gonzaga has just one win this season over a currently ranked opponent. That came in its opener against Baylor, who are No. 25 in Monday’s AP poll. The Zags are the only WCC team in the AP rankings, meaning there are no other top 25 teams left on their remaining schedule.
Atop Monday’s AP poll, Tennessee remains at No. 1 after a quiet holiday week.
See this week’s full AP men’s basketball top 25 poll
The Volunteers received 41 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 Auburn had 20 first-place votes, with Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounding out the top five.
The Tigers gained ground on Tennessee’s No. 1 spot last Monday and did it again this week despite not playing, picking up eight additional first-place votes.
The top 13 teams remained unchanged following a week in which 12 ranked teams didn’t play.
• Rising and falling
UCLA was the only team to move up more than two spots in this week’s poll.
No. 24 Mississippi barely held on to a ranking, dropping eight places following an 87-70 loss to No. 21 Memphis on Saturday.
• In and out
Memphis was the only team to move into this week’s poll after the win over Ole Miss.
San Diego State dropped out from No. 20 after losing 67-66 to Utah State on Tucker Anderson’s 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left. The Aggies appeared on 14 ballots after the win.
Conference watch
The SEC leads all conferences with 10 ranked teams. The Big Ten and Big 12 each have five and the Big East two. The Atlantic Coast, West Coast and American Athletic conferences each have one.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
