Gonzaga remained No. For the second week straight, Gonzaga remained at No. 1. Arizona moved up one spot to No. For its highest ranking in four consecutive years, Arizona moved up to No. 2. Auburn, Purdue, and Kansas completed the top five.
Gonzaga (23-2-12-0 WCC) continues to build on last year’s success in the national championship game. The Zags are unbeaten since Dec. 4, and their win over Pepperdine last week secured a 10th consecutive WCC regular-season title.
According to KenPom.com, Gonzaga is winning WCC games an average of 27 percent. This is one of the most dominating conference seasons over the past 25 years. The Zags are poised to match the 2019 team in conference game wins. They hold four of the top five positions on this list over the past 25 years, along with the 1999 Duke team.
After a Gonzaga loss of 86 to66, Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar stated that they could win the entire thing. They are big and they can score. They can also guard.
Gonzaga finishes the regular season by playing San Francisco and Saint Mary’s on the road, before winning the West Coast Conference tournament in Las Vegas.
CLIMBING CAATS
Under Tommy Lloyd, a long-time Gonzaga assistant, Arizona continues to find ways to win.
The Wildcats are tied for fourth in Pac-12 Conference. They are 24-2 and 14-1 Pac-12. No. 16 Southern California, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.
After a slow start, Arizona won against Oregon State 83–69last week. Then defeated Oregon 84–81in a high level game on Saturday.
These wins and Auburn’s loss to Florida put the Wildcats behind Gonzaga, where Lloyd coached the previous 22 seasons under Mark Few.
Lloyd stated, “Weird and cool, awesome — I am proud of those guys. They’ve got an amazing team.” “They are my family, and I believe they’re happy for me.”
RISING/FALLING
No. The biggest leap of the week was 18 Arkansas, which moved up five places after blowing out Missouri. 17 Tennessee. UConn came in third, moving up three places to No. 21 with wins over Seton Hall, Xavier.
No. The poll’s biggest drop was at 22 Ohio State, which fell four spots following its loss to Iowa. No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Providence and No. 15 Illinois lost three spots.
IN AND OUT
No. 23 Saint Mary’s was back in the polls after a week-long absence due to wins over San Francisco, BYU and San Francisco. No. After its victory over Ohio State, 25 Iowa has been ranked the first time in this season’s poll.
Michigan State was No. 19 after losses to Penn State, Illinois. Four of the five losses to the Spartans, who were ranked among the top 10 earlier in this season, are not surprising.
Wyoming’s 2015-15 AP Top 25 debut didn’t last very long. The Cowboys were eliminated from the No. 22 after the split against New Mexico, Air Force and Air Force last Wednesday.
CONFERENCE WATCH
Five ranked teams were found in the Big 10 and Southeastern conferences, while four were found in the Big 12. Each of the Big East and Pac-12 had three ranked teams, while the Big East had four. The West Coast Conference added two thanks to Saint Mary’s.
Each conference had a ranked team in the American Athletic, Atlantic Coast and Ohio Valley conferences.
