Gonzaga’s one-point overtime loss to Kentucky on Saturday resulted in a one-spot drop for the Bulldogs and Wildcats in the latest AP college basketball poll.
The Zags (7-2) dropped from seventh to eighth while the Wildcats, who lost earlier in the week to Clemson, slipped from fourth to fifth. Kentucky is 11 points behind No. 4 Duke, which lost to the Wildcats 77-72 on a neutral court nearly a month ago.
Gonzaga faces No. 18 UConn (7-3) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Huskies gained seven spots after wins over Baylor and Texas.
Tennessee (8-0) took over the top spot after former No. 1 Kansas lost twice last week. No. 2 Auburn stayed in place after losing to Duke and defeating Richmond.
The Volunteers received 58 of 62 first-place votes from the media panel. The Tigers had three and No. 3 Iowa State had one while earning its highest ranking since the 1956-57 season.
Gonzaga had 1,082 points and is sandwiched between No. 7 Alabama (1,126) and No. 9 Florida (1,030). Marquette is No. 6.
The Zags face another ranked showdown Dec. 28 against No. 24 UCLA at the Intuit Dome. The Bruins returned to the rankings for the first time in nearly two years following road wins over Washington and No. 12 Oregon.
GU has victories over No. 18 San Diego State, Baylor, Arizona State and Indiana. Baylor fell out of the top 25 and is the first team in the receiving votes category (150 points), followed by the Sun Devils (143).
Indiana and West Virginia, which defeated the Zags in overtime in the Bahamas, both received 30 points. Battle 4 Atlantis champion Oklahoma is No. 13.
Saint Mary’s received 20 points, a gain of nine from last week after defeating UTSA at home and downing Utah on the road.
The SEC has nine ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten’s six.
Gonzaga also slipped one spot in the USA Today coaches’ poll to No. 9.
The Zags are No. 3 in Monday’s NET rankings, which are updated daily. GU debuted at No. 3 in the NET last Monday but moved up to No. 2 prior to losing to Kentucky.
The Zags are listed as a No. 3 seed, ninth on the s-curve, in Teamrankings.com’s bracket projections. GU was a two seed and sixth overall a week ago. Auburn, Tennessee, Duke and Alabama are No. 1 seeds with Kentucky, Houston, Iowa State and Marquette on the two line.
Kansas, Florida and Purdue share the three line with Gonzaga.
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