Gonzaga and UCLA held on to the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday, setting up a clash of the nation’s top teams on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Gonzaga (4-0) received 55 first-place votes, with UCLA earning five and Purdue the final vote. The Zags held the No. 1 spot in each weekly poll in 2020-21 and started this season as preseason No. 1.
The Bruins (4-0) try to finally dethrone Gonzaga when they meet in a rematch of the thrilling national semifinal, which the Zags won 93-90 last April.
Both Gonzaga and UCLA have a win over a top five team this season – Gonzaga against Texas and UCLA over Villanova – but this game likely has been circled by both teams since the schedule came out.
The rest of the top 10 shuffled while Gonzaga and UCLA stayed put.
Purdue (5-0) jumped three spots to No. 3, followed by Kansas (3-0) and Duke (5-0).
At No. 6 is defending national champion Baylor (3-0), up three places, trailed by Villanova (3-2), Texas (3-1) and Memphis (4-0). Kentucky (3-1), which rose three places, and Alabama (4-0), up four spots, jointly hold No. 10.
Plummeting out of the Top 10, falling from No. 4 to 20, was Michigan. The Wolverines lost 75-55 to Seton Hall and 80-62 to Arizona, both of which entered the Top 25.
Arizona (5-0) is No. 17, with Seton Hall (3-0) at No. 21.
Also entering the Top 25 was BYU at No. 18 following an 81-49 win over previous No. 12 Oregon. The thumping sent the Ducks out of the ranking.
Also falling out of the Top 25 were Ohio State and North Carolina.
–Field Level Media
