Gonzaga and Baylor were the top two teams in The Associated Press preseason men’s college basketball poll. After eight weeks of twists and turns, that hasn't changed.
The Zags received 63 of 64 first-place votes from a national media panel
Gonzaga and Baylor split most of the first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25, but the Zags have become the clear-cut No. 1 after stringing together a series of routs.
Gonzaga (12-0) has wins over No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Kansas, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 18 Virginia, the closest game a five-point win over the Mountaineers.
The Zags continued the rout route last week,
Gonzaga, which had five games canceled due to COVID-19 issues last month, has won 16 straight dating to last season.
“They come at you in waves and multiple guys that can dribble and push out,” Portland coach Terry Porter said.
Baylor (11-0) also has yet to be seriously tested.
The Bears’ closest game was an
The win over Oklahoma was coach Scott Drew’s 372nd, one more than his father, former Valparaiso coach Homer Drew.
“He’s a coach, he knows who deserves the credit, and that’s the players and the staff, administration,” Scott Drew said after a congratulatory video message from his father was played after the game. “Head coaches get to benefit from that.”
UCONN RISING
Dan Hurley was hired in 2018 to try rebuilding a UConn program that had fallen from the elite. The Huskies won the national championship in 2014 but went to the NCAA Tournament only one more time before Hurley was lured from Rhode Island.
UConn won 19 games before the remainder of last season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Huskies reached a milestone in this week’s poll, entering at No. 25.
It’s UConn’s first appearance in the AP Top 25 since reaching No. 18 in 2016-17. The Huskies (6-1) have had five games canceled or postponed because of COVID-19 issues but have played well when they’ve been on the court.
UConn’s only loss was in
RISING/FALLING
Clemson climbed seven spots to No. 12 this week after returning to the poll a week ago. The Tigers
No. 23 Minnesota lost seven spots after losing to
IN AND OUT
Louisville is back in the rankings at No. 16 after
No. 21 Ohio State returned to the poll after a one-week absence following a
Michigan State dropped out from No. 23 after losing to Purdue, and Florida State is out from No. 25 following three straight postponements.
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For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
