At noon EST on Monday, the first Associated Press men’s college basketball poll of the regular season was released. While the top of the poll remained relatively the same, the rest was filled with numerous changes, as teams exceeded or failed to live up to preseason projections.
Gonzaga and Baylor remained Nos. 1-2 in the poll released Monday. The Zags received 57 of 63 first-place votes from a media panel, and the Bears had six first-place votes. Both programs had dominating performances, as expected.
The Zags (2-0) rolled over Kansas 102-90 and cruised past Auburn 90-67 the next day. Sophomore standout Drew Timme led the way, averaging 26.5 points and 8.0 boards per game. As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting tremendously, knocking down 58.5 percent of their field goal attempts. Gonzaga will be under some pressure in the coming days, as they play No. 11 West Virginia and No. 2 Baylor this week.
As of Week 1, there have been four upsets from the AP top 25 teams: Villanova, Virginia, Kentucky and UCLA fell to unranked teams. Villanova dropped nine places to No. 12 after losing to Virginia Tech, which moved into the poll at No. 16. Virginia took a big tumble after losing to San Francisco, dropping 11 spots to No. 15. No. 10 Kentucky has dipped to No. 20 and UCLA has fallen out of the rankings.
Big rises/falls
Houston climbed seven spots to No. 10. After two commanding wins to begin their season. The Cougars knocked off No. 17 Texas Tech in a 64-53 win. Texas Tech dropped three spots from last week.
No. 8 Michigan State climbed five spots after victories over Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan.
Arizona State fell seven spots to No. 25 following two wins and a loss to Villanova.
Moving In/Out
UCLA dropped out of the poll after losing to San Diego State and needing triple overtime to beat Pepperdine.
Virginia Tech enter the top 20(No. 16) this week after being unranked in preseason polls. The Hokies are ranked for the first time under second-year head coach Mike Young.
Richmond joined the AP Top 25 after an easy victory over Morehead State and an impressive win over Kentucky. The Spiders check in at No. 19, the program’s highest ranking since 1958.
Here is the latest AP poll:
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois
6. Duke
7. Kansas
8. Michigan State
9. Creighton
10. Houston
11. West Virginia
12. Villanova
13. Tennessee
14. North Carolina
15. Virginia
16. Virginia Tech
17. Texas Tech
18. Texas
19. Richmond
20. Kentucky
21. Oregon
22. Florida State
23. Ohio State
24. Rutgers
25. Arizona State
Others receiving votes: Michigan 90, San Diego State 86, Saint Louis 69, Louisville 55, Alabama 52, Florida 45, Indiana 38, UCLA 14, Maryland 9, Providence 7, Stanford 7, Connecticut 6, Clemson 4, LSU 3, Arkansas 2, Loyola Chicago 1, TCU 1, Colorado 1, BYU 1
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