Gonzaga strengthens hold on No. 1 ranking in latest AP Poll, followed by Baylor, Kansas

By JACOB POLACHECK

Gonzaga has strengthened its hold on the No. 1 spot in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll after beating Iowa.

The Zags received 61 of 64 first-place votes from a media panel in the poll released Monday, while No. 2 Baylor received the remaining three first-place votes.

No. 3 Kansas moved up two spots this week while Iowa dropped one spot to No. 4.

Villanova rounded out the top-five.

Gonzaga (4–0) returned last week after missing five games to COVID-19 issues. The Zags didn’t miss a beat, defeating Iowa 99-88 led by a stellar performance from freshman standout Jalen Suggs.

Suggs finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while making 7-of-10 3-pointers.

No. 10 Texas moved up one spot to crack the top 10 for the first time since reaching No. 6 in 2014-15.

Michigan State dropped eight spots to No. 12 after losing 79-65 to Northwestern on Sunday.

The Big Ten has seven teams in the AP Top 25 in Iowa (No. 4), Wisconsin (No. 9), Rutgers (No. 11), Michigan State (No. 12), Illinois (No. 18), Michigan (No. 19) and Ohio State (No. 23).

The Associated Press Top 25 as of Monday, December 21 is listed below:

1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Kansas
4. Iowa
5. Villanova
6. Houston
7. West Virginia
8. Tennessee
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas
11. Rutgers
12. Michigan State
13. Creighton
14. Missouri
15. Texas Tech
16. Virginia
17. North Carolina
18. Illinois
19. Michigan
20. Duke
21. Florida State
22. Xavier
23. Ohio State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Oregon

Others receiving votes: San Diego State 146, Richmond 142, Saint Louis 64, Arkansas 54, Indiana 53, Clemson 28, Florida 20, Georgia 19, Colorado 13, BYU 9, Purdue 9, Louisville 8, Northwestern 7, UCF 6, Minnesota 4, UCLA 3, Oklahoma State 3, LSU 2, Western Kentucky 2, SMU 1

Photo: AP/Darron Cummings

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