Houston Rises Into Top Five of Men's AP Poll While Gonzaga Holds at No. 1

It’s hard to decide who has been more dominant in men’s college basketball this season: Gonzaga or the Big Ten Conference.

The Bulldogs remained the clear-cut No. 1 on Monday, earning 62 of 64 first-place votes in The Associated Press poll after their latest win over a Top 25 foe, while the Big Ten placed nine teams in the poll, with Wisconsin and Iowa in the top 10.

Gonzaga blitzed then-No. 16 Virginia 98–75 on Saturday for the most lopsided win over a ranked team in the Mark Few era, giving the Bulldogs a poll-record fourth win over a Top 25 team in a team’s first seven games of a season. Kansas, Iowa and West Virginia also have fallen to Corey Kispert & Co., all of them on neutral floors.

“They’re so potent offensively,” Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett said. “They’re so well-coached. They have such talent. Our lack of athleticism showed. They have such athletic guys, and they’re veterans in all spots, I think.”

Second-ranked Baylor received the other two first-place votes and the Jayhawks remained No. 3 after their rout of then-No. 7 West Virginia. Villanova and Houston each moved up a spot after Iowa’s overtime loss to Minnesota.

Full men's AP Top 25 (as of Dec. 28):

1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Kansas
4. Villanova
5. Houston
6. Wisconsin
7. Tennessee
8. Texas
9. West Virginia
10. Iowa
11. Creighton
12. Missouri
13. Texas Tech
14. Rutgers
15. Illinois
16. Michigan
17. Michigan State
18. Florida State
19. Northwestern
20. Duke
T21. Oregon
T21. Minnesota
23. Virginia
24. Virginia Tech
25. Ohio State

Others receiving votes: Xavier 178, San Diego State 172, North Carolina 57, Arkansas 55, Clemson 50, Colorado 50, Saint Louis 49, Florida 20, Louisville 18, BYU 12, Georgia 10, North Carolina State 8, UCLA 4, Indiana 4, Richmond 3, UCF 2, Western Kentucky 2, Boise State 2, SMU 1, Chattanooga 1, Drake 1