Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga Bulldogs jump to No. 9 in AP Top 25 poll (3/6/23)
The No. 9 Gonzaga Bulldogs moved up one spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday ahead of their semifinal matchup against San Francisco.
Gonzaga (26-5, 14-2 WCC) capped off the regular season with a tuneup bout against Chicago State last Thursday. Seniors Drew Timme, Anton Watson, Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith were honored in their final home game before the Zags dominated the Cougars, 104-65.
Gonzaga entered the top 10 last week after clinching a share of the WCC regular season title with Saint Mary's.
Additionally, the Zags rank No. 9 in the NET and No. 10 in KenPom's rankings.
Elsewhere, No. 1 Houston remained atop the poll for the third-straight week. The Cougars (29-2) concluded the regular season on a buzzer-beater from junior point guard Jamal Shead to escape Memphis, 67-65, on Saturday. Riding an 11-game winning streak, Houston is No. 1 in the AAC Tournament and a favorite to clinch a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 UCLA earned its highest ranking since 2021 following wins over Arizona State and No. 8 Arizona. Ranked No. 4 in the NET and No. 2 in KenPom, all 62 voters in the AP poll had the Bruins in the top four.
Kansas, Alabama and Purdue rounded out the poll's top five. While the Jayhawks (25-6) remained at No. 3 despite a loss on the road to No. 7 Texas, the Crimson Tide dropped to No. 4 after losing on the road to No. 18 Texas A&M. Meanwhile, the Aggies (23-8) took down the SEC regular season champions for their program-best 15th conference win and jumped six spots in the poll.
Based on last week's rankings, 12 top-25 teams lost at least once.
Tennessee had the biggest fall of the week, dropping five spots following a nine-point loss to Auburn.
Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 18 of the 2022-23 season:
AP TOP 25 POLL
1. Houston 1,522 (58)
2. UCLA 1,452 (3)
3. Kansas 1,368
4. Alabama 1,343
5. Purdue 1,274
6. Marquette 1,218
7. Texas 1,100
8. Arizona 1,042
9. Gonzaga 1,031
10. Baylor 961
11. UConn 847
12. Kansas State 838
13. Virginia 791
14. Miami (FL) 761
15. Xavier 641
16. Saint Mary's 587
17. Tennessee 573
18. Texas A&M 507
19. Indiana 481
20. San Diego State 370
21. Duke 293
22. TCU 193
23. Kentucky 138
24. Creighton 133
25. Missouri 66
Others receiving votes: Oral Roberts 54, Florida Atlantic 53, Utah State 32, Providence 26, Iowa State 23, Northwestern 16, West Virginia 15, Toledo 10, Pittsburgh 10, Charleston 9, Michigan State 9, VCU 8, Boise State 7, Iowa 5, USC 5, Vanderbilt 3, Maryland 3, Memphis 3, Arkansas 2, North Texas 1, Drake 1
