Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga drops to No. 6 in AP Top 25 poll (11/21/22)

The Zags fell four spots after going 1-1 in the first week of the season

When a ranked program experiences its most impressive win and its most depressing loss in the same week, it’s hard to predict how voters in the Associated Press Top 25 poll will react.

For Gonzaga (3-1), this exact scenario ended with the Bulldogs dropping from No. 2 to No. 6 in the rankings after a 19-point loss to Texas (3-0) on Wednesday and a 16-point win over Kentucky (3-2) on Sunday.

The Zags, who received 14 first-place votes last week, didn’t receive any votes for the top position in the rankings released Monday. Their point total fell from 1,497 to 1,273, which puts them six points behind No. 5 Virginia (4-0).

Gonzaga’s two games had a dramatic effect across the poll as Texas jumped seven spots to No. 4 and Kentucky fell 11 spots to No. 15. The Longhorns also netted five first-place votes. 

Top-ranked North Carolina (4-0) was the only team in the top eight to keep its position in the rankings. The Tar Heels received 47 first-place votes, three more than last week.

Houston (4-0) moved up a spot to No. 2 and took home nine first-place votes, while Kansas earned one first-place vote and climbed to No. 3 from No. 6.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 7 Baylor (4-1), No. 8 Duke (3-1), No. 9 Arkansas (3-0) and tenth-ranked Creighton (4-0).

Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 3 of the 2022-23 season:

AP TOP 25 POLL

1. North Carolina 1,541 (47)

2. Houston 1,499 (9)

3. Kansas 1,396 (1)

4. Texas 1,377 (5)

5. Virginia 1,279 (1)

6. Gonzaga 1,273

7. Baylor 1,102

8. Duke 1,057

9. Arkansas 1,038

10. Creighton 1,004

11. Indiana 932

12. Michigan State 825

13. Auburn 737

14. Arizona 725

15. Kentucky 685

16. Illinois 673

17. San Diego State 601

18. Alabama 510

19. UCLA 506

20. UConn 298

21. Texas Tech 275

22. Tennessee 238

23. Maryland 223

24. Purdue 215

25. Iowa 132

Others receiving votes: TCU 82, Saint Mary's 59, Ohio State 56, Michigan 24, Xavier 22, Charleston 17, Toledo 16, Miami 10, Dayton 9, Villanova 7, Arizona State 5, Virginia Tech 5, Saint Louis 5, UNLV 5, Oregon 4, West Virginia 3, Texas A&M 2, Utah State 1, Penn State 1, Mississippi State 1