Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga jumps to No. 11 in AP Top 25 poll (12/19/22)

The Zags climbed four spots after their upset victory over Alabama

The Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-3) climbed to No. 11 in the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll, up four spots from their previous ranking.

The jump comes after a win over Northern Illinois last Monday followed by an upset victory over Alabama in Birmingham on Saturday, which marked the second victory over Quad 1 and top-25 opponent of the season.

Drew Timme has been instrumental to the Zags' four-game winning streak, averaging 26.5 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 64.5% from the field in that span.

The Purdue Boilermakers held onto the top spot after receiving 40 of 60 possible votes to remain the No. 1 team in consecutive weeks. Right on their tail are the UConn Huskies, who earned their highest ranking since 2009 by claiming the No. 2 spot with Virginia’s loss to Houston on Saturday.

The Cougars are back in the top three following their win over the Cavaliers, while No. 4 Kansas and No. 5 Arizona round out the top five. The Jayhawks routed Indiana at home before the Wildcats held off Tennessee at home.

Two victories to kick off Big Ten play pushed the Wisconsin Badgers up five spots to No. 17 this week.

No. 19 Kentucky suffered the biggest drop this week after its third loss of the season — a 10-point loss to UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats are just 1-3 at Rupp Arena this season.

Entering the top 25 for the first time was No. 24 Marquette and No. 25 Arizona State, both of which knocked off Creighton last week to enter the rankings.

Maryland and Ohio State were unranked this week. The Terrapins lost to the Bruins, while the Buckeyes dropped a home game to North Carolina.

Gonzaga is back in action Tuesday when Montana visits Spokane. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. PT.

Here’s the full AP Top 25 poll for Week 7 of the 2022-23 season:

AP TOP 25 POLL

1. Purdue 1,502 (40)

2. UConn 1,482 (21)

3. Houston 1,374 

4. Kansas 1,290

5. Arizona 1,269

6. Virginia 1,195

7. Texas 1,064

8. Tennessee 1,024

9. Alabama 1,021

10. Arkansas 1,004

11. Gonzaga 895

12. Baylor 873

13. UCLA 871

14. Duke 819

15. Mississippi State 623

16. Illinois 528

17. Wisconsin 432

18. Indiana 408

19. Kentucky 370

20. TCU 358

21. Virginia Tech 297

22. Miami (FL) 208

23. Auburn 118

24. Marquette 116

25. Arizona State 98

Others receiving votes: Maryland 78, West Virginia 74, Xavier 71, Charleston 68, New Mexico 64, Memphis 59, North Carolina 36, Ohio State 33, Iowa State 26, Iowa 21, San Diego State 16, Texas Tech 10, Utah State 10, Michigan State 7, USC 7, Kansas State 5, Saint Mary's 1