Men's college basketball rankings: Gonzaga up to No. 19 in AP Top 25 poll

Bulldogs moved up four spots in top 25 rankings following win at Saint Mary's

The Gonzaga Bulldogs rode their eight-game winning streak into the No. 19 spot in the AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

Gonzaga (24-6, 14-2 WCC) jumped four spots from its previous position in the poll following its dominant 70-57 win Saturday over Saint Mary's, which dropped six spots down to No. 23. The Gaels had won 16 straight before the Bulldogs came into Moraga, California, and thumped the West Coast Conference regular season champions behind double-doubles from Graham Ike (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan Nembhard (20 points, 10 assists).

The Zags, who have won 13 of their last 14 games overall, also moved up to No. 16 in the NET Rankings, one spot ahead of the Gaels at No. 17. Two Quad 1 victories in a 72-hour span certainly helped boost Gonzaga's resume, which now features a 6-6 record in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and no losses in Quad 3 or Quad 4 games (17-0). Along with the NET and AP Poll, the Bulldogs are in the top 25 of KenPom (15th), Bart Torvik (16th) and haslametrics (11th) with a consensus top-10 offense in terms of efficiency across advanced metric sites.

Both the human and computer rankings indicate an NCAA Tournament team, and bracketology experts agree as well. ESPN's Joe Lunardi moved Gonzaga up to the 10-seed line following the win at Saint Mary's, while CBS Sports' Jerry Palm had it on the 8-seed line and Fox Sports' Mike DeCourcy had it on the 7-seed line.

Still, nothing can be officially guaranteed without two wins in the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas next week. As the No. 2 seed with a triple-bye into the semifinal round, the Bulldogs will face one of No. 3 San Francisco, No. 6 Portland or No. 7 Loyola Marymount with a chance to advance to the championship round. If all things go accordingly, the semifinal round would be a Quad 2 game against the Dons, followed by another Quad 1 opportunity against Saint Mary's in the title game on Tuesday.

The 2024 WCC Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/BBilQz5CBl

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 3, 2024

Other notable shifts in the AP Poll include Washington State up to No. 18 after defending home court against USC on Saturday, No. 14 Kansas dropping seven spots following back-to-back losses in Big 12 play that snapped the program's 55-straight appearances in the top 10, as well as No. 1 Houston holding the top spot in the poll with UConn and Purdue right behind.

Here's the complete AP Top 25 poll:

1. Houston (26-3, 13-3 Big 12)

2. UConn (26-3, 16-2 Big East)

3. Purdue (26-3, 15-3 Big Ten)

4. Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC)

5. Arizona (23-6, 14-4 Pac-12)

6. Iowa State (23-6, 12-4 Big 12)

7. North Carolina (23-6, 15-3 ACC)

8. Marquette (22-7, 13-5 Big East)

9. Duke (23-6, 14-4 ACC)

10. Creighton (22-8, 13-6 Big East)

11. Baylor (21-8, 10-6 Big 12)

12. Illinois (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten)

13. Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC)

14. Kansas (21-8, 9-7 Big 12)

15. Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC)

16. Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC)

17. South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC)

18. Washington State (23-7, 14-5 Pac-12)

19. Gonzaga (24-6, 14-2 WCC)

20. BYU (21-8, 9-7 Big 12)

21. San Diego State (22-7, 11-5 MWC)

22. Utah State (24-5, 12-4 MWC)

23. Saint Mary's (24-7, 15-1 WCC)

24. South Florida (22-5, 15-1 AAC)

25. Dayton (22-6, 12-4 A-10)

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