Men's Basketball AP Poll: UCLA Win, Gonzaga Loss Boosts Bruins

Winning their only game of the week was enough to move the Bruins up a spot.

The Bruins are back on the rise, and it didn’t take much.

UCLA men's basketball (5-1) moved from No. 5 to No. 4 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins did not receive a single first-place vote and totaled 1,294 points. The USA Today Coaches Poll also had UCLA in the No. 4 spot.

UCLA beat Colorado on Dec. 1 and then had their Dec. 5 matchup with Washington canceled due to COVID-19 protocols in the Huskies’ program. The Bruins’ lone loss of the year is still to Gonzaga, which dropped its second games in two weeks and slipped past UCLA to No. 5 in the latest poll.

Around the Pac-12, Arizona stayed put at No. 11, while USC moved up from No. 20 to No. 16. No other team in the conference received votes, as Oregon’s struggles continued when they lost at home to 2-5 Arizona State.

Upcoming opponent North Carolina stayed in the receiving votes section, climbing from No. 29 to No. 35, while Marquette dropped out completely after losing to No. 22 Wisconsin and dropping to 1-2 against ranked opponents. The Golden Eagles are on the slate for Saturday, with the Tar Heels coming up the week after that.

The full AP poll is as follows, complete with records and first-place votes:

1. Purdue, 8-0 (61 first-place votes)
2. Baylor, 8-0
3. Duke, 7-1
4. UCLA, 8-1
5. Gonzaga, 7-2
6. Villanova, 6-2
7. Texas, 6-2
8. Kansas, 6-1
9. Alabama, 7-1
10. Kentucky, 6-1
11. Arizona, 7-0
12. Arkansas, 8-0
13. Tennessee, 6-1
14. Houston, 7-1
15. UConn, 8-1
16. USC, 8-0
17. Iowa State, 8-0
18. Auburn, 7-1
19. Michigan State, 7-2
20. Florida, 6-1
21. Ohio State, 6-2
22. Wisconsin, 7-1
23. Seton Hall, 7-1
24. BYU, 7-1
25. LSU, 8-0

Others receiving votes: Colorado State 90, Xavier 78, Illinois 71, North Carolina 55, St. Bonaventure 37, Oklahoma 29, Memphis 14, Iowa 12, Michigan 11, San Francisco 10, Loyola Chicago 4, Indiana 3, Texas Tech 2

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