The Gonzaga men’s basketball team remains unranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll heading into the West Coast Conference Tournament, though the Bulldogs have gained some traction in the media poll with less than a week to go before Selection Sunday.
The Zags (23-8, 14-4 WCC) have been resting for the past week while the power conferences around the country wrap up their regular season schedules. Despite the break in play, Gonzaga received more votes in the AP Top 25 poll than it did last week, jumping from eight to 28 votes in the latest media poll that was released Monday. The Bulldogs were among the 15 teams that didn’t quite crack the top 25 and were behind UConn (39 votes) as the honorary 31st-team ranked by the 60-person panel.
Saint Mary’s, which enters the WCC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, climbed two spots to the No. 19 spot in the AP poll. That’s the highest the Gaels (27-4, 17-1 WCC) have been ranked since they checked in at No. 15 nearly a year ago on March 18, 2024.
Saint Mary’s aside, No. 15 Kentucky is the only other foe from Gonzaga’s 2024-25 schedule to appear in the latest AP poll. Four nonleague opponents that were featured in the preseason poll have since dropped out at some point during the season, including preseason No. 3 UConn, Baylor (No. 8), Indiana (No. 17) and UCLA (No. 22).
Though outside the AP Top 25, Gonzaga held strong inside the top 10 of the latest edition of the NET rankings, where it checked in at No. 8 heading into Monday’s WCC semifinal game against San Francisco (8:30 p.m. PST, ESPN2). A win over the Dons, who rank No. 64 in the NET, would go toward improving the Bulldogs’ already strong record in quadrant 2 games (5-2) and would send them to the WCC title game to likely face off against the Gaels for a third time this season.
Here’s a look at the rest of the AP poll.
AP Top 25 poll (Week 15):
1. Duke (28-3, 19-1 ACC)
2. Houston (27-4, 19-1 Big 12)
3. Auburn (27-4, 15-3 SEC)
4. Florida (27-4, 14-4 SEC)
5. Alabama (24-7, 13-5 SEC)
6. St. John’s (27-4, 18-2 Big East)
7. Michigan State (26-5, 17-3 Big Ten)
8. Tennessee (25-6, 11-6 SEC)
9. Texas Tech (24-7, 15-5 Big 12)
10. Clemson (26-5, 18-2 ACC)
11. Maryland (24-7, 14-6 Big Ten)
12. Iowa State (23-8, 13-7 Big 12)
13. Louisville (25-6, 18-2 ACC)
14. Texas A&M (22-9, 11-7 SEC)
15. Kentucky (21-10, 10-8 SEC)
16. Memphis (26-5, 16-2 AAC)
17. BYU (23-8, 14-6 Big 12)
18. Wisconsin (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten)
19. Saint Mary’s (27-4, 17-1 WCC)
20. Purdue (21-10, 13-7 Big Ten)
21. Missouri (21-10, 10-8 SEC)
22. Michigan (22-7, 14-4 Big Ten)
23. Oregon (23-8, 12-8 Big Ten)
24. Illinois (20-11, 12-8 Big Ten)
25. Marquette (22-9, 13-7 Big East)
Others receiving votes:
Drake 103, Arizona 82, UCLA 52, UC San Diego 39, UConn 38, Gonzaga 28, New Mexico 20, Creighton 18, Ole Miss 17, VCU 6, High Point 4, Kansas 3, Akron 2, McNeese 1, Xavier 1.
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