Gonzaga maintains AP top spot, takes No. 1 from Baylor in USA Today poll

Gonzaga and Baylor weren’t able to settle it on the court Saturday, but they remain the top two teams in the AP college basketball poll.

The Zags (3-0) are No. 1 by a comfortable 48-point margin, down from last week’s 56-point edge. Baylor (3-0) made up some ground by picking up an additional first-place vote (seven overall) while the Zags’ total dropped from 57 to 54 from the media panel.

It was a different story in the USA Today rankings. Gonzaga moved past preseason No. 1 Baylor in the USA Today’s first regular-season poll. GU earned 23 first-place votes and 788 points, 14 ahead of Baylor, which received eight first-place votes. The Bears held a two-point edge over the Zags in the preseason poll.

Both teams posted impressive victories Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Gonzaga rallied past West Virginia in the second half, and Baylor did the same against Illinois. The Mountaineers remained No. 11 in the AP poll while the Illini fell one spot to sixth.

The GU-Baylor game was called off about 90 minutes before tip-off after one Zag player and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Gonzaga on Sunday announced it was shutting down games through Dec. 14, erasing Tarleton State, Southern, Northern Arizona and Idaho from its home schedule, due to COVID concerns.

Barring additional changes, the Zags’ next scheduled game will be against No. 3 Iowa on Dec. 19 in South Dakota.

Meanwhile, Baylor could continue to cut into Gonzaga’s lead if the Bears continue their winning ways. They entertain Nicholls State on Tuesday before facing Texas, which shares the No. 13 ranking with Wisconsin, on Sunday in their Big 12 Conference opener.

Other key matchups this week: Iowa vs. No. 16 North Carolina, Illinois vs. No. 10 Duke and No. 5 Kansas vs. No. 8 Creighton.

Michigan State climbed four spots to No. 4. Kansas, which lost to Gonzaga 102-90 in the season opener in Fort Myers, Florida, has won four straight games.

Houston and Villanova held the other two spots in the top 10. Kelvin Sampson, Washington State’s head coach from 1988-94, is in his seventh season at Houston, which is off to a 4-0 start.

No. 23 Arizona State is the lone Pac-12 representative in the top 25. WSU (3-0) received three points. Kentucky dropped out of the poll and didn’t receive a vote after slipping to 1-3, its worst start since the 2000-01 season.

Gonzaga and Baylor are followed by Iowa, Michigan State, Kansas, Villanova, Creighton, Houston, Illinois and West Virginia in the USA Today poll.