No. 1 Baylor loses, opens door to possibility No. 2 Gonzaga could return to top spot

Top-ranked Baylor suffered a 65-62 home loss to No. 19 Texas Tech on Tuesday, opening up the possibility second-ranked Gonzaga could return to the top spot.

The Bears (15-1) have been No. 1 for five straight weeks and they’ve received every first-place vote in the last three AP polls, so it’s possible they could remain No. 1 when Monday’s poll is released. Baylor faces Oklahoma State on Saturday in Waco, Texas.

Baylor and USC, the last two Division I unbeatens, both lost on Tuesday. Stanford knocked off the Trojans and Texas Tech snapped Baylor’s 21-game winning streak.

Gonzaga (12-2) faces challenges of its own, entertaining BYU (14-3) on Thursday before visiting Santa Clara (10-5) on Saturday. BYU is No. 29 in the NET rankings while Santa Clara is No. 80.

The Zags are 3-2 against ranked foes, including a 69-55 victory over then-No. 25 Texas Tech last month in Phoenix. The Red Raiders edged then No. 6 Kansas 51-47 on Saturday.

Gonzaga, No. 1 in the preseason poll, remained No. 1 for the first two regular-season polls before falling to Duke in Las Vegas. The Blue Devils moved up to No. 1, but only for one week. They were replaced by Purdue, which also lasted one week before Baylor took over the top spot.

The Bears defeated Gonzaga 86-70 to win the national championship last season.