Gonzaga falls to No. 10 in AP basketball poll after falling to Washington

Gonzaga tumbled three spots to No. 10 in the Associated Press college basketball poll on Monday, after losing to Washington over the weekend.

The Zags (7-2) have an opportunity to make a major move up the rankings with a win against No. 5 UConn on Friday in Seattle or likely drop out of the top 10 with a loss.

Gonzaga is 12 points ahead of No. 11 Oklahoma and 132 points behind No. 9 North Carolina.

No. 1 Arizona, guided by former Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd, received 62 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel. The Wildcats are followed by Kansas, Purdue, Houston, UConn, Baylor, Marquette, Creighton, UNC and Gonzaga.

Arizona faces Purdue on Saturday in Indianapolis.

Kentucky, which entertains Gonzaga on Feb. 10, climbed two spots to No. 14. San Diego State, which lost to Grand Canyon, received seven points. The Aztecs visit Gonzaga on Dec. 29.

Washington (6-3) received two votes.

Gonzaga has slipped eight spots in the NET rankings to No. 35 since last Monday. The Zags are 0-2 against Quad 1 opponents (Purdue on neutral court, at Washington), 2-0 vs. Q2, 2-0 vs. Q3 and 2-0 vs. Q4. GU’s win over NAIA Eastern Oregon doesn’t count in the NET, used as a sorting tool for evaluating teams.

UConn (No. 7) and Kentucky (No. 39) qualify as Quad 1 foes. San Diego State, currently No. 29, will be Q1 if it remains in the top 30.

Washington State is No. 26 and Washington is No. 55. The top five is Arizona, Houston, BYU, Purdue and Creighton.

In the West Coast Conference, San Francisco is 45, Saint Mary’s 86, Santa Clara 139 and Loyola Marymount 161.

Gonzaga was a two seed, the seventh overall seed, in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology on Friday, prior to the Washington game.

The Zags dropped five spots to No. 13 in the USA Today coaches’ poll. Arizona, Kansas, Houston, Purdue and UConn hold down the top five.