Gonzaga moves up to No. 7 in AP poll after UCLA victory

Gonzaga’s 82-72 win over then-No. 25 UCLA convinced enough AP poll voters to move the Zags up after a week in which nobody in the top 10 lost a game.

The Zags (10-1) swapped spots with Houston, climbing up one spot to No. 7. The Cougars, led by former Washington State coach Kelvin Sampson, had a 10-point edge over GU at No. 7 a week ago but now trail by 30.

Gonzaga earned its fourth Quad 1 win and fourth win over a ranked opponent at the time by taking down the Bruins (7-3) at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday night. The Bruins received 16 points, sixth among teams outside the top 25.

The Zags, who entertain Campbell on Wednesday, close their non-conference schedule Sunday against Oregon (5-5) at the Moda Center in Portland.

The Ducks, who were just outside the top 25 in the preseason poll, snapped a five-game losing streak – one of those was to UCLA – with a 104-62 win over UC Davis on Saturday.

Arizona, guided by former longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, strengthened its hold on No. 1 with a 96-75 win over Alabama in Birmingham. The Wildcats (9-0) picked up 42 of 61 first-place votes from the media panel.

Alabama, which fell to Gonzaga 95-85 in Las Vegas last month, slipped four spots to No. 16.

Michigan, which handed GU its only loss (101-61 in Las Vegas), is No. 2, followed by Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, GU, Houston, Michigan State and BYU.

Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga’s West Coast Conference rival, received 12 points, a 26-point drop from last Monday after losing to Boise State 68-67 on Sunday in Idaho Falls.

Arizona State, which lost to GU 77-65 last month in Tempe, rallied from a 19-point deficit Saturday to beat Santa Clara 82-79 in Las Vegas.

The SEC leads all conferences with seven ranked teams, led by No. 13 Vanderbilt. Gonzaga is 3-0 vs. SEC foes (Oklahoma, Alabama and Kentucky). The Big 12 has four top-10 teams and six in the top 25. The Big Ten is third with five teams in the rankings.

Gonzaga is No. 7 in the USA Today coaches’ poll, behind Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, UConn and Purdue.

The Zags are third in the NET rankings, up one spot from last Monday. They trail Michigan and Duke and are just in front of Arizona and Iowa State.

Alabama is No. 14, Saint Mary’s No. 23, Kentucky No. 27, UCLA No. 42, Oklahoma No. 50 and Arizona State No. 51. Santa Clara is 57th and Pacific is 84th.

The Zags join Arizona, UConn, Duke, Michigan and Michigan State with four Quad 1 wins. Saint Mary’s and Oregon are 0-2 in Q1 contests. WCC teams not named Gonzaga are a combined 0-12 in Quad 1 games.

Michigan, GU, Iowa State, Duke and Arizona are KenPom’s top five. The Zags rank sixth in adjusted offensive efficiency and sixth in defensive efficiency.

Gonzaga is projected as a second seed in most brackets.

Ike wins WCC award

GU big man Graham Ike earned his second conference player of the week award on Monday after his 25-point, five-assist performance against UCLA.

It was his fifth 20-point outing of the season.