Gonzaga remains No. 7 in AP poll, drops to No. 5 in NET rankings

For the first time this season, Gonzaga didn’t move up in the Associated Press weekly college basketball rankings.

The Zags (12-1), who handled Oregon 91-82 on Sunday at the Moda Center in Portland, remained at No. 7 in the media poll.

Duke was the only team in the AP top 17 to lose last week. The Blue Devils tumbled from third to sixth after falling to Texas Tech 82-81 but they hold a 68-point edge over the seventh-ranked Zags.

Arizona, led by former Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd, remained at No. 1 for the third straight week. Michigan, which handed GU its only loss, is second, followed by Iowa State, UConn and Purdue.

The Wildcats, Wolverines and Cyclones are a combined 34-0.

Gonzaga’s best win by ranking is over current No. 14 Alabama, 95-85, in Las Vegas when the Crimson Tide was No. 8.

Kentucky, thumped by GU 94-59 in Nashville earlier this month, is on the brink of cracking the top 25 with 78 points, one behind No. 25 Iowa, after recent wins over Indiana and St. John’s.

The Zags also have wins over UCLA, which received 13 points in the latest poll, and Arizona State, which received five.

Gonzaga, despite a Quad 3 win over Oregon, slipped two spots in the NET rankings, likely because of Arizona State’s 78-75 home loss to Oregon State. The Sun Devils plunged from No. 57 to No. 84 in the NET rankings, meaning GU’s win dropped from Quad 1 (road vs. top 75) to Quad 2.

GU is 3-1 in Quad 1, 3-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4.

Michigan, Arizona, Duke and Iowa State are the top four in the NET, which is one of the tools used to select and seed NCAA Tournament teams.

Saint Mary’s is 24, Santa Clara 89, Seattle U 94, Pacific 100, San Francisco 117, Loyola Marymount 142, Washington State 167, Oregon State 175, Portland 209, San Diego 221 and Pepperdine 255.

The Zags open their last season in the West Coast Conference against Pepperdine (5-8) on Sunday in Malibu. They visit San Diego on Tuesday before a three-game homestand vs Seattle U (Jan. 2), LMU (Jan. 4) and Santa Clara (Jan. 8).

San Diego is the only WCC team other than Gonzaga with a Quad 1 win. The Toreros upset UC San Diego 82-80 for their first Quad 1 win since 2019.

GU remained at No. 7 in the USA Today coaches poll, behind Michigan, Arizona, Iowa, UConn, Purdue and Duke.

The Zags are a two seed in numerous bracket projections. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest seed list, in order: Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Gonzaga, Purdue, BYU, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Houston and Alabama.

Huff earns WCC honor

Gonzaga’s Braden Huff was named WCC player of the week for the second time. Huff totaled 57 points on 73.5% shooting in GU’s two wins, including a career-high 37 points against Campbell on Wednesday.