Gonzaga remains sixth in AP poll, drops one spot to fifth in NET

One of Gonzaga’s bigger wins of the season – a hard-fought 73-65 victory over rival Saint Mary’s – didn’t move the needle in terms of polls, NET rankings and NCAA Tournament projections.

The Zags, riding a 15-game winning streak, stayed put at No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and slipped from fourth to fifth in the NET rankings.

Gonzaga (22-1, 10-0 West Coast Conference) looked like it might crack the AP top five for the first time this season after No. 5 Nebraska suffered its first two losses, falling to top 10 foes Michigan and Illinois.

Instead, Illinois climbed four spots to No. 5 while the Cornhuskers slid four spots to No. 9.

Arizona (22-0) remains the unanimous No. 1, followed by Michigan, UConn and Duke. The Wildcats, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, handled Arizona State 87-74 and BYU 86-83.

Gonzaga is followed by Iowa State, Houston, Nebraska and Michigan State.

Saint Mary’s (19-4, 8-2) didn’t receive any votes after receiving three points in last Monday’s poll. Santa Clara, second behind the Zags with a 10-1 conference mark, received one point.

The Zags hold four wins over AP-ranked teams at the time, but none of the four remain s in the top 25. Alabama, No. 23 last week, dropped out after losing to Florida, snapping a streak of 42 consecutive appearances in the media poll.

Alabama, a 95-85 loser to the Zags in November, received 48 points, second among teams outside the top 25. Kentucky, which was blown out 94-59 by GU in December, received 28 points, fifth among unranked squads.

There was quite a bit of movement in the top 10 of the NET rankings with Duke moving up to No. 1 and Arizona up one spot to No. 2. Previous No. 1 Michigan dropped to third, despite victories over top 11 Nebraska and Michigan State.

Iowa State and Gonzaga switched spots at four and five, followed by Illinois, UConn, Purdue, Houston and Nebraska. Houston, at No. 9, was the only one to stay in the same position.

Alabama is No. 22, Kentucky No. 28 and Saint Mary’s dropped from 30 to 32. The win over the Gaels would have been Quad 1 if SMC remained in the top 30. Instead, it becomes a Quad 2 win for the Zags, who are 3-1 in Quad 1 and 5-0 in Quad 2.

Santa Clara is No. 43, San Francisco 99 and Pacific 106.

Gonzaga can generally be found on the three-seed line in most NCAA Tournament forecasts. That’s where GU checked in on projections by Made for March and Bracketmatrix.com.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi lists Gonzaga as the last No. 2 seed (eighth overall). Arizona, Michigan, Duke and UConn are Lunardi’s top four overall seeds.

The Zags did move up to No. 5 in the USA Today coaches’ poll.

Ike honored

GU center Graham Ike earned WCC player of the week honors for the fourth time following his 30-point effort against Saint Mary’s.

Ike hit 11 for 20 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and added four rebounds in 37 minutes.