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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga slips to ninth in AP poll, sixth in NET rankings

Gonzaga’s Emmanuel Innocenti shouts as he battles for position under the hoop in Thursday’s win over Santa Clara at the McCarthey Athletic Center. (TYLER TJOMSLAND/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga had a strong one-game week, picking up a Quad 2 victory over Santa Clara on Thursday.

The same can’t be said for the nine Power 5 foes on GU’s nonconference schedule. Alabama, Oklahoma, Maryland and Oregon each went 0-2 in conference matchups. Kentucky, UCLA, Creighton, Arizona State and previously unbeaten Michigan went 1-1.

The Zags, 17-1 and riding a 10-game winning streak, dropped one spot in the Associated Press poll for the second straight week. GU on Monday fell to No. 9, passed by Nebraska (16-0), which holds down the eighth spot with a six-point edge in voting by the media panel.

The Zags are 15 points in front of No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-0), one of five unbeaten teams remaining in Division I.

Arizona, guided by former Zags assistant coach Tommy Lloyd, improved to 16-0 and snagged 60 of 61 first-place votes after Michigan’s home loss to Wisconsin dropped the Wolverines from second to fourth. Michigan handed GU its lone loss in November in Las Vegas.

Iowa State (16-0) moved up to second with UConn climbing to No. 3. Purdue, Duke and Houston hold down fifth through seventh. The SEC leads all conferences with six ranked teams.

Gonzaga slipped to No. 6 in the NET rankings, one of the primary tools used to select and seed the NCAA Tournament, from No. 4 a week ago. That’s likely a reflection of 5-13 record for the week by the nine power programs on GU’s nonconference schedule.

The Zags won eight of those games, a school record against power conference foes during the regular season. Gonzaga’s best win in terms of AP and NET rankings came against Alabama in Las Vegas. The Crimson Tide plunged five spots to No. 18 in the AP poll and ranks 17th in the NET.

Gonzaga is 3-1 in Quad 1 and 4-0 in Quad 2. Oregon, which lost to the Zags 91-82 last month in Portland, is No. 102 in the NET, two spots from counting as a Quad 2 win.

Gonzaga faces limited Quad 1 and 2 opportunities in conference. Saint Mary’s, which shares the West Coast Conference lead with GU at 5-0, is No. 30 in the NET so both upcoming games between the rivals qualify as Quad 1, as well as a Feb. 14 road game against No. 51 Santa Clara.

The Gaels (16-2) received 17 points, 10th most among teams outside the AP top 25.

The Zags currently have two Quad 2 contests, Saturday’s matchup against No. 119 Seattle U at Climate Pledge Arena and a Feb 18 date with No. 103 San Francisco at the Chase Center. Their remaining eight WCC games are Quad 3 or 4.

Washington State (8-10, 3-2 WCC), which entertains Gonzaga on Thursday, is No. 147 in the NET. The Cougars are 0-3 in Quad 1 and 0-5 in Quad 2.

Gonzaga also dropped a couple spots in overall seeding for the NCAA Tournament, according to Bracketmatrix.com and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The Zags remain a two seed, but both project GU as the eighth overall seed.

The Zags slipped from No. 8 to No. 9 in the USA Today coaches’ poll. Saint Mary’s received 34 points, tied for third of teams outside the top 25.