Gonzaga moves up to No. 8 in AP poll, No. 4 in NET rankings

Gonzaga, after two weeks of slipping in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll, moved up one spot to No. 8 after going 2-0 with a short-handed roster.

The Zags had a rough week on the injury front, playing without Braden Huff (left knee) in both games and Graham Ike (right ankle) in Saturday’s win over Seattle U. Ike is day to day while Huff will be sidelined 4-8 weeks, but GU (19-1, 7-0 West Coast Conference) responded with 21-point wins over Washington State and the Redhawks.

That was enough to vault GU past Iowa State, which dropped a pair of games after starting the season 16-0. The Zags are fourth in the NET rankings, gaining two spots since last Monday.

Unbeaten Arizona, coached by former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd, remains No. 1 in the AP rankings after receiving all 61 first-place votes from the media panel. The Wildcats (18-0) are followed by UConn, Michigan, Purdue, Duke, Houston and Nebraska. Michigan State jumped up two spots to No. 10.

The Wolverines handed GU its lone loss, 101-61, in Las Vegas in November. The Zags have four wins over opponents ranked at the time, but only one – then No. 8 Alabama, 95-85 – against a current top 25 squad. The Crimson Tide moved up to No. 17 after an 83-81 win over Oklahoma, which fell to the Zags 83-68 at the Spokane Arena in early November.

Creighton, ranked No. 23 before losing 90-63 to GU on Nov. 11, has dropped three of its last five. The Bluejays are 11-8 overall, 5-3 in the Big East. GU edged then-No. 25 UCLA 82-72 on Dec. 13 in Seattle. The Bruins (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) have dropped three of their last five games.

Kentucky, ranked 18th before a humbling 94-59 loss to the Zags in early December, are on a three-game winning streak, rallying from double-digit deficits to defeat Mississippi State, LSU and then-No. 24 Tennessee. The Wildcats (12-6, 3-2 SEC) received 27 points, fourth among teams outside the top 25.

Saint Mary’s, which suffered its first WCC loss to Santa Clara, received five points. The Gaels and Broncos are one game behind first-place Gonzaga in the loss column.

The Big 12 leads all conferences with six ranked teams, followed by the SEC, Big Ten and ACC with five.

Michigan, Duke and Arizona hold the top three spots in front of GU in the NET rankings. The Zags are followed by Purdue, Nebraska, Illinois, UConn, Houston and Iowa State.

Gonzaga is 5-0 in Quad 2 after the win over Seattle U. The Zags are 3-1 in Quad 1.

They entertain No. 276 NET Pepperdine (6-14, 1-6 WCC) on Wednesday and No. 108 San Francisco (13-8, 5-3) on Saturday. Pepperdine will be a Quad 4 matchup while the Dons will be Quad 3.

The first of two Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s showdowns will be Saturday, Jan. 31, at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Gaels are No. 30 in the NET, which currently would qualify as Quad 1 (home vs. 1-30).

Gonzaga is projected as a two seed, eighth overall, in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket for ESPN. The Bracketmatrix.com lists GU as a three seed, ninth overall.

Fox Sports has Gonzaga as the third seed in the West Region facing Portland State in the opening round. Arizona is the region’s top seed, followed by Purdue at two.

The Zags are No. 6 in KenPom, eighth in adjusted offensive efficiency and ninth defensively. The top five: Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Purdue and Houston. Michigan, Arizona, Duke and Gonzaga are the only teams in the top 10 offensively and defensively.

Gonzaga is No. 8 in the USA Today coaches’ poll. Arizona is the unanimous No. 1. Saint Mary’s received nine points.