Purdue stays No. 1 in AP Top 25, Gonzaga falls to No. 24 however runs ballot streak to 142 weeks

Purdue remained atop the AP Top 25 males’s school basketball ballot for the third straight week Monday, whereas Gonzaga dropped to No. 24 after a loss to San Diego State however stored alive its streak of 142 consecutive weeks within the ballot.

The Boilermakers picked up three extra first-place votes and had 49 of 63 from the nationwide media panel, simply outdistancing second-place Kansas, which acquired 5 first-place nods. Houston remained third regardless of retaining its good report intact with a victory over Penn and selecting up the opposite 9 first-place votes.

UConn and Tennessee every moved up one spot to spherical out the highest 5 following Arizona’s loss to Stanford on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs fell 11 spots from No. 13 after their 84-74 loss to San Diego State. Gonzaga has been ranked in each ballot since Jan. 11, 2016, however that streak is in jeopardy after coach Mark Few’s crew dropped to 9-4 with no Quad 1 wins this season.

“These guys have some great fight and spirit and a lot of substance to them,” Few stated, “but at this point, we should be pretty well along on our way on some of the mental errors we’re making, and we’re just not quite.”

The Bulldogs had been eleventh within the preseason ballot and climbed as excessive as seventh earlier than three losses of their previous 5 video games.

“We’ve got to keep that fight,” Few stated, “and we have to clean up some of these missed assignments.”

Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd is aware of one thing about missed defensive assignments. The Wildcats, who spent two weeks at No. 1 earlier this season, fell from fourth to tenth after the Cardinal rolled to a 100-82 victory of their Pac-12 matchup.

The Wildcats’ second loss in three video games allowed a bunch of groups to leap forward of them: Kentucky climbed two spots to sixth, Marquette moved up three spots to seventh, North Carolina rose to eighth and Illinois climbed two spots to ninth.

Oklahoma started the following 10, with Big 12 newcomer BYU proper behind. Colorado State climbed again to No. 13 to match the very best rating at school historical past, set earlier this season, whereas Duke, Memphis and Clemson had been proper behind the Rams.

FAU dropped from a program-best seventh to No. 17 as voters grappled with the odd resume the Owls have put collectively this season. They beat Texas A&M and earned a marquee win with a double-overtime victory over Arizona, however they misplaced to Bryant and had been upset by Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night time.

“They outplayed us in every facet of the game,” Owls coach Dusty May stated afterward. “As a group, we haven’t handled success as well as we need to. As we close the 2023 preconference schedule, we are pleased where we are overall, but what we learned is our highs are very highs and our lows are relatively low.”

Baylor was No. 18, with James Madison and Texas rounding out the highest 20. The last 5 within the first ballot of 2024 had been Wisconsin, unbeaten Mississippi, Providence, struggling Gonzaga and Auburn, which is ranked for the primary time this season.

Memphis made the largest optimistic transfer, climbing 4 spots to No. 15 after beating Austin Peay, whereas Marquette rose three spots to seventh after knocking off No. 22 Creighton on Saturday. Gonzaga dropped 11 spots, FAU fell 10 and Arizona dropped six as they took losses on what was a comparatively mild slate of video games throughout the holidays.

Auburn moved into the ballot for the primary time since Jan. 30, 2023, after enhancing to 10-2 with a victory over Chattanooga. The Tigers took their spot within the Top 25 from the Bluejays, whose 72-67 loss to Marquette was their third in 4 video games.

There had been 10 conferences represented within the ballot this week, led by six from the Big 12, which additionally had 4 of the highest 12 groups within the nation. The SEC was subsequent with 4, adopted by the Big Ten, Big East and ACC with three apiece.

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