Gonzaga’s AP Top 25 slide continues as Bulldogs drop to No. 13 in rankings

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Dec. 16—After losing consecutive games for the first time since 2018-19, Gonzaga took another hit in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings, dropping five spots to No. 13 after Saturday’s 77-71 loss to Connecticut at Madison Square Garden.

It’s been a steady decline for Gonzaga in the weekly AP poll since the Bulldogs moved up to No. 3 in the country on Nov. 18, a handful of hours before they played San Diego State at Viejas Arena.

Gonzaga spent two weeks at No. 3 before dropping to No. 7 after going 2-1 at the Battle 4 Atlantis, then lost more ground in the rankings after coming up short against Kentucky at the Battle in Seattle and falling five more spots with Saturday’s result in New York City.

It’ll be roughly two weeks before the Zags play another marquee nonconference opponent that could boost their AP ranking. Gonzaga returns home for games against Nicholls State on Wednesday and Bucknell on Saturday before closing out the nonleague slate on Dec. 28 against UCLA at the Intuit Dome.

As of now, the fifth meeting in five years between the schools will pit a 13th-ranked Gonzaga team against an 18th-ranked UCLA team. The Bruins moved up six spots in Monday’s poll after rallying back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to beat former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd and Arizona at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.

Tennessee held the No. 1 ranking for a second straight week, followed by No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Kentucky, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Kansas, No. 9 Marquette and No. 10 Oregon.

Outside of Kentucky, UConn and UCLA, only one of GU’s other nonconference opponents — No. 23 San Diego State — is ranked in the Top 25. Four other nonleague foes — Baylor, West Virginia, Arizona State and Indiana — are still receiving Top 25 votes.

While AP voters dropped GU outside of the top 10 for the first time this season, the Zags haven’t been punished quite as much by other ratings systems in the wake of recent losses.

Gonzaga is still ranked…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gonzagas-ap-top-25-slide-030200658.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-12-17 03:02:00

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