A light holiday schedule led to a rare quiet week atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll.<\/p>\n
Gonzaga remained at No. 1 for a second straight week, receiving 63 first-place votes from a 65-member panel in the poll released Monday. No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Kansas each had one first-place vote, with Oregon and Ohio State rounding out the top 5.<\/p>\n
The AP Top 25 had been filled with tumult during a 2019-20 season of parity, with six different teams moving to No. 1 before Christmas. The record of seven was set in 1982-83.<\/p>\n
The quiet time between Christmas and New Year's Day offered a bit of stability.<\/p>\n
The Zags (13-1) did not play last week during a Top 25 schedule filled with lopsided games and just two matchups between ranked teams.<\/p>\n
Ohio State dropped three places after losing 67-59 to West Virginia, which climbed six places to No. 16.<\/p>\n
Louisville was down four places to No. 7 following a 78-70 loss to Kentucky. The Wildcats climbed two places to No. 19.<\/p>\n
Nearly every other game involving Top 25 teams was decided by double digits.<\/p>\n
Gonzaga, which has not played since beating Eastern Washington 112-77 on Dec. 21, has games against Detroit Mercy and Portland this week.<\/p>\n
SOARING DUCKS<\/p>\n
Oregon entered the season loaded with expectations behind do-everything guard Payton Pritchard and another stellar recruiting class landed by coach Dana Altman.<\/p>\n
The Ducks (11-2) have lived up to the hype, their only losses coming in back-to-back games against Gonzaga and North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.<\/p>\n
Oregon has wins over three ranked teams and blew out Alabama State 98-59 on Sunday to move into the top 5 for the first time since reaching No. 4 in 2016-17, when the Ducks went to the Final Four.<\/p>\n
Oregon also got a huge boost earlier this month when 6-foot-11 freshman N'Faly Dante became eligible after reclassifying as a 2019 signee.<\/p>\n
STILL UNDEFEATED<\/p>\n
The number of undefeated Division I teams is down to two following Liberty's 74-57 loss to LSU.<\/p>\n
No. 8 Auburn has continued to play well following its run to last year's Final Four, improving to 12-0 after rolling over Lipscomb 86-59 last week. The Tigers have had two close games this season, beating South Alabama by one and outlasting Furman in overtime.<\/p>\n
No. 13 San Diego State improved to 13-0 and moved up two spots this week following a 73-57 win over Cal Poly. The Aztecs have wins over Utah, Brigham Young and Creighton this season and moved atop the NCAA's NET rankings last week.<\/p>\n
San Diego State is off to its best start in nine seasons.<\/p>\n
RISING<\/p>\n
West Virginia had the biggest jump in this week's poll with its six-spot climb. No other team climbed more than two places.<\/p>\n
FALLING<\/p>\n
No. 7 Louisville had the biggest fall this week, losing four spots. No. 19 Virginia lost three spots after beating Navy by nine on Sunday.<\/p>\n
MOVING IN\/OUT<\/p>\n
Wichita State was the only team to move into the poll this week, debuting at No. 24. The Shockers, who beat Abilene Christian 84-66 on Sunday, are ranked for the first time since climbing to No. 3 in 2017-18.<\/p>\n
Washington dropped out of the AP Top 25 from No. 21 following a 75-71 loss to Houston in the Diamond Head Classic title game in Honolulu on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
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Link: <\/p>\n
Gonzaga stays No. 1 while Oregon moves into the top 5 - ESPN<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A light holiday schedule led to a rare quiet week atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. Gonzaga remained at No. 1 for a second straight week, receiving 63 first-place votes from a 65-member panel in the poll released Monday Continue reading