Arizona and USC move up in latest AP hoops Top 25, UCLA dips one spot
USC was the big mover from the Pac-12 in the most recent AP hoops Top 25, rising up four spots from No. 21 to No. 17 after dispatching a ranked UCLA team Saturday in a major clash at Galen Center.
The Bruins only dropped one spot, however, from No. 12 to 13 with the loss. Arizona, inching closer to locking up the regular-season conference crown, moved up from No. 4 last week to No. 3 this week after a 3-0 week.
The Trojans opened their week a little shaky with a 74-68 win over nonconference Pacific on Tuesday. USC needed a second-half rally to overcome what was once a 13-point deficit to down the Tigers, who entered the game 0-9 in true road games and just 7-15 on the year. The Trojans were missing their leading scorer—Isaiah Mobley—but still looked flat in a game against an overmatched opponent.
But they picked the energy up for Saturday’s blockbuster against crosstown rival UCLA. Led by 27 points from Drew Peterson and a stifling defensive effort all-around, the Trojans held on for a 67-64 win to claim their fifth straight victory over UCLA in the series.
USC ranked as high as 10th on some ballots this week, with only one voter leaving them outside the Top 25 completely. The Trojans will look to keep it going against Washington on Thursday (8:30 p.m. PT) and Washington State on Saturday (4:30 p.m. PT, FS1).
UCLA, also working on just a two-game week, beat Stanford 79-70 last Tuesday. Johnny Juzang scored 23 points to help lead the Bruins over the Cardinal and end what was a two-game slide. Still, the Bruins have lost three of four now and have slid to third in the Pac-12 standings.
They’ll host the Washington schools this upcoming week as well, with the Cougars coming to Pauley Pavilion on Thursday (8 p.m. PT, FS1) and the Huskies coming on Saturday (7 p.m. PT, FS1).
The Wildcats returned to the No. 3 spot they held in late January thanks to three road wins over Arizona State, Washington State, and Washington last week. In all three games, Arizona started a little slow out of the gates, but exploded in the second half to erase doubts and win by double-digits. The Cats have a 2.5 game lead over USC with seven games to play for the top spot in the Pac-12.
They’ll host the Oregon schools this week at McKale, with the Beavers coming to town on Thursday (4:30 p.m. PT) and the Ducks on Saturday (7 p.m. PT, ESPN). The matchup with Oregon will be featured on ESPN’s College GameDay.
Here are the full rankings:
- Gonzaga (21-2)
- Auburn (23-2)
- Arizona (22-2, 12-1 Pac-12)
- Kentucky (21-4)
- Purdue (22-4)
- Kansas (20-4)
- Baylor (21-4)
- Providence (21-2)
- Duke (21-4)
- Villanova (19-6)
- Texas Tech (19-6)
- Illinois (18-6)
- UCLA (17-5, 9-4 Pac-12)
- Houston (20-4)
- Wisconsin (19-5)
- Tennessee (18-6)
- USC (21-4, 10-4 Pac-12)
- Ohio State (15-6)
- Michigan State (18-6)
- Texas (18-7)
- Murray State (24-2)
- Wyoming (21-3)
- Arkansas (19-6)
- UConn (17-7)
- Alabama (16-9)
Receiving votes: Marquette 77, Xavier 51, Colorado State 29, Saint Mary’s 22, LSU 18, Iowa 17, Notre Dame 17, SMU 14, Rutgers 10, Virginia 4, Miami (FL) 3, Boise State 3, Toledo 3, South Dakota State 3, Belmont 2, San Francisco 2, Vermont 1, Wake Forest 1