Arizona, UCLA, USC all rise in latest AP hoops Top 25
Each of the Pac-12’s three ranked sides moved up in the latest AP hoops Top 25 poll, with Arizona rising to No. 2 in the country.
Thanks to another Auburn loss and a 2-0 week for the Wildcats, Arizona rose one spot to No. 2, the highest ranking the Wildcats have received in an AP poll since Nov. 20, 2017. UCLA and USC, which also each went 2-0 last week against the Washington schools, climbed one spot apiece to No. 12 and No. 16 respectively.
Arizona was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Pac-12 during the preseason, but the Wildcats have soared under first-year head coach Tommy Lloyd. A longtime member of Mark Few’s bench at Gonzaga, Lloyd and Co. now find themselves trailing only the Zags in the AP poll.
(Gonzaga received all 61 first-place votes in the poll.)
They have a 2.5-game lead on USC for the Pac-12 regular-season title with two weeks to go, and were revealed as a projected No. 1 seed during the NCAA’s early bracket reveal on Saturday. Arizona plays Utah (Thursday, 8 p.m. PT) and Colorado (Saturday, 5 p.m.) this week, both on the road, before a trip to Los Angeles next Monday to battle the Trojans.
The Bruins, following up a loss to USC on Feb. 12 in the crosstown rivalry, dominated Washington State and Washington at Pauley Pavilion last week. UCLA beat the Cougars 76-56 last Thursday and then followed it up with a 76-50 thumping of Washington on Saturday. The latter result came with UCLA missing leading-scorer Johnny Juzang and starting forward Cody Riley.
UCLA has a three-game week coming up, with a home contest against Arizona State Monday at 6 p.m. PT on FS1 before a road trip to Oregon to face the Ducks (Thursday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN) and Oregon State (Saturday, 1 p.m., CBS).
USC beat the Huskies by 10 points last Thursday behind a 24-point performance from forward Chevez Goodwin. The Trojans then followed it up with a 62-60 come-from-behind win over Washington State Sunday. Guard Boogie Ellis hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line with 0.2 seconds to play to give the Trojans the win.
They’ll face Oregon State on Thursday (8 p.m. PT, ESPN2) and then Oregon on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Here’s the full ranking:
- Gonzaga (23-2)
- Arizona (24-2, 14-1 Pac-12)
- Auburn (24-3)
- Purdue (24-4)
- Kansas (22-4)
- Kentucky (22-5)
- Duke (23-4)
- Villanova (21-6)
- Texas Tech (21-6)
- Baylor (22-5)
- Providence (22-3)
- UCLA (19-5, 11-4 Pac-12)
- Wisconsin (21-5)
- Houston (22-4)
- Illinois (19-7)
- USC (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12)
- Tennessee (19-7)
- Arkansas (21-6)
- Murray State (26-2)
- Texas (19-8)
- UConn (19-7)
- Ohio State (16-7)
- Saint Mary’s (22-6)
- Alabama (17-10)
- Iowa (18-8)
Receiving Votes: Michigan State 58, Rutgers 35, Wyoming 24, Boise State 22, Davidson 19, San Diego State 14, South Dakota State 13, LSU 13, Marquette 12, Wake Forest 11, Colorado State 10, Belmont 5, Notre Dame 4, SMU 3, Xavier 2, North Texas 2, Creighton 1, Vermont 1, Wagner 1