Gonzaga becomes season’s sixth No. 1 team
Gonzaga is the latest No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll that has had no stability on the top line.
The Bulldogs moved up a spot to take over for Kansas, which lasted only a week at No. 1 before losing at now-No. 10 Villanova. At the time, that had marked the first time the AP poll has had five different No. 1s before New Year’s Day.
And now it’s six, with the Zags (13-1) earning 54 of 65 first-place votes to outdistance Ohio State in a year with no dominant team.
Gonzaga’s only loss was to No. 11 Michigan in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 29. The Zags have won five straight since, including victories at No. 21 Washington and No. 24 Arizona as well as a home win against North Carolina.
“I don’t think they should be doing polls this year until March,? Gonzaga coach Mark Few said after Saturday’s win against Eastern Washington. “I’m serious, I mean, it’s just an effort in futility at this point.”
This is the eighth season to have as many as six different teams reach No. 1, though it has happened now three times in the past five years. The record for an entire season is seven, set in 1982-83 when names like Michael Jordan and Ralph Sampson were still in the college ranks.
Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke and Louisville were the first four teams to hit No. 1. Throw in Kansas, and none has won more than twice before suffering a loss.
The Zags won’t stumble this week, at least; they don’t play again until hosting Detroit Mercy next Monday evening after another poll is released.
Second-ranked Ohio State (11-1) has put together a nonconference résumé likely to help its NCAA Tournament seeding come Selection Sunday.
The Buckeyes had lopsided wins against Villanova and at then-ranked UNC, then beat Kentucky over the weekend in a matchup of top-6 teams. That helped them earn nine first-place votes to jump three spots Monday.
Louisville remained at No. 3 ahead of its rivalry game against Kentucky this weekend, followed by Duke and Kansas.