Despite 4-0 week, Gonzaga falls one spot in updated AP Poll

Gonzaga leads the country with 16 wins so far this season

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Adam Miller (23). | Photo by Erik Smith

It wasn't always pretty, but Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs came out of a very busy first week of conference play with a 4-0 record after blasting the LMU Lions on Sunday night, 82-47.

Gonzaga (16-1, 4-0 in WCC) is off to their best start since the 2020-21 season, when it did not lose until the national championship game against Baylor. The Zags have won nine games in a row and 13 of their 16 wins have come by 10 or more points in what has been a dominant campaign, save for one hideous game against Michigan during Feast Week.

In fact, Gonzaga is currently the only team in college basketball with 16 wins, while only two teams - WCC rival Saint Mary's and undefeated Miami (OH) - even have 15 wins.

However, the AP voters weren't as impressed with Gonzaga's start in conference play as the Zags actually dropped one spot from No. 7 to No. 8, getting surpassed by Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars. Houston is 13-1 on the year and last week picked up a nine-point win over Middle Tennessee and a seven-point win at Cincinnati to start Big 12 play 1-0.

The top six - Arizona, Michigan, Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, and Duke - remain unchanged, while BYU climbed from No. 10 to No. 9 and Nebraska, one of six remaining undefeated teams in college basketball, climbed from No. 13 to No. 10.

Gonzaga is still looked upon favorably by other metrics, currently sitting at No. 5 at KenPom behind Michigan, Arizona, Iowa State, and Purdue and ahead of UConn, Duke, and Houston. The Zags are also No. 4 in the NET behind Michigan, Arizona, and Iowa State, and sit at No. 7 at Bart Torvik - once again ahead of Houston, which is No. 8.

The Zags' resume includes just one win over a team currently ranked in the top 25 - Alabama, who moved up one spot to No. 13 overall. Kentucky (9 votes) and UCLA (2 votes) each got a little love from the voters, as did Saint Mary's (10 votes), which picked up a win over Seattle on Sunday despite going into halftime down five.

Gonzaga's other marquee wins include Creighton, Oklahoma, Arizona State, and Oregon, but none of those teams are currently receiving any love in the AP Poll.

Next up for Gonzaga is a home game against the third undefeated team left in the WCC, Santa Clara, which will tip off at 8:30 PM PT on Thursday, Jan. 8, on ESPN2.