Gonzaga drops out of AP Top 10 after loss to Portland

Gonzaga went 1-1 last week, including a seven point loss on the road to Portland

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs were included in the top 10 of the AP Poll for eight straight weeks, a streak that came to an end on Monday. The Zags fell six spots from No. 6 to No. 12 in the Feb. 9 poll, following a 1-1 week which included a 20-point win over Oregon State and - most notably - an 87-80 loss to the Portland Pilots on Wednesday. The Pilots were No. 230 in the NET ahead of that contest.

Arizona remains at No. 1 overall, followed by Michigan, Houston, Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga.

Gonzaga (23-2, 11-1) was tied with BYU as the biggest faller in this week's poll. BYU fell from No. 16 to No. 22 after losing at Oklahoma State and at home against Houston last week, giving them four straight losses and five out of their last six.

The Zags initially fell from No. 4 to No. 9 in the NET rankings after the Portland loss, but have since climbed back up to No. 7 thanks to the 81-61 road win over Oregon State, and a little help from rival Saint Mary's, who bumped up to No. 29 in the NET - giving Gonzaga another Quad 1 win.

Gonzaga is now 4-1 in Quad 1 games, 5-0 in Quad 2, 8-1 in Quad 3, and 6-0 in Quad 4. Of the six WCC regular-season games remaining, two are currently Quad 1 (at Santa Clara and at Saint Mary's), one is Quad 2 (at San Francisco) and two are Quad 3 (Washington State and Pacific). Gonzaga's home game against Portland is the lone Quad 4 game remaining, as of now.

Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team. | Photo by Erik Smith

AP voters and KenPom are in agreement on Gonzaga, with the analytics site currently slotting the Zags at No. 12 overall. GU was one of a handful of teams that ranked top 10 in both adjusted offensive and adjusted defensive efficiency, but recent struggles on both ends of the floor have them down to No. 22 and No. 14, respectively.

While Alabama is no longer ranked in the top 25, Gonzaga does have a win over a ranked team now that Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have slid back in at No. 25 overall. The 'Cats have won eight of their last nine, including two wins over Tennessee and wins over Arkansas and Texas.

Alabama (72 votes) just missed the top 25, while Santa Clara (2 votes) and Saint Mary's (1 vote) are both still receiving votes ahead of matchups with Gonzaga on Feb. 14 and Feb. 28, respectively.

Next up for the Zags is a home bout with Washington State on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 8:00 PM PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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