Men's Basketball AP Poll: Pac-12, UCLA Stick Around With Return to Play Pending
The Bruins are finally making their way back on the court, and they'll do so as a top-five team that hasn't played in a month.
UCLA men's basketball (8-1) stayed put at No. 5 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins did not receive a single first-place vote and totaled 1,287 points. The USA Today Coaches Poll also had UCLA at No. 5.
The Bruins again did not play a game this week, as has been the case for the past three weeks due to COVID-19 protocols, but they will finally make their return on Wednesday. Their last three nonconference games against Alabama State, North Carolina and Cal Poly were called off, but the game against Arizona State has been rescheduled and the Arizona game has a tentative makeup date set as well.
The last time UCLA played was Dec. 11 versus Marquette, winning 67-56 in what will end up being their only game in a 25-day span. When that dead period comes to an end, they'll take on Arizona State and Cal over the weekend, the former of which has a losing record and the latter of which is on a five-game winning streak.
Even with the their hiatus, UCLA held off any competition for a top-five position, and the entire top seven remained the exact same.
Around the Pac-12, Arizona moved up from No. 9 to No. 8, while USC stayed at No. 7. The Conference of Champions has the most top-10 teams in the country, but with Colorado slipping out of the receiving votes section, the Bruins, Trojans and Wildcats remain the only Pac-12 teams garnering legitimate national attention.
The full AP poll is as follows, complete with records and first-place votes:
1. Baylor, 13-0 (61 first-place votes)
2. Duke, 11-1
3. Purdue, 12-1
4. Gonzaga, 11-2
5. UCLA, 8-1
6. Kansas, 11-1
7. USC, 12-0
8. Arizona, 11-1
9. Auburn, 12-1
10. Michigan State, 12-2
11. Iowa State, 12-1
12. Houston, 12-2
13. Ohio State, 9-2
14. Texas, 11-2
15. Alabama, 10-3
16. Providence, 13-1
16. Kentucky, 11-2
18. Tennessee, 9-3
19. Villanova, 9-4
20. Colorado State, 10-0
21. LSU, 12-1
22. Xavier, 11-2
23. Wisconsin, 10-2
24. Seton Hall, 9-3
25. Texas Tech, 10-2
Others receiving votes: Illinois 74, Oklahoma 71, Loyola Chicago 40, UConn 39, West Virginia 6, Iowa 5, Minnesota 3, San Francisco 3, Davidson 3, Creighton 2.
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