Men's Basketball AP Poll: UCLA Back on the Rise in Rankings
A return to the win column has the Bruins back on the rise in the rankings.
UCLA men's basketball (19-4, 10-2 Pac-12) climbed from No. 9 to No. 7 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins earned 1,159 points – up from 993 points from a week ago – and remained inside the top 10 for the sixth-straight week.
Coming off back-to-back losses, UCLA recovered with a 2-0 homestand. The Bruins first fended off Washington in a 70-61 victory, then they handled Washington State en route to a 76-52 win.
UCLA currently ranks No. 5 in the NET Rankings, No. 3 in the KenPom, No. 3 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI.
Purdue stayed at No. 1 despite losing to Indiana, although they did lose a good chunk of their first-place votes to No. 2 Houston and No. 3 Alabama. Arizona moved up one spot to No. 4, while Texas rounded out the top five.
Again, Arizona and UCLA were the only Pac-12 teams to make the top 25. USC picked up two points in the receiving votes section, but no other team in the conference earned national recognition.
As a result, UCLA likely won't face another ranked opponent until Arizona comes to Pauley Pavilion for the regular season finale on March 4.
The full AP Poll is listed below:
1. Purdue (22-2), 1508 points (38 first-place votes)
2. Houston (22-2), 1483 (22)
3. Alabama (20-3), 1436 (1)
4. Arizona (21-3), 1375
5. Texas (19-4), 1267
6. Tennessee (19-4), 1254
7. UCLA (19-4), 1159
8. Virginia (17-4), 1034
9. Kansas (18-5), 1013
10. Marquette (19-5), 909
11. Iowa State (16-6), 869
12. Kansas State (18-5), 855
13. Xavier (19-5), 843
14. Baylor (17-6), 832
15. Saint Mary's (21-4), 742
16. Gonzaga (19-5), 602
17. TCU (17-6), 517
18. Indiana (16-7), 431
19. Miami (FL) (18-5), 425
20. Providence (17-6), 369
21. UConn (18-6), 275
22. North Carolina State (19-5), 156
23. Creighton (15-8), 154
24. Rutgers (16-7), 125
25. San Diego State (18-5), 96
Others Receiving Votes: Florida Atlantic 93, Duke 87, Auburn 65, Clemson 31, Pittsburgh 26, Illinois 25, Nevada 16, New Mexico 16, Maryland 12, Arkansas 11, Iowa 8, Missouri 6, West Virginia 5, Oral Roberts 5, USC 4, Northwestern 3, Charleston 3, VCU 2, Utah State 2, Kentucky 1
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