Following its 79-71 loss to BYU Saturday in Spokane, Gonzaga (29-1) tumbled from first to fourth in the Associated Press college basketball rankings released Monday. The Bulldogs, who had been No. 1 for four consecutive weeks, were replaced by Kansas (26-3), which received 58 first-place votes from a national media panel and is the sixth school to be ranked No. 1 this season.
Villanova (27-3) remained at No. 2 while UCLA (26-3), fifth last week, moved up to No. 3. The Bruins received three first-place votes while Gonzaga collected two.
Oregon (26-4) stayed at No. 6 while Arizona (26-4) tumbled from fourth to seven following its 77-72 loss to the Bruins in Tucson.
Gonzaga, which had been the nation’s only undefeated Division I team before falling to the Cougars, open play in the West Coast Conference tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. against either Pepperdine or Pacific. The tournament is in Las Vegas.
The Pac-12 men’s tournament will also be held in Las Vegas with opening-round games scheduled for March 8.
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