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AP Men’s Basketball Poll Week 16: Gonzaga becomes unanimous No. 1 as 5 SEC teams land in ranking
By Keith Farner
Published:
Gonzaga strengthened its grip on the No. 1 ranking this week in the AP Top 25, as the Bulldogs became a unanimous top-ranked team.
Arizona checked in at No. 2, as Auburn slipped to 3 and Purdue and Kansas rounded out the top 5.
The Tigers dropped a spot after a frantic comeback fell short at Florida. The final 2 minutes gave Auburn a chance at a buzzer-beating victory but the Tigers were unable to attempt a shot, and lost at Florida 63-62 Saturday at O’Connell Center.
For Kentucky, the Wildcats saw Kellan Grady hit 7 3-pointers for a season-high 25 points, and Oscar Tshiebwe poured in 21 points with 14 rebounds as Kentucky rallied twice to top No. 25 Alabama 90-81 on Saturday.
The Zags haven’t lost since Dec. 4 and their lopsided wins over Pepperdine and Santa Clara last week clinched a 10th straight WCC regular-season title.
Overall, the SEC had 5 teams in the poll ranked this way.
3. Auburn
6. Kentucky
17. Tennessee
18. Arkansas
24. Alabama
Arkansas made the biggest leap of the week, as the Razorbacks jumped 5 spots after they blew out Missouri and bottled up No. 17 Tennessee.
In a breakdown by conference, the Big 10 and SEC had 5 ranked teams each and the Big 12 4. The Pac-12 and Big East each had 3 and the West Coast Conference 2 with the addition of Saint Mary’s.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
