For the first time this season, Gonzaga held steady in the Associated Press Top 25, staying put at No. 7 after a strong showing against Oregon. The Zags improved to 12-1 with a 91-82 win over the Ducks at the Moda Center in Portland, but that wasn’t enough to climb the rankings this week.
The only shake-up near the top came courtesy of Duke, which dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 after a nail-biter loss to Texas Tech, 82-81. Even with that stumble, the Blue Devils still sit 68 points ahead of Gonzaga in the poll.
At the top, Arizona continues to set the pace. The Wildcats, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, held onto the No. 1 spot for a third straight week.
Right behind them are Michigan-still the only team to beat Gonzaga this season-followed by Iowa State, UConn, and Purdue. That trio of Arizona, Michigan, and Iowa State has yet to lose a game, combining for a perfect 34-0 start.
Gonzaga’s résumé includes a marquee win over current No. 14 Alabama, a 95-85 victory in Las Vegas when the Crimson Tide was ranked eighth.
That remains GU’s best win by ranking. The Zags also made a statement earlier this month by dismantling Kentucky 94-59 in Nashville.
Kentucky, thanks to recent wins over Indiana and St. John’s, is knocking on the door of the Top 25 with 78 points-just one shy of No.
25 Iowa.
Beyond those headliners, Gonzaga has taken care of business against teams like UCLA and Arizona State. UCLA picked up 13 points in the latest AP poll, while Arizona State received five.
Despite the recent win over Oregon, classified as a Quad 3 victory, Gonzaga slipped two spots in the NCAA’s NET rankings. That drop likely stems from Arizona State’s 78-75 loss at home to Oregon State, which pushed the Sun Devils from No. 57 to No. 84 in the NET. That shift downgraded GU’s earlier win over ASU from a Quad 1 to a Quad 2 result.
Here’s how Gonzaga stacks up in the NET breakdown: 3-1 in Quad 1 games, 3-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3, and 4-0 in Quad 4. That’s a well-rounded profile that keeps them firmly in the mix for a high seed come March.
The top four in the NET rankings right now? Michigan, Arizona, Duke, and Iowa State-all teams ahead of Gonzaga in both the AP and coaches polls.
Looking around the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary’s is the highest-ranked league mate at No. 24 in the NET. Santa Clara sits at 89, Seattle U at 94, and Pacific at 100. Further down the list are San Francisco (117), Loyola Marymount (142), Washington State (167), Oregon State (175), Portland (209), San Diego (221), and Pepperdine (255).
Gonzaga’s final run through the WCC begins Sunday at Pepperdine (5-8), followed by a trip to San Diego on Tuesday. Then comes a three-game homestand: Seattle U on Jan.
2, LMU on Jan. 4, and Santa Clara on Jan. 8.
Interestingly, San Diego is the only WCC team besides Gonzaga with a Quad 1 win. The Toreros pulled off an 82-80 upset over UC San Diego, marking their first Quad 1 victory since 2019.
In the USA Today coaches poll, Gonzaga also stayed firm at No. 7, trailing Michigan, Arizona, Iowa, UConn, Purdue, and Duke.
As for bracketology, the Zags are holding strong as a projected No. 2 seed in several mock brackets. ESPN’s latest seed list includes Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Gonzaga, Purdue, BYU, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Houston, and Alabama.
And on the individual front, Braden Huff continues to shine. The sophomore forward earned WCC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after dropping a career-high 37 points against Campbell and totaling 57 points on 73.5% shooting across two games. Huff is quickly becoming a key piece in Gonzaga’s rotation-efficient, confident, and clearly capable of taking over when needed.
With WCC play about to ramp up, Gonzaga looks poised to make another deep run. The pieces are there: a balanced roster, a battle-tested nonconference résumé, and a rising star in Huff. The road to March is long, but the Zags are right where they need to be.