For the first time this season, Gonzaga held steady in the Associated Press college basketball rankings, staying put at No. 7 after a solid win over Oregon. The Zags took care of business in Portland with a 91-82 victory, improving to 12-1 on the year. But even with that win, they didn’t climb the poll-largely because no one ahead of them stumbled, except for Duke.
Duke’s narrow 82-81 loss to Texas Tech knocked the Blue Devils down from No. 3 to No. 6, but they still sit just ahead of Gonzaga by a 68-point margin in the voting. That’s how tight things are at the top of the rankings right now.
Arizona continues to lead the pack, holding the No. 1 spot for the third straight week under head coach Tommy Lloyd, who, of course, knows Gonzaga well from his time on Mark Few’s staff. Michigan, the only team to beat the Zags this season, sits at No. 2, followed by Iowa State, UConn, and Purdue. Those top three-Arizona, Michigan, and Iowa State-are a combined 34-0, and they’re setting the pace early in what’s shaping up to be a wide-open race for March.
Gonzaga’s résumé is solid. Their best win by current rankings came in Las Vegas, where they beat then-No.
8 Alabama-now ranked No. 14-by a score of 95-85. And let’s not forget the dominant 94-59 win over Kentucky in Nashville earlier this month.
That one’s aging nicely, too, with the Wildcats sitting just outside the top 25 after back-to-back wins over Indiana and St. John’s.
They’re only a point behind No. 25 Iowa in the latest poll.
The Zags have also knocked off UCLA and Arizona State-both of whom received votes in the latest AP poll-though Arizona State’s recent loss to Oregon State had a ripple effect. That 78-75 home defeat dropped the Sun Devils from No. 57 to No. 84 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which in turn downgraded Gonzaga’s win over them from a Quad 1 to a Quad 2 victory. It’s a reminder of how fluid these metrics can be-and how much a team’s résumé can be affected by results outside its control.
Despite that, Gonzaga’s overall NET profile remains strong. They’re 3-1 in Quad 1 games, 3-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3, and 4-0 in Quad 4. That kind of balance across all quadrants is exactly what the selection committee looks for come March.
The top four in the NET rankings right now? Michigan, Arizona, Duke, and Iowa State.
No surprises there. Gonzaga, meanwhile, continues to sit just outside that group, but firmly in the mix.
Around the WCC, Saint Mary’s checks in at No. 24 in the NET, while Santa Clara (89), Seattle U (94), and San Francisco (117) are hovering in the top 120. Pepperdine, Gonzaga’s next opponent, is ranked 255 in NET and carries a 5-8 record into Sunday’s matchup in Malibu. That game marks the beginning of Gonzaga’s final run through the West Coast Conference before their expected move next season.
After Pepperdine, the Zags head to San Diego on Tuesday, then return home for a three-game stretch against Seattle U (Jan. 2), Loyola Marymount (Jan. 4), and Santa Clara (Jan.
8). San Diego, for what it’s worth, is the only other WCC team with a Quad 1 win this season-an 82-80 upset over UC San Diego that marked their first Quad 1 victory since 2019.
In the USA Today coaches poll, Gonzaga also held firm at No. 7, trailing the same six teams-Michigan, Arizona, Iowa, UConn, Purdue, and Duke.
As for bracketology, Gonzaga is showing up as a two seed in most projections. ESPN’s latest seed list has them slotted alongside the likes of Michigan, Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, UConn, Purdue, BYU, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Houston, and Alabama. It’s early, of course, but that’s a strong group to be lumped in with.
And let’s give a nod to Braden Huff, who was named WCC Player of the Week for the second time this season. The sophomore big man was lights out, scoring 57 points on 73.5% shooting across two games, highlighted by a career-high 37-point explosion against Campbell on Wednesday. Huff’s emergence gives Gonzaga another weapon in a frontcourt that’s already deep and versatile.
So while the Zags didn’t move up this week, they’re in a good spot-with a strong résumé, a rising star in Huff, and a clear path through conference play. If they keep stacking wins, the rankings will take care of themselves.