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The Associated Press’s first regular-season men’s college basketball poll held steady at the top.
The rest, as you might expect, have been filled with changes, with teams either exceeding or failing to meet pre-season expectations.
Gonzaga and Baylor remained No.1-2 in the poll released Monday. The Zags received 57 of 63 first-place votes from a media panel, and the Bears had six first-place votes. They were the only two teams to retain their places in the preseason poll.
Gonzaga retained the top spot with an impressive lead with impressive wins in Fort Myers, Florida. The Zags (2-0) rolled over Kansas 102-90 and crushed Auburn 90-67 the next day.
“We feel like we can score on anyone,” said Drew Timme of Gonzaga, who had 28 points and 10 rebounds against Auburn. “We have a great training. If we execute our attack and move the ball without being blocked, we think we can score in every team.”
Baylor was forced to drop out of the “Bubbleville” tournament in Uncasville, Connecticut, after coach Scott Drew tested positive for COVID-19. The Bears (2-0) adjusted their schedule and had no trouble playing under assistant coach Jerome Tang, routing Louisiana-Lafayette and Washington.
Villanova fell nine spots to No.12 after losing to Virginia Tech, who entered the poll at No.16. Virginia also took a big fall after losing to San Francisco, dropping 11 spots to No.15.
The two losses saw Iowa climb two spots to No.3, with Wisconsin and Illinois completing the top five. The Illini are in the top five for the first time since they reached number one in 2004-05.
JAYHAWKS BREAK RECORD
Kansas dropped a place to 7th after the loss to Gonzaga. The Jayhawks still managed to set the record for most consecutive weeks in the AP poll.
Kansas was ranked for the 222nd week, breaking the record set by UCLA from 1966 to 1980.
No. 6 Duke has the second longest streak of active polls at 85 consecutive weeks.
HAWKEYES CLIMB
Iowa has its best ranking since the 2015-16 team reached third place.
Luka Garza had a lot to do with it.
The preseason All-American started its senior season with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a win over North Carolina Central, then scored 41 points on 14 of 15 shots in a rout over Southern.
“Every time I get the ball I feel like I can score,” Garza said. “Sometimes you have those days where you just make plans. I put enough work into each plan that when I put it in place I feel like it’s going to come in.”
THE HOKIES ENTER
Virginia Tech was chosen to finish 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll.
The Hokies could be better than expected depending on their opening week.
Virginia Tech (3-0) opened the season with an easy win over Radford, then pulled off an upset by knocking out the then-No. 3 Villanova in overtime at Bubbleville. The Hokies ended their week with an 18-point victory over South Florida after their game against Temple was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
RISE / FALL
Virginia and Villanova had two of the biggest drops in the opening poll of the regular season, but there were plenty of other moves.
Houston climbed seven places from 17th place after knocking out 17th Texas Tech, which fell three places from last week.
The No.8 Michigan State climbed five spots after beating Notre Dame and eastern Michigan.
Kentucky 20 dropped 10 spots after losing at home to Richmond. The victory was the Spiders’ first on the road against a top 10 team and helped them enter the poll in 19th place.
The No.25 Arizona State also dropped seven spots after two wins and one loss to Villanova.
TO MOVE OUT
UCLA dropped the poll after losing to San Diego State and needing three extra hours to beat Pepperdine.
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