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Gonzaga realized what some considered impossible, stopping the juggernaut Duke in the Maui Invitational title game without one of his best players. The Zags are again No. 1.
Third in the poll last week, Gonzaga was the No. 2 Kansas in the top row of the poll of the Associated Press Top 25 published Monday. The Zags received 32 first-place votes from a 65-person media panel, which reduced the number of Jayhawks by 11 percent.
First place votes in parentheses
1. Gonzaga (32)
2. Kansas (31)
3. Duc (1)
4. Virginia (1)
5. Nevada
6. Tennessee
7. Michigan
8. Auburn
9. State of Michigan
10. Kentucky
11. North Carolina
12. State of Kansas
13. Virginia Tech
14. Iowa
15. State of Florida
16. State of Ohio
17. Texas
18. Oregon
19. Purdue
20. Texas Tech
21. Buffalo
22. Wisconsin
23. Villanova
24. Maryland
25. State of Mississippi
The No. 3 Duke got a vote in first place despite losing to Gonzaga on Maui and No. 4 in Virginia on the other after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis title.
Nevada, No. 5, has the highest ranking of all time after winning the Las Vegas Invitational. Tennessee, Michigan, Auburn, Michigan State and Kentucky complete the top 10.
Gonzaga (6-0) misses Killian Tillie for the first two months of the season due to an ankle injury. It was a big underdog who was heading to the title game on Maui last week.
Duke (5-1) and his group of first-year lottery students were an unstoppable force in the first four weeks of the season, breaking the No. 2 Kentucky record in the opening game of the season and winning first three games unbalanced.
Duke came to Maui undefeated on Valley Isle, winning five titles in five attempts, and opened the scoring with two wins to qualify for the title game. But Gonzaga hit the Blue Devils at the earliest in the league match and resisted a late charge. He relied on his experience to retain Duke 89-87 and win his second Maui title.
The Zags are No. 1 for the third time, after top-ball entries in 2016-17, when they reached the title of the national title, and in 2012-13.
"They are good, I mean, they have good basketball players," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. "They are strong, they are old, they are disinterested and they play their asses."
Kansas was No. 1 in the pre-season until Duke injured Kentucky in the opening game and passed the Jayhawks for # 1.
Kansas (5-0) has done nothing but win since then and faces Gonzaga. The Jayhawks beat their second opponent in the top 10 of the season, taking the No. 6 Tennessee overtime to win the NIT Season Tip-Off title in New York.
Nevada opened the season with its best pre-season ranking in 6th place. The Wolf Pack (6-0) has met expectations, overwhelming his opponents with a rich and experienced training led by the Martin twins.
Nevada won the Las Vegas Invitational, beating Tulsa by 10 points and UMass by 23 in the title, increasing its position to the highest rank of all time.
Villanova is back in the poll after being pulled out of the Top 25 as a result of defeats against Michigan and Furman, the first straight defeats of coach Jay Wright in five years. The reigning national champions are No. 23 after defeating the state of Oklahoma and Florida State No. 15 to win the AdvoCare Invitational title in Florida.
The state of Ohio recorded the largest increase in this week's poll: it climbed seven places to 16th after crushing Samford and Cleveland State. Iowa climbed six places to 14th and Purdue from five to 19th.
Texas moved up to 17th after defeating the Tar Heels and 9th place, Michigan State, in the second game for the tournament title. Texas Tech is in the AP Top 25 for the first time of the season at number 20 and Maryland at number 24.
TCU made a sudden drop after losing to Lipscomb at home, having only received eight votes after being No. 18 last week. Clemson (16th), LSU (19) and UCLA (17) are also outgoing.
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