The Arizona Wildcats moved up one spot to No. 9 in the updated men’s college basketball rankings that The Associated Press revealed on Monday.
Tommy Lloyd’s team improved to 2-0 with a 29-point win against Canisius last Monday before a 58-point rout of Old Dominion, 102-44, on Saturday.
Arizona wasn’t the only men’s hoops team in the Grand Canyon State to get some poll love.
The Grand Canyon Antelopes earned six votes after beating Cal State Fullerton and then sneaking by Western Kentucky, 74-72.
The Arizona State Sun Devils beat Idaho State and Santa Clara before hanging with No. 4 Gonzaga in an 88-80 loss on Sunday.
Kansas remained atop the first Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of basketball bluebloods, while Gonzaga and Auburn cracked the top five after impressive opening-week wins and St. John’s led by Rick Pitino joined the rankings.
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The Jayhawks received 44 of 62 first-place votes after a home win against North Carolina, a game that saw Kansas blow a 20-point lead but hold on for a 92-89 win. That kept them ahead of Alabama and two-time reigning national champion UConn in an unchanged 1-2-3 lineup in the poll, with the Crimson Tide getting six first-place votes and the Huskies getting seven.
Mark Few’s Zags moved up two spots to No. 4 after blowing out then-No. 8 Baylor to open the season, then pushing past Arizona State. Next came Bruce Pearl’s Tigers, who jumped six spots to No. 5 for the week’s biggest leap after beating then-No. 4 Houston. The Zags and Tigers earned the remaining five first-place votes.
Auburn was the only new arrival in a largely reshuffled top 10, with Duke rising one spot to No. 6 to lead the next group. Iowa State was seventh, followed by Houston, Arizona and North Carolina, which fell one spot after the loss at KU’s Allen Fieldhouse.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP college basketball rankings – Arizona after Week 1
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kansas (44) | 2-0 | 1525 | 1 |
| 2. Alabama (6) | 2-0 | 1439 | 2 |
| 3. UConn (7) | 2-0 | 1398 | 3 |
| 4. Gonzaga (3) | 2-0 | 1371 | 6 |
| 5. Auburn (2) | 2-0 | 1315 | 11 |
| 6. Duke | 2-0 | 1222 | 7 |
| 7. Iowa St. | 1-0 | 1206 | 5 |
| 8. Houston | 1-1 | 1070 | 4 |
| 9. Arizona | 2-0 | 1004 | 10 |
| 10. North Carolina | 1-1 | 992 | 9 |
| 11. Tennessee | 2-0 | 930 | 12 |
| 12. Baylor | 1-1 | 806 | 8 |
| 13. Purdue | 2-0 | 795 | 14 |
| 14. Creighton | 2-0 | 752 | 15 |
| 15. Marquette | 2-0 | 603 | 18 |
| 16. Indiana | 2-0 | 600 | 17 |
| 17. Cincinnati | 2-0 | 454 | 20 |
| 18. Arkansas | 1-1 | 357 | 16 |
| 19. Kentucky | 2-0 | 353 | 23 |
| 20. Florida | 2-0 | 332 | 21 |
| 21. Ohio St. | 1-0 | 273 | – |
| 22. St. John’s | 2-0 | 178 | – |
| 23. Texas A&M | 1-1 | 169 | 13 |
| 24. Rutgers | 1-0 | 157 | 25 |
| 25. Mississippi | 2-0 | 147 | 24 |
Others receiving votes: Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1.