SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga men's basketball team climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches' Top 25 polls Monday.
The Zags (6-0) won the Maui Invitational title by defeating previously top-ranked Duke. GU rose two spots in both polls from No. 3. The Bulldogs have been ranked third since the beginning of the season in the AP Poll, the program's best-ever preseason ranking.
It's the third time in program history that Gonzaga has risen to No. 1. But, the Zags have now climbed to nation's top spot in three of the last seven seasons.
The Bulldogs were No. 1 in in the last three rankings of the 2012-13 season, prior to the NCAA Tournament. GU climbed to No. 1 after a 22-0 start to the 2016-17 season. The Zags were No. 1 for four straight weeks, before finishing the regular season 29-1, and advancing to the national championship game.
The Bulldogs are receiving 32 of the 65 first-place votes in the AP poll. Kansas is close behind with 31 first-place votes at No. 2, followed by Duke. In the Coaches' Poll, GU had 17 of the possible 32 first-place votes, while Kansas had 15. Duke was No. 3.
The Zags have been ranked in 41 consecutive AP polls, never leaving the Top-20 during the streak.
Gonzaga hosts North Dakota State tonight at 6.
Associated Press Top 25 Poll
| RK |
TEAM |
RECORD |
PTS |
| 1 |
Gonzaga (32) |
6-0 |
1,590 |
| 2 |
Kansas (31) |
5-0 |
1,584 |
| 3 |
Duke (1) |
5-1 |
1,486 |
| 4 |
Virginia (1) |
6-0 |
1,396 |
| 5 |
Nevada |
6-0 |
1,329 |
| 6 |
Tennessee |
4-1 |
1,284 |
| 7 |
Michigan |
6-0 |
1,213 |
| 8 |
Auburn |
5-1 |
1,129 |
| 9 |
Michigan State |
5-1 |
1,111 |
| 10 |
Kentucky |
5-1 |
1,022 |
| 11 |
North Carolina |
6-1 |
943 |
| 12 |
Kansas State |
6-0 |
936 |
| 13 |
Virginia Tech |
5-0 |
921 |
| 14 |
Iowa |
5-0 |
599 |
| 15 |
Florida State |
5-1 |
581 |
| 16 |
Ohio State |
6-0 |
511 |
| 17 |
Texas |
5-1 |
486 |
| 18 |
Oregon |
4-1 |
439 |
| 19 |
Purdue |
5-1 |
387 |
| 20 |
Texas Tech |
6-0 |
380 |
| 21 |
Buffalo |
5-0 |
351 |
| 22 |
Wisconsin |
5-1 |
253 |
| 23 |
Villanova |
5-2 |
217 |
| 24 |
Maryland |
6-0 |
170 |
| 25 |
Mississippi State |
4-1 |
161 |
Others receiving votes: Arizona State 156, Clemson 135, Furman 72, Creighton 65, LSU 41, Indiana 35, UCLA 30, Iowa State 22, St. John's 19, Minnesota 17, Miami 10, Syracuse 8, TCU 8, Nebraska 6, Arkansas 6, Notre Dame 4, UConn 4, Florida 3, UCF 3, Davidson 1, Houston 1
USA Today/Coaches' Top 25 Poll
| RK |
TEAM |
RECORD |
PTS |
| 1 |
Gonzaga (17) |
6-0 |
784 |
| 2 |
Kansas (15) |
5-0 |
782 |
| 3 |
Duke |
5-1 |
712 |
| 4 |
Virginia |
6-0 |
710 |
| 5 |
Michigan |
6-0 |
638 |
| 6 |
Nevada |
6-0 |
614 |
| 7 |
Tennessee |
4-1 |
612 |
| 8 |
Michigan State |
5-1 |
542 |
| 9 |
Kentucky |
5-1 |
502 |
| 10 |
Auburn |
5-1 |
492 |
| 10 |
Kansas State |
6-0 |
492 |
| 12 |
Virginia Tech |
5-0 |
471 |
| 13 |
North Carolina |
6-1 |
452 |
| 14 |
Florida State |
5-1 |
275 |
| 15 |
Iowa |
5-0 |
264 |
| 16 |
Ohio State |
6-0 |
249 |
| 17 |
Texas |
5-1 |
235 |
| 18 |
Purdue |
5-1 |
209 |
| 19 |
Texas Tech |
6-0 |
173 |
| 20 |
Buffalo |
5-0 |
159 |
| 21 |
Oregon |
4-1 |
157 |
| 22 |
Wisconsin |
5-1 |
139 |
| 23 |
Villanova |
5-2 |
118 |
| 24 |
Clemson |
5-1 |
114 |
| 25 |
Mississippi State |
4-1 |
97 |
Others receiving votes: Maryland 77, Arizona State 51, UCLA 37, LSU 36, Miami 30, Furman 27, Creighton 26, Minnesota 19, NC State 19, Iowa State 16, Butler 12, UCF 9, St. John's 9, Nebraska 8, Syracuse 7, Houston 7, TCU 7, Indiana 5, West Virginia 4, Arkansas 1, North Texas 1