ARIZONA BASKETBALL

Arizona basketball drops to 20th in AP, USA Today polls

Dec 5, 2016, 2:22 PM

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski, left, and Arizona forward Lauri Markkanen, top right, battle for ...

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski, left, and Arizona forward Lauri Markkanen, top right, battle for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A short-handed Arizona team fell four spots in the Associated Press Poll to No. 20 in the nation following its 69-62 loss to Gonzaga on Saturday. The loss also dropped the Wildcats five spots in the USA Today Coaches poll, where they also rank 20th.

The Bulldogs, despite their win over ranked Arizona (6-2), held steady at No. 8 in both polls.

Arizona’s fellow Pac-12 school, UCLA, made the most headway in the top-25 polls, jumping nine spots in the AP Poll and seven spots in the coaches rankings to No. 2 in each after beating previously No. 1-ranked Kentucky on the road. Villanova took the top ranking in both polls, while Kentucky dropped to sixth in the AP and seventh in the USA Today polls.

Oregon is the only other Pac-12 school ranked, coming in at 24 in both.

In the loss to Gonzaga, Sean Miller’s team shot 39 percent and hit just one three-pointer in its first game without starting point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who could be out for two months with a high ankle sprain. Relief does not appear to be coming for Arizona in the form of sophomore guard Allonzo Trier, who traveled with the team to Los Angeles but remains sidelined for unspecified reasons.

On Monday, Miller said Trier had been cleared by the NCAA to travel.

“He was not prior to this weekend,” the Arizona coach said at his media session.

Asked if it was a good sign Trier could be cleared, Miller said, “No, the only good sign is when he walks out there and plays.”

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