Arizona slips a spot in AP basketball poll after loss to ASU

A three-quarter-court shot to beat the buzzer by Arizona State kept the Sun Devils quite alive when it comes to their postseason hopes.

For their rivals, the losing Wildcats (24-5), the 89-88 final line at McKale Center on Saturday is another ding that combined with a UCLA victory against Colorado later in the weekend cost Arizona an opportunity to win the Pac-12 regular-season title.

It also cost the Wildcats a bit in the polls. The Associated Press rankings slid Arizona down a spot, to eighth, as the Baylor Bears jumped Tommy Lloyd’s team.

The top five spots in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble.

Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Alabama had five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received eight.

UCLA and Purdue rounded out the top five. The Boilermakers held at No. 5 despite losing to No. 15 Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Men’s college basketball AP rankings

Others receiving votes: Creighton 87, Duke 78, Oral Roberts 40, Northwestern 39, FAU 25, Iowa St. 20, Nevada 17, Missouri 16, Arkansas 7, NC State 6, Coll of Charleston 6, Clemson 5, Memphis 4, Southern Cal 3, Boise St. 3, VCU 1, West Virginia 1.

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