Arizona Wildcats jump to No. 11 in AP Top 25 poll
Nov 29, 2021, 11:11 AM
Forward Kim Aiken Jr. #24 of the Arizona Wildcats gets fingers on a loose ball during the first half of the NCAAB game at McKale Center on November 27, 2021 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
One win over the week of Thanksgiving helped the Arizona Wildcats make a leap from 17th to 11th in The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Wildcats rolled to a 105-59 win against Sacramento State on Saturday, as their offense executed well enough to compile 31 assists leading to 38 total field goals made.
Forward Azuolas Tubelis led Arizona with 22 points, while center Christian Koloko added 20 more.
Arizona made the leap up the AP poll thanks to losses by other top-25 teams previously ranked ahead of them. Memphis, Alabama and Houston each suffered a loss since last Monday, while the Wildcats also jumped over Tennessee, which moved up from No. 15 to No. 13.
First-year coach Tommy Lloyd’s team initially appeared in the AP poll last Monday, after defeating then-No. 4 Michigan. That ranking was the Wildcats’ first since February 2020.
Atop the poll this week, Duke jumped to No. 1 after its win against Gonzaga, adding to a record haul of top rankings for Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils earned 51 of 61 first-place votes in the new poll, climbing from fifth last week following a win that knocked the Bulldogs from the top spot. This marks the 127th week at No. 1 for Krzyzewski, who is set to retire after this season.
The Blue Devils are No. 1 for the first time since spending two weeks there in November 2019.
Purdue earned nine first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2, while the Zags fell to third.
Reigning national champion Baylor rose two spots to No. 4 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, while UCLA fell three spots to No. 5 after a 20-point loss to Gonzaga last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP Top 25
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
(51)
|
7-0 | 1513 |
↑4
|
| 2 |
(9)
|
6-0 | 1442 |
↑1
|
| 3 |
(1)
|
6-1 | 1428 |
↓2
|
| 4 |
|
7-0 | 1324 |
↑2
|
| 5 |
|
6-1 | 1253 |
↓3
|
| 6 |
|
4-2 | 1147 |
↑1
|
| 7 |
|
4-1 | 1115 |
↑1
|
| 8 |
|
5-1 | 1027 |
↓4
|
| 9 |
|
5-1 | 1002 |
↑1
|
| 10 |
|
6-0 | 960 |
↑3
|
| 11 |
|
6-0 | 851 |
↑6
|
| 12 |
|
6-0 | 791 |
↑6
|
| 13 |
|
4-1 | 730 |
↑2
|
| 14 |
|
6-0 | 681 |
↑9
|
| 15 |
|
5-1 | 631 |
↓3
|
| 16 |
|
6-1 | 456 |
↓6
|
| 17 |
|
6-1 | 437 |
↑5
|
| 18 |
|
5-1 | 435 |
↓9
|
| 19 |
|
6-0 | 403 |
↑7
|
| 20 |
|
6-0 | 380 |
↑4
|
| 21 |
|
5-1 | 325 |
↓2
|
| 22 |
|
5-2 | 295 |
↑4
|
| 23 |
|
5-1 | 224 |
↑3
|
| 24 |
|
4-2 | 177 |
↓4
|
| 25 |
|
5-1 | 151 |
↓4
|
Others receiving votes: Illinois 111, St. Bonaventure 106, LSU 93, Ohio State 75, Indiana 63, Colorado State 59, Xavier 46, Texas Tech 34, Marquette 23, Iowa 9, North Carolina 9, San Francisco 7, Loyola Chicago 3, Virginia Tech 3, Wake Forest 2, Louisville 2, Iona 1, Ohio 1
Dropped from rankings: Illinois 14, St. Bonaventure 16, Xavier 25
