Arizona Wildcats rise to No. 2 in latest AP basketball rankings
Feb 21, 2022, 10:29 AM
Guard Bennedict Mathurin #0 of the Arizona Wildcats and guard Kerr Kriisa #25 of the Arizona Wildcats react during the game against the Oregon State Beavers at McKale Center on February 17, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Wildcats won 83-69 against the Oregon State Beavers. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
The Arizona Wildcats now sit as the No. 2 team in the country following wins over Oregon State and Oregon in Tucson last week as the college basketball season winds down with March right around the corner.
Arizona improved to 24-2 on the year and currently paces the Pac-12 with a 14-1 record in conference play. The Wildcats are now winners of eight-straight and remain perfect at the McKale Center this year with a 15-0 record.
On Saturday, the Wildcats were revealed as the current No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament and the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
Arizona moved up one spot in the rankings following No. 3 Auburn’s loss on the road to Florida on Saturday. The No. 2 ranking is the highest Arizona has had in four years.
Gonzaga remains at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel in the poll released Monday.
No. 18 Arkansas had the biggest jump of the week, moving up five spots after blowing out Missouri and shutting down No. 17 Tennessee.
No. 22 Ohio State had the biggest drop of teams still in the poll, falling four spots after losing to Iowa. No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Providence and No. 15 Illinois all lost three spots.
The Big 10 and Southeastern conferences had five ranked teams each and the Big 12 four. The Pac-12 and Big East each had three and the West Coast Conference two with the addition of Saint Mary’s.
The Atlantic Coast, American Athletic and Ohio Valley conferences each had one ranked team.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
College basketball AP rankings
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Gonzaga | 23-2 | 1,525 | 1 |
| 2. Arizona | 24-2 | 1,461 | 3 |
| 3. Auburn | 24-3 | 1,313 | 2 |
| 4. Purdue | 24-4 | 1,299 | 5 |
| 5. Kansas | 22-4 | 1,297 | 6 |
| 6. Kentucky | 22-5 | 1,248 | 4 |
| 7. Duke | 23-4 | 1,146 | 9 |
| 8. Villanova | 21-6 | 1,071 | 10 |
| 9. Texas Tech | 21-6 | 1,066 | 11 |
| 10. Baylor | 22-5 | 984 | 7 |
| 11. Providence | 22-3 | 910 | 8 |
| 12. UCLA | 19-5 | 802 | 13 |
| 13. Wisconsin | 21-5 | 735 | 15 |
| 14. Houston | 22-4 | 734 | 14 |
| 15. Illinois | 19-7 | 666 | 12 |
| 16. Southern Cal | 23-4 | 586 | 17 |
| 17. Tennessee | 19-7 | 580 | 16 |
| 18. Arkansas | 21-6 | 502 | 23 |
| 19. Murray State | 26-2 | 371 | 21 |
| 20. Texas | 19-8 | 349 | 20 |
| 21. Connecticut | 19-7 | 340 | 24 |
| 22. Ohio State | 16-7 | 320 | 18 |
| 23. Saint Mary’s | 22-6 | 148 | – |
| 24. Alabama | 17-10 | 63 | 25 |
| 25. Iowa | 18-8 | 59 | – |
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 58, Rutgers 35, Wyoming 24, Boise State 22, Davidson 19, San Diego State 14, South Dakota State 13, LSU 13, Marquette 12, Wake Forest 11, Colorado State 10, Belmont 5, Notre Dame 4, SMU 3, Xavier 2, North Texas 2, Creighton 1, Vermont 1, Wagner 1
