Arizona hoops holds steady in AP rankings to end regular season
Mar 6, 2023, 10:22 AM
The Arizona Wildcats finish the 2022-23 regular season as the eighth-ranked team, according to The Associated Press’ top 25 poll, holding steady from a week prior despite splitting a road set in Los Angeles.
The Wildcats (25-6) wrapped up their regular season by downing USC, 87-81, on Thursday before falling, 82-73, to UCLA on Saturday.
Arizona finished 14-6 in the Pac-12 and earned the second seed in the conference tournament.
That gives the team a bye in the event before facing the Wednesday winner between No. 7 Utah and No. 10 Stanford. The Wildcats will play their conference tournament opener Thursday at 7 p.m. MST in Las Vegas.
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Meanwhile, UCLA is surging, both toward the postseason and in the men’s college basketball poll.
While Houston was No. 1 for a third straight week in Monday’s poll, the Bruins rose two spots to No. 2 for their highest ranking of the season. UCLA (27-4) has won its last 10 games, including the showdown with Arizona in the regular-season finale behind star Jamie Jaquez Jr. to complete a perfect home record.
Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars remained firmly entrenched at the top in their third stint at No. 1 this season, earning 58 first-place votes with the other three going to UCLA.
The only change in the top five came with UCLA trading places with No. 4 Alabama. Kansas remained at No. 3 despite a loss at Texas in Saturday’s regular-season finale and the Boilermakers stayed at fifth.
Marquette stayed at No. 6, followed by the Longhorns climbing two spots to No. 7. Arizona, Gonzaga and Baylor rounded out the top 10.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
AP men’s basketball rankings – End of 2022-23 regular season
| Team | Record | Pts | Prv |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Houston (58) | 29-2 | 1522 | 1 |
| 2. UCLA (3) | 27-4 | 1452 | 4 |
| 3. Kansas | 25-6 | 1368 | 3 |
| 4. Alabama | 26-5 | 1343 | 2 |
| 5. Purdue | 26-5 | 1274 | 5 |
| 6. Marquette | 25-6 | 1218 | 6 |
| 7. Texas | 23-8 | 1100 | 9 |
| 8. Arizona | 25-6 | 1042 | 8 |
| 9. Gonzaga | 26-5 | 1031 | 10 |
| 10. Baylor | 22-9 | 961 | 7 |
| 11. UConn | 24-7 | 847 | 14 |
| 12. Kansas St | 23-8 | 838 | 11 |
| 13. Virginia | 23-6 | 791 | 13 |
| 14. Miami | 24-6 | 761 | 16 |
| 15. Xavier | 23-8 | 641 | 19 |
| 16. Saint Mary’s | 25-6 | 587 | 17 |
| 17. Tennessee | 22-9 | 573 | 12 |
| 18. Texas A&M | 23-8 | 507 | 24 |
| 19. Indiana | 21-10 | 481 | 15 |
| 20. San Diego St. | 24-6 | 370 | 18 |
| 21. Duke | 23-8 | 293 | – |
| 22. TCU | 20-11 | 193 | 22 |
| 23. Kentucky | 21-10 | 138 | 23 |
| 24. Creighton | 20-11 | 133 | – |
| 25. Missouri | 23-8 | 66 | – |
Others receiving votes: Oral Roberts 54, FAU 53, Utah St. 32, Providence 26, Iowa St. 23, Northwestern 16, West Virginia 15, Pittsburgh 10, Toledo 10, Coll of Charleston 9, Michigan St. 9, VCU 8, Boise St. 7, Iowa 5, Southern Cal 5, Memphis 3, Maryland 3, Vanderbilt 3, Arkansas 2, Drake 1, North Texas 1.
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