Feb. 22, 2010
McLEAN, Va. - Gonzaga's men's basketball team dropped out of the ESPN/USA Today top 10 this week after a split in Los Angeles last week.
The Bulldogs, ninth in last week's poll, fell to 15th after a 74-66 loss at Loyola Marymount followed by a 72-54 victory at Pepperdine.
The Bulldogs conclude the West Coast Conference season at home this week in search of a 10th straight WCC regular-season title. The Bulldogs have a one-game lead over Saint Mary's with two to play. One Gonzaga win or one SMC loss gives the Bulldogs the crown.
A pair of losses sent Villanova into a freefall in the latest ESPN/USA Today men's basketball coaches' poll released Monday.
The Wildcats, who fell to Connecticut last Monday and Pittsburgh on Sunday, slipped from third to eighth in the poll of 31 Division I coaches. Kansas (26-1) picked up 30 first-place votes to remain in the top spot. Kentucky (26-1) picked up the other first-place vote and is No. 2 nationally.
Purdue (23-3), Syracuse (25-2) and Duke (23-4) all moved up a spot into the top five. Also moving up one spot was No. 6 Kansas State (22-4) and No. 7 West Virginia (21-5). Villanova is trailed by Ohio State (21-7), which moved up three spots to No. 9, and Butler (25-4), which moved up three spots to No. 10.
Brigham Young (25-3) and New Mexico (25-3) are No. 11 and 12. They meet Saturday in Provo, Utah, with the winner having the inside track at the Mountain West Conference regular-season title.
Georgetown (18-7) and Michigan State (21-7) both fell three spots to Nos. 13 and 14. The Spartans, who lost to Ohio State on Sunday, visit Purdue next Sunday. Also on the schedule this week, Syracuse hosts Villanova on Saturday.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 college basketballcoaches' poll, with number of first-place votes and recordin parentheses, total points and previous ranking:(Records through February 21, 2010) TEAM PTS PVS ---- --- --- 1. KANSAS (30) (26-1) 774 1 2. KENTUCKY (1) (26-1) 745 2 3. PURDUE (23-3) 697 4 4. SYRACUSE (25-2) 682 5 5. DUKE (23-4) 654 6 6. KANSAS ST (22-4) 613 7 7. WEST VIRGINIA (21-5) 571 8 8. VILLANOVA (22-4) 556 3 9. OHIO ST (21-7) 461 1210. BUTLER (25-4) 446 1311. BYU (25-3) 430 1412. NEW MEXICO (25-3) 413 1513. GEORGETOWN (18-7) 392 1014. MICHIGAN ST (21-7) 373 1115. GONZAGA (22-5) 322 916. PITTSBURGH (21-6) 319 2117. TENNESSEE (20-6) 294 1818. TEMPLE (22-5) 232 2019. WISCONSIN (20-7) 216 1620. VANDERBILT (20-6) 212 1921. TEXAS (21-6) 177 1722. NORTHERN IOWA (24-3) 119 2423. TEXAS A&M (19-7) 88 2324. RICHMOND (22-6) 76 NR25. UTEP (20-5) 37 NRDropped Out: No. 25 WAKE FORESTOthers Receiving Votes: BAYLOR 33, VIRGINIA TECH 33,MARYLAND 31, UTAH ST 18, CORNELL 17, XAVIER 14, CLEMSON 11,UNLV 8, MISSOURI 7, GEORGIA TECH 2, MURRAY ST 1, SAINTMARYS CA 1
