College basketball rankings: Arizona leaps over Kentucky into top five, UCLA plummets in AP Top 25 poll

No. 1 Auburn's margin over No. 2 Gonzaga is smaller than last week after the Tigers' close call at Georgia

By David Cobb

Feb 7, 2022 at 12:14 pm ET • 2 min read

UCLA plummeted nine spots to No. 12 in Monday's new AP Top 25 rankings after dropping consecutive games last week. It marks the first time this season that the Bruins (16-4, 8-3 Pac-12) have come in outside the top 10 of the poll following their Final Four run last season. Meanwhile, Arizona reclaimed its spot in the top five at No. 4 by virtue of its victories against the Bruins and USC last week.

The Wildcats (19-2, 9-1) re-established themselves as the Pac-12 favorites following the strong week and now own a two-game lead on UCLA and Oregon in the Pac-12 standings. UCLA's other loss came late Saturday night in a triple-overtime affair at Arizona State.

Auburn retained the No. 1 position for a third straight week after needing some late heroics to beat lowly Georgia on Saturday. That victory improved the Tigers to 22-1 (10-0 SEC) and took their winning streak to 19 games ahead of a big game on the road against a hot Arkansas team on Tuesday.

Gonzaga remained at No. 2 and drew 13 first-place votes — up from 12 last week — after easy victories against San Diego and BYU.

Kentucky remained at No. 5 after victories vs. Vanderbilt and Alabama.

Among the notable risers in the poll were Purdue creeping up from No. 4 to No. 3 ahead of a massive Tuesday showdown with an Illinois team that rose five spots from No. 18 to No. 13. Texas Tech reached the top 10 for the first time this season, climbing from No. 14 to No. 9 after wins against Texas and West Virginia.

Providence rose four spots to No. 11, as the Friars are now 20-2 (10-1 Big East) following road victories over St. John's and Georgetown. In other Big East movement, Marquette rose six spots to No. 18 after beating Villanova on Saturday.

Saint Mary's and Murray State cracked the poll for the first time this season at No. 22. And No. 23, respectively. The Gaels (19-4, 7-1 WCC) are on a seven-game winning streak, while the Racers (22-2, 12-0 OVC) have won 12 straight since losing to top-ranked Auburn on Dec. 22.

AP Top 25

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	LW
1	Auburn (48)	22-1	1,506	1
2	Gonzaga (13)	19-2	1,477	2
3	Purdue	20-3	1,329	4
4	Arizona	19-2	1,300	7
5	Kentucky	19-4	1,288	5
6	Houston	20-2	1,205	6
7	Duke	19-3	1,179	9
8	Kansas	19-3	1,173	10
9	Texas Tech	18-5	947	14
10	Baylor	19-4	921	8
11	Providence	20-2	899	15
12	UCLA	16-4	881	3
13	Illinois	17-5	818	18
14	Wisconsin	18-4	706	11
15	Villanova	17-6	634	12
16	Ohio State	14-5	628	16
17	Michigan State	17-5	536	13
18	Marquette	16-7	522	24
19	Tennessee	16-6	377	22
20	Texas	17-6	294	23
21	USC	19-4	278	19
22	Saint Mary's	19-4	185	NR
23	Murray State	22-2	178	NR
24	UConn	15-6	118	17
25	Xavier	16-6	91	21