College basketball rankings: Gonzaga returns to No. 1 spot in new Coaches Poll ahead of Auburn
Mon, Jan 17, 2022
NCAAB News (AP)
Gonzaga completed a sweep of this week's polls on Monday, when the Zags came in at No. 1 in the Coaches Poll with a 23-8 edge in first-place votes on No. 2 Auburn. Arizona also received a singe first-place vote. The Tigers came up just short of the top spot in both polls after extending their winning streak to 13 games with road wins at Alabama and Ole Miss last week.
The placement of Gonzaga in the, and its relatively wide first-place margin in the Coaches Poll, is a ringing endorsement of the Zags' recent offensive dominance. They have averaged 114 points per game during a 3-0 start to WCC play while winning by an average margin of 30.7 points. While the West Coast Conference is regarded as strong this season by its usual standards, the Zags could have an opportunity to retain a stranglehold on the top spot.
Having already beaten the league's second-highest ranked team in the NET, No. 26 BYU, by 26 points, Gonzaga seems destined to steamroll through conference play once again. Its only losses are against quality foes Duke and Alabama.
Elsewhere, a couple mid-major schools made their first appearances in the polls Monday. Loyola Chicago cracked the Coaches Poll at No. 24, and Colorado State made it at No. 23.
Coaches Poll
1. Gonzaga (23)
2. Auburn (8)
3. Arizona (1)
4. Purdue
5. Duke
6. Baylor
7. Kansas
8. Wisconsin
9. UCLA
10. Houston
11. Villanova
12. Kentucky
13. Michigan St
14. Iowa State
15. Southern California
16. Louisiana State
17. Illinois
18. Ohio St.
19. Texas Tech
20. Xavier
21. Providence
22. Texas
23. Colorado St.
24. Loyola-Chicago
25. Tennessee
25. UConn
Others receiving votes: Miami 40; Seton Hall 37; Brigham Young 23; Alabama 21; Davidson 14; Texas A&M 11; San Diego St. 10; Iowa 10; North Carolina 6; Indiana 6; Southern Methodist 5; Oregon 5; West Virginia 4; Texas Christian 4; San Francisco 2; Oklahoma 1; Oakland 1; Murray St. 1; Grand Canyon 1; Boise St. 1.
