Bulldogs Jump To No. 13 In AP
12/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2004
SPOKANE, Wash. -Gonzaga made one of the biggest jumps of the season in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings this season, the Bulldogs (8-1) moving up nine spots to 13th on Monday following last Saturday's 85-73 win over then No. 3 Georgia Tech.
The Bulldogs, who last season defeated No. 3 Missouri early in the season on the way to a 28-3 season, atoned for a lackluster 89-72 setback to then No. 5 and now No. 1 Illinois earlier in the season, coming out aggressively against the Yellow Jackets in taking the nightcap of the Las Vegas Showdown in impressive fashion.
Illinois (10-0) remained atop the poll with 50 first-place votes and 1,727 points to again out-distance Kansas. The Jayhakws received 15 first-place votes and 1,658 points.
Oklahoma State (8-0), which has a date with Gonzaga on Dec. 28 in Oklahoma City, moved up one spot to No. 3. North Carolina (8-1) was fourth, followed by Wake Forest (9-1), Duke (8-0), Syracuse (9-1) and Kentucky (7-1) as the fourth through ninth teams of a week ago all moved up one notch as Georgia Tech (7-1) fell to ninth following its first loss of the season.
Pittsburgh (8-0) maintained the final spot in the Top 10.
Gonzaga puts its new ranking on the line Tuesday in the Spokane Arena against nearby rival Eastern Washington (2-7). The Bulldogs have won 18 straight against the Eagles. Gametime is 6 p.m. for the sold out Les Schwab Tire President's Trophy presented by Major Mortgage.
The Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll, withnumber of first-place votes and record in parentheses, totalpoints and previous ranking:(Records through December 19, 2004) TEAM PTS PVS ---- --- --- 1. ILLINOIS (50) (10-0) 1,727 1 2. KANSAS (15) (7-0) 1,658 2 3. OKLAHOMA ST (5) (8-0) 1,628 4 4. NORTH CAROLINA (8-1) 1,476 5 5. WAKE FOREST (9-1) 1,427 6 6. DUKE (8-0) 1,388 7 7. SYRACUSE (9-1) 1,307 8 8. KENTUCKY (7-1) 1,220 9 9. GEORGIA TECH (7-1) 1,219 310. PITTSBURGH (8-0) 1,115 1011. CONNECTICUT (5-1) 964 1112. WASHINGTON (8-1) 758 1813. GONZAGA (8-1) 732 2214. ARIZONA (7-2) 720 1515. TEXAS (7-2) 703 1416. NO CAROLINA ST (8-1) 689 1217. IOWA (9-1) 658 1618. LOUISVILLE (6-2) 618 1319. ALABAMA (9-1) 607 1720. GEO WASHINGTON (7-1) 475 1921. MISSISSIPPI ST (9-2) 411 2022. CINCINNATI (7-0) 297 2523. MICHIGAN ST (6-2) 279 2124. MARYLAND (6-2) 239 2325. VIRGINIA (7-1) 200 24Dropped Out:Others Receiving Votes: MARQUETTE 69, BOSTON COLLEGE 51,WISCONSIN 19, OKLAHOMA 15, NEW MEXICO 13, ARKANSAS 12,OREGON 11, HAWAII 8, CREIGHTON 7, NOTRE DAME 7, WICHITA ST6, WEST VIRGINIA 4, MIAMI FLA 3, FLORIDA 2, FRESNO ST 2,IOWA ST 2, OLD DOMINION 2, AMERICAN 1, TX A&M CORP CHR 1.
