Men’s college basketball rankings: Projected AP Top 25 after UCLA knocks off Gonzaga
Week 8 of the college basketball season was a very quiet one with the sport largely sitting out the Christmas holiday. Only 12 games involving Top 25 teams were played, but we did get a few big results on Saturday, such as UCLA's narrow win over Gonzaga in the lone matchup pairing ranked squads. Here's a look at the projected Top 25 rankings for the final time in the calendar year of 2024.
Projected AP Top 25 college basketball rankings
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Auburn Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Duke Blue Devils
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Florida Gators
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Marquette Golden Eagles
- Oregon Ducks
- Kentucky Wildcats
- UConn Huskies
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Houston Cougars
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Michigan State Spartans
- UCLA Bruins
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Baylor Bears
- Memphis Tigers
- Ole Miss Rebels
UCLA Outlasts Gonzaga at the Intuit Dome
The first ever college basketball game at the Intuit Dome was a good one as UCLA and Gonzaga played a tight contest throughout. The Bruins' win was a good non-conference result for their resume as their best victory prior to this game was a three-point win against a fading Arizona team two weeks ago.
This loss may be more damaging for Gonzaga, which failed to add another strong victory to their ledger ahead of their final season in the West Coast Conference. While the Bulldogs' early work (including wins over Baylor, Arizona State and San Diego State) should be enough to put them in a solid place with the selection committee, any stumbles in league play could send their seed tumbling.
Ole Miss gets blown out at Memphis
Perhaps the most confounding team in the country is Memphis, which looks like world beaters in one game and can barely hit a shot in the other. Saturday's victory over Ole Miss is their third win over a ranked team for the Tigers, who have also lost to Arkansas State at home and to Mississippi State by 13, but it will be good enough for them to re-enter the rankings this week.
The Rebels shouldn't feel too dismayed by this performance as they ran into a Memphis buzzsaw that shot nearly 48 percent from the floor. Losing on the road to a team that has beaten UCONN and Michigan State on neutral floors is nothing to be ashamed of and could be a welcome wakeup call before SEC play kicks off.
San Diego State stumbles against Utah State
San Diego State appeared to be the class of the rugged Mountain West but Utah State showed that they are no slouches either. The Aggies erased an 11-point halftime deficit to edge the Aztecs by a point, helping them improve to 12-1 on the year, although their non-conference schedule wasn't much to write home about.
This defeat will knock the Aztecs out of the polls this week, which stinks since they are a quality team worthy of having a number in front of their name. In a week where almost no one played games, however, a loss like that will be enough to knock them out of the polls for at least seven days.
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