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Top 25 Polls: Gonzaga still hanging just outside of AP Poll

But the Zags rose up to No. 22 in the Coaches Poll.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Gonzaga Bulldogs rose two spots in the coaches poll to No. 22, but are still just outside the top 25 conversation for AP voters in the latest polls released on Monday, Jan. 4.

Gonzaga impressed enough with its incredibly close games against Santa Clara and San Francisco last week, because apparently coaches like gritty road wins. The AP voters were less impressed, and Gonzaga continues to hold down the team receiving the most votes without actually being ranked.

Other teams to note include SMU, which continues to climb the AP poll because the Mustangs refuse to lose. Also of note, Saint Mary's is creeping its way into national discussions. The Gaels are getting a lot of love, especially by Ken Pomeroy, who has them ranked higher than the Zags.

Saint Mary's had two easy wins over BYU and San Diego at home, but it also highlights the biggest problem with Saint Mary's. Despite being a really good team offensively, the Gael's strength of schedule is one of the absolute worst in the entire country--ranked No. 332 by Pomeroy. So, do the Gael's deserve this praise? Who knows...

AP Poll

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Kansas Jayhawks (44) 12-1 1,598
2 Oklahoma Sooners (21) 12-0 1,574
3 Maryland Terrapins 13-1 1,459
4 Virginia Cavaliers 12-1 1,409
5 Michigan State Spartans 14-1 1,400
6 North Carolina Tar Heels 13-2 1,275
7 Arizona Wildcats 13-1 1,126
8 Providence Friars 14-1 1,108
9 Kentucky Wildcats 11-2 1,039
10 Xavier Musketeers 13-1 1,001
11 Villanova Wildcats 12-2 979
12 Miami-Florida Hurricanes 12-1 921
13 Iowa State Cyclones 11-2 844
14 Duke Blue Devils 12-2 830
15 SMU Mustangs 13-0 731
16 Louisville Cardinals 12-2 568
17 West Virginia Mountaineers 12-1 558
18 Butler Bulldogs 11-3 516
19 Iowa Hawkeyes 11-3 456
20 Purdue Boilermakers 13-2 450
21 Texas A&M Aggies 11-2 420
22 South Carolina Gamecocks 13-0 286
23 Connecticut Huskies 10-3 107
24 Pittsburgh Panthers 12-1 103
25 Dayton Flyers 11-2 100
Others receiving votes: Gonzaga 61, California 54, Texas Tech 40, George Washington 38, Saint Mary's 23, Baylor 22, Oregon State 4, Colorado 4, Seton Hall 4, Saint Joseph's 3, Wichita St 3, Utah 3, Cincinnati 2, Indiana 2, Michigan 2, Akron 1, Oregon 1


USA Today Coaches Poll

RANK TEAM RECORD PTS PREV
1 Oklahoma (20) 12-0 781 2
2 Kansas (11) 12-1 769 3
3 Maryland 13-1 732 4
4 Virginia 12-1 698 5
5 Michigan St (1) 14-1 676 1
6 Arizona 13-1 618 7
7 North Carolina 13-2 592 8
8 Kentucky 11-2 526 11
9 Providence 14-1 509 13
10 Duke 12-2 487 12
11 Miami-Florida 12-1 444 15
12 Xavier 13-1 442 6
13 Villanova 12-2 434 16
14 Iowa St. 11-2 402 9
15 West Virginia 12-1 350 17
16 Louisville 12-2 282 18
17 Texas A&M 11-2 265 19
18 Purdue 13-2 248 14
19 Butler 11-3 238 10
20 South Carolina 13-0 232 20
21 Pittsburgh 12-1 121 25
22 Gonzaga 12-3 112 24
23 Iowa 11-3 110 NR
24 Connecticut 10-3 81 26
25 Baylor 10-3 61 21
Others Receiving Votes: California 52; Dayton 28; George Washington 23; Cincinnati 19; Saint Mary's 18; Texas Tech 17; Vanderbilt 6; Oregon 6; Utah 5; Indiana 5; Colorado 4; Oregon State 3; Southern California 2; Houston 2.