AP College Basketball Poll: Cats back up to No. 10

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - Gonzaga and UCLA continued their hold on the top two spots in The Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll on Monday, setting the stage for their highly anticipated showdown this week, while Purdue and Duke barged their way into the top five.

The Bulldogs (4-0) had an easy week with wins over Alcorn State and Bellarmine and received 55 first-place votes from the 61-person medial panel that regularly covers college basketball. The Bruins (4-0) received five first-place votes after blowing out Long Beach State and North Florida last week to head to Las Vegas with some momentum.

Defending national champion Baylor jumped to sixth after running roughshod over Central Arkansas and Stanford, while the Wildcats dropped only to seventh thanks to beating then-No. 12 Tennessee before losing to Purdue. Texas and Memphis were next, with Kentucky and Alabama in a tie for 10th in the second regular-season poll of the season.

1. Gonzaga
2. UCLA
3. Purdue
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. Baylor
7. Villanova
8. Texas
9. Memphis
10. Kentucky
11. T-10 Alabama
12. Houston
13. Arkansas
14. Illinois
15. Tennessee
16. St. Bonaventure
17. Arizona
18. BYU
19. Auburn
20. Michigan
21. Seton Hall
22. Connecticut
23. Florida
24. USC
25. Xavier

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