Gonzaga tumbles as March Madness nears

NCAA – Selection Sunday, when the field of 68 schools which will compete in the NCAA tournament will be announced, is just around the corner. Some teams, such as heavy favorites Kentucky University (still undefeated), are looking very good. The same can’t be said for some early favorites though. Gonzaga, for example, has slipped four spots to number seven in the rankings. A tough three-point loss to BYU has cost them their previous Top 5 position. Iowa State suffered a couple of losses to Baylor and Kansas State this past week and they are team that dropped the farthest this week. They fall to 17th from last week’s 12th place ranking.

Kentucky and their 29-0 record remain the unanimous vote getter for rank one. Virginia took down Wake Forest and Virginia Tech to hold on to their second-place position this week. Duke (26-3) remains a serious contender this year and they claim the third-place position vacated by Gonzaga this week.

Both Villanova and Arizona move up two spots and round out the Top 5, claiming fourth and fifth place, respectively. Wisconsin lost to Maryland 59-53 and they drop one spot to sixth place.

Baylor, Maryland, and Wichita State are some of this week’s top gainers in the rankings. Baylor is 22-7 and they climbed five spots to take 14th place in the rankings. Maryland (24-5) defeated both Wisconsin and Michigan, and they now climb up four ranks to crack the Top 10. They’ve gained some solid traction as of late and are building some promising momentum.

Here is the complete Associated Press Top 25 rankings:

1. Kentucky
2. Virginia
3. Duke
4. Villanova
5. Arizona
6. Wisconsin
7. Gonzaga
8. Wichita State
9. Kansas
10. Maryland
11. Northern Iowa
12. Notre Dame
13. Utah
14. Baylor
15. Oklahoma
16. Louisville
17. Iowa State
18. Arkansas
19. North Carolina
20. West Virginia
21. Butler
22. SMU
23. Ohio State
24. Providence
25. Murray State