Gonzaga Leads The Way In Week 8 Of The AP Top 25 Poll After Kansas Loss At Villanova
The 2019-20 season has been like a seesaw as far as the AP Top 25 poll is concerned as there hasn’t been much consistency at the top spot this season.
Michigan State out of the Big Ten was the preseason top ranked team in the country then they lost to Kentucky and then Kentucky who is a member of the Southeastern Conference was ranked number one but that didn’t last long because they lost to The University Of Evansville. After Kentucky’s loss Duke who is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference became the top ranked team in the country for week three and week four but then they lost to Stephen F. Austin. Then Louisville who like Duke is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference became the top ranked team in the country for two weeks and then they lost Texas Tech.
To begin week seven of the season Kansas out of the Big 12 became the top ranked team in the country. However, their number one ranking didn’t last long. Why? Because they were knocked off by Villanova who this week is ranked tenth in the AP Top 25 poll and a member of the Big East.
Kansas was unable to hold onto a four-point advantage with under two minutes to play as the No. 1 Jayhawks fell to No. 18/14 Villanova, 56-55, Saturday afternoon inside Wells Fargo Center. Sophomore Devon Dotson led KU in scoring with 15 points, but was unable to connect on the potential game-winner as time expired as the Wildcats snapped the Jayhawks’ nine-game winning streak.”according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
The loss dropped Kansas to 9-2 on the year, while Villanova improved to 9-2 in its 2019-20 campaign. “according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
After finding itself trailing by as much as eight points in the second half, Kansas managed to fight back and claim a four-point lead with less than two minutes to play in regulation. Freshman Christian Braun drove to the bucket and converted on a lay-up for two of his six points on the day, to give his team a 55-51 lead with 1:49 remaining. “according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
But those would be the Jayhawks’ last points of the day, as Villanova scored five unanswered points in the final 67 seconds to regain the advantage, the game’s 14th and final lead change. KU had a chance to win with the game’s final possession. Dotson took the ball to the rim and put up a fallaway jumper as time expired, however, the ball failed to draw rim as the Wildcats sealed the victory, 56-55.
Both squads struggled on the offensive end over the first 20 minutes of action. KU connected on just 37% (10-for-27) of its field-goal tries in the first half, but held the Wildcats to just 29% (9-for-31) as neither side managed to pull away from the other. After KU jumped out to an 11-5 lead over the first seven minutes of the game, Villanova responded with an 8-0 run to claim a one-point lead, 15-14, into the final eight minutes of the half. Both teams combined for just seven field goals in the remainder of the half as the Jayhawks and Wildcats headed to the locker rooms knotted up at 23-23.
A 10-0 Wildcat run early in the second half helped the home side jump out to a 35-27 lead just over five minutes after the restart. The eight-point deficit did little to discourage the Jayhawks though, as KU responded with a 10-2 spurt of its own. Braun’s lay-up ahttps://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/t the 10:45 mark leveled the score at 37-37 as both teams’ shooters began to warm-up.”according to
After mostly poor shooting over the first three-quarters of the day, the Jayhawks and Wildcats combined to hit 17-of-34 shots over the final 11 minutes of regulation, which included a 9-of-15 clip from KU. Villanova’s Jermaine Samuels hit back-to-back buckets to hand the Wildcats a 48-44 lead with just over seven minutes to go, but KU once again used an impressive stretch of inside scoring to regain control of the game. The Jayhawks put together an 11-3 run, all with points coming in the paint, to pull KU in front as the game headed into its final minutes. However, the Wildcats held KU scoreless over the final 1:49 to come back and claim the win. “according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
Dotson led KU in scoring for the 16th time this season, finishing with 15 points and pulling down a season-high seven rebounds. Senior Udoka Azubuike posted his fourth double-double of the season, tallying 12 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Ochai Agbaji was the third Jayhawk to hit double-figure scoring, adding 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.”according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
KU closed the game with a 43.6 percent clip from the field, its lowest of the season, but held Villanova to 34.9 percent shooting. It marked the seventh time this season the Jayhawks have held their opponent to under 40 percent. “according to https://kuathletics.com/mbb-gameday-gm11-villanova/
To begin week eight of the season we have yet another new top ranked team in Gonzaga who is a member of the West Coast Conference despite their only loss coming against Michigan in Paradise Island by a score of 82-64. However, Mark Few’s team hasn’t lost since then as they have reeled off five straight wins coming against Texas Southern, Washington, Arizona and North Carolina who is currently unranked.
As for the rest of the AP Top 25 poll, It looks like this. “according to https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeBasketballPoll
Gonzaga
Ohio State
Louisville
Duke
Kansas
Oregon
Baylor
Auburn
Memphis
Villanova
Michigan
Butler
Maryland
Michigan State
San Diego State
Virginia
Florida State
Dayton
Kentucky
Penn State
Washington
West Virginia
Texas Tech
Arizona
Iowa