How I voted in the college basketball AP poll: UCLA drops

Arizona's 96-85 win over UCLA on Saturday vaulted it past the Bruins in the AP poll

Arizona’s 96-85 win over UCLA on Saturday vaulted it past the Bruins in the AP poll

I wouldn’t go so far as to say UCLA was exposed in Saturday’s 96-85 loss to Arizona. The Wildcats are a very good team in addition to being particularly strong at the wing positions, where UCLA’s defense is weakest. Defensive liabilities Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton weren’t at their best offensively Saturday either, a double-negative during a discouraging first half.

I don’t think it would have been impossible for the Bruins have made a few plays on either end of the floor Saturday that could have altered the momentum enough for them to win the game. In other words, Arizona isn’t out of UCLA’s league by any stretch – but they certainly earned this week’s ranking above UCLA in the polls. But I think UCLA should be worried that Arizona is only getting better, considering several freshmen are playing key roles and Allonzo Trier just rejoined the team.

But there is no debating that right now UCLA is no longer the No. 3 team in the country. It’s the third-best team in its own conference with plenty to prove about whether it deserves more than a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

How I voted in the men’s college basketball AP poll:
1.Villanova
Villanova has wins over Creighton, Notre Dame, Purdue and Xavier, all mainstays in the top 25 this season. The Wildcats are the defending NCAA champions. And they’re No. 2 in RPI. Their quality wins are better than Kansas or Baylor and their lone loss is better too. Plus, Gonzaga simply doesn’t have a deep enough schedule to be in the conversation for No. 1 yet.
2. Kansas
3. Baylor
4. Gonzaga
5. Arizona

How much better did the Wildcats get on Saturday simply by having Allonzo Trier on the court for the first time this season? Significantly better. We’re talking about a Naismith Player of the Year candidate if he plays the whole season. And Arizona was already good and rapidly improving considering the naturally steep learning curve of a roster chock-full of freshmen.
6. Oregon
7. UCLA

The Bruins margin for error is miniscule at this point if it wants to win the Pac-12. It can’t afford to slip up against the conference’s middle-tier teams like, for example, USC, who it plays on Wednesday. But UCLA still controls its own destiny and it can earn its way back into the top 3 or 4 teams in the country if it can win rematches with Oregon and Arizona.
8. Kentucky
9. Florida State
10. Creighton
11. Notre Dame
12. Butler
13. Virginia
14. Louisville
15. North Carolina
16. Wisconsin

There are some whispers that the Badgers are ranked higher than they deserve to be simply because of their history of success. To that point, Wisconsin’s RPI is only 25th. But it did jump up seven spots last week. They don’t have a ton of opportunity to prove themselves in a weak Big Ten, but the Badgers’ losses have been to three high quality opponents.
17. Saint Mary’s (Cal)
18. Cincinnati
19. Duke
20. Maryland
21. Purdue
22. Xavier
23. West Virginia
24. Florida
25. SMU

The actual men’s college basketball AP poll:
1. Villanova (35) 19-1
2. Kansas (28) 18-1
3. Gonzaga (2) 19-0
4. Kentucky 17-2
5. Baylor 18-1
6. Florida St. 18-2
7. Arizona 18-2
8. UCLA 19-2
9. North Carolina 18-3
10. Oregon 18-2
11. Butler 17-3
12. Virginia 15-3
13. Louisville 16-4
14. Notre Dame 17-3
15. Wisconsin 16-3
16. Creighton 18-2
17. Duke 15-4
18. West Virginia 15-4
19. Cincinnati 17-2
20. Purdue 16-4
21. Saint Mary’s 17-2
22. Maryland 17-2
23. South Carolina 15-4
24. Xavier 14-5
25. Florida 14-5
Others receiving votes: Kansas St 41, SMU 33, Northwestern 28, UNC Wilmington 14, Iowa St. 12, Virginia Tech 7, USC 6, Dayton 6, Middle Tennessee 1, Illinois St. 1, Akron 1, Utah 1.