Villanova Basketball Still #4 in AP Poll, #12 Gonzaga Up Next

The Villanova Wildcats are ranked as the #4 team in the country for a second consecutive week in the latest AP Poll. This was expected with no one ahead of them losing and Nova facing a relatively weak slate of Big 5 opponents. However, the Cats should see some movement next week after their first ranked opponent of the season, #12 Gonzaga, meets them in New York tomorrow night for the Jimmy V Classic.

Gonzaga has been on a steady climb up the polls this season, despite having one loss under their belt to now #5 Florida. The Bulldogs jumped three spots from last week’s poll after coming from behind in the second half to defeat Creighton at home on Friday.

Speaking of the Big East, the conference still has just three teams in the Top 25. Xavier jumped up to #13 after beating Rival Cincinati, while Seton Hall jumped back into the rankings at #19 after handing Louisville their second loss of the season. Three more schools landed in the “receiving votes” category, including “#29” Creighton, “#39” Providence, and shockingly “#43” Georgetown. Yes the Hoyas and their incredibly weak schedule actually got their local AP Voter Doug Doughty to rank them 23rd overall, ahead of both UCLA and USC. No bias there I’m sure.

Alternative Polling Data

KenPom: Villanova ranks #1 Overall, coming in at #2 for offense and #6 for defense.

Sagarin: Villanova ranks #2 Overall, trailing only #1 Kansas

Massey: Villanova ranks #2 Overall, coming in at #23 for offense and #3 for defense.

Kendrick: Anna Kendrick’s #4 top grossing movie of all time is “The Accountant”.