After a monthlong hiatus, the UCLA men’s basketball team is back in the top five of the Associated Press poll.
The Bruins moved up one spot Monday to No. 5 courtesy of Baylor’s fall five spots to No. 9.
UCLA (24-3, 11-3 Pac-12) spent seven weeks in the top five before consecutive losses to Arizona and USC dropped it to No. 11 on Jan. 30.
It was fitting that Saturday’s 32-point win over USC at Pauley Pavilion was the Bruins’ final game before its return to the top five.
Gonzaga was No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week, but received one less first-place vote than last week. Gonzaga got 59 of the 65 first-place votes, No. 2 Villanova earned five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received a first-place vote for the first time in a month.
UCLA has won five consecutive games since an 84-76 loss at USC Jan. 25, including perhaps its most significant win of the season Feb. 9 against Oregon, which was No. 6 in Monday’s AP poll. The Bruins avenged their earlier defeat to USC on Saturday by scoring 31 of the game’s final 40 points in a 102-70 win.
Only four games remain for UCLA in the regular season, the largest of which is at No. 4 Arizona on Saturday. The Bruins trail Arizona by two games and Oregon by a game in the Pac-12 standings.
UCLA visits Arizona State on Thursday and closes the regular season with a pair of games at Pauley Pavilion against Washington on March 1 and Washington State on March 4.
Arizona, UCLA and Oregon each moved up one spot in the AP poll this week. Arizona moved from No. 6 to No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll while UCLA held steady at No. 5.
AP Top 25
1. Gonzaga (59)
2. Villanova (5)
3. Kansas (1)
4. Arizona
5. UCLA
6. Oregon
7. Louisville
8. North Carolina
9. Baylor
10. Duke
11. Kentucky
12. West Virginia
13. Florida
14. Purdue
15. Cincinnati
16. Wisconsin
17. SMU
18. Virginia
19. Florida State
20. Saint Mary’s (Cal)
21. Notre Dame
22. Butler
23. Creighton
24. Maryland
25. Wichita State
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