UCLA was heavily rewarded for its win over Oregon last week, moving up four spots to No. 6 in the Associated Press men’s basketball poll on Monday.
Gonzaga, Villanova and Kansas remained Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Baylor was No. 4 and Arizona rounded out the top five.
Two days after the NCAA committee released a preliminary bracket slotting the Bruins as a No. 4 seed and No. 15 in the country, UCLA (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12) earned its highest ranking since it was No. 3 on Jan. 16.
NCAA bracket experts Jerry Palm of CBS and Joe Lunardi of ESPN also project UCLA as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins have won four consecutive games since losing two in a row to Arizona and USC. UCLA’s 82-79 win over then-No. 5 Oregon on Thursday was its most significant victory since winning at Kentucky on Dec. 3.
There has been noticeable improvement in the Bruins’ defense during its four-game winning streak, which also includes victories over Washington State, Oregon State and Washington.
Oregon, one of four teams in the AP top 10 to lose a game last week, dropped two spots to No. 7. UCLA also passed Louisville, North Carolina and Wisconsin in the poll.
There are only five games remaining in the regular season for UCLA, beginning with Saturday’s anticipated 7 p.m. rematch with USC at Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans’ 84-76 win at Galen Center on Jan. 25 was USC’s fourth consecutive win over UCLA.
AP men’s basketball Top 25
1. Gonzaga (60)
2. Villanova (5)
3. Kansas
4. Baylor
5. Arizona
6. UCLA
7. Oregon
8. Louisville
9. West Virginia
10. North Carolina
11. Wisconsin
12. Duke
13. Kentucky
14. Virginia
15. Florida
16. Purdue
17. Florida State
18. Cincinnati
19. SMU
20. Creighton
21. South Carolina
22. Saint Mary’s (Cal)
23. Maryland
24. Butler
25. Notre Dame
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