Gonzaga drops in updated USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs were on track to be a top five, potentially top three, team in college basketball last week after beating Alabama and Maryland in the Players Era Festival to set up a matchup with Michigan in the championship game.

However, a listless performance against the Wolverines resulted in a 40-point loss, the worst of coach Few's career, and crushed any hopes of being top five in the polls on Monday.

In fact, the USA TODAY Coaches Poll actually dropped Gonzaga one spot, from No. 10 to No. 11, despite wins over Alabama (now No. 12) and Maryland in Vegas last week.

Gonzaga continues to be viewed more favorably by the computer metrics, although the gap has certainly shrunk after the Michigan debacle. Currently, the Zags sit at No. 5 at KenPom, No. 9 at Torvik, and No. 10 at EvanMiya.

Purdue remains in the top spot of the Coaches Poll, while Michigan climbed from No. 6 to No. 2. Arizona, Duke, and UConn round out the top five, while Louisville, Houston, Michigan State, Iowa State, and BYU make up the top ten.

Gonzaga's matchup against Kentucky on Friday will be a top 20 battle, with the Wildcats staying put at No. 18 overall. Mark Pope's team has a big matchup before they take on the Zags, as they host No. 17 North Carolina on Tuesday at Rupp Arena as part of the ACC-SEC challenge.

Kentucky is the lone ranked team remaining on Gonzaga's schedule after UCLA fell out of the top 25 following a disappointing loss to Cal at the Chase Center in San Francisco last week. The Bruins were one of two teams, alongside NC State, to fall out of the top 25. Those two were replaced by Kansas (No. 21) coming off three wins and a third place finish at the Players Era Festival, and Iowa (No. 25) who won the Acrisure Invitational.

UCLA did receive 33 votes, good for 27th overall, while Saint Mary's (20 votes) remained in the mix as the No. 30th team, one spot ahead of Baylor. Former Zag Michael Ajayi and the Butler Bulldogs received nine votes, while future Pac-12 foe Utah State received four.

Notably the Oregon Ducks, who are now 4-3 on the year after losing all three contests at the Players Era Festival, did not receive a single vote in the Coaches Poll ahead of Gonzaga's matchup with them on Dec. 21 at the Moda Center in Portland.