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NCAA Basketball: Texas rises, Gonzaga claims No. 1 spot in latest AP poll

By Holden Walter-Warner

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs holds up the tournament MVP trophy after the 2018 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs holds up the tournament MVP trophy after the 2018 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

An upset of the nation’s previously top-ranked team opened up an opportunity for a new team to swoop to the head of the NCAA Basketball AP poll.

For the second time since the dawn of the season, there’s been a changing of the guard atop the AP Top 25.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs closed their trip to Hawaii by topping the Duke Blue Devils in the Maui Invitational title game, handing the Durham school their first ever loss in the tournament.

It was enough to propel Gonzaga both past Duke and the Kansas Jayhawks and into the top spot in the AP poll.

With their rise to the top, Gonzaga becomes the third team to be named No. 1 in the brief time since the season started; Kansas began the season on top, while Duke usurped the Jayhawks after an impressive opening week.

The change at No. 1 is the most significant difference from last week’s poll, but it’s far from the only one.

Four new teams entered the poll from the previous edition: the Texas Longhorns (17), Texas Tech Red Raiders (20), Villanova Wildcats (23), and Maryland Terrapins (24).

Meanwhile, the Clemson Tigers (Last Week: 16), UCLA Bruins (LW: 17), TCU Horned Frogs (LW: 18), and LSU Tigers (LW: 19) all departed from the rankings, with TCU garnered just eight votes in this week’s poll.

Gonzaga, Nevada, and Buffalo are the only mid-majors to appear in this week’s poll, with the Furman Paladins serving as the only other mid-major to garner more than three votes – they earned 72 votes, good for third among the other teams receiving votes.

Here are three thoughts on the Week 4 AP poll.

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