WVU moves to eighth in AP poll
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Photo courtesy of Dale Sparks
WVU's Derek Culver makes a move to the basket during Sunday's contest against Richmond.
(AP) -- Gonzaga and Baylor headlined an unchanged top tier of The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, even as both have been sidelined by recent coronavirus issues.
The top five teams remained in place in Monday's latest Top 25, with Mark Few's Bulldogs receiving 54 of 62 first-place votes to remain firmly in place at No. 1. The second-ranked Bears had seven first-place votes to remain 1-2 with Gonzaga in each of the season's four polls so far.
Yet the Zags haven't played since beating West Virginia on Dec. 2 due to COVID-19 protocols, with five straight games canceled or postponed, including a matchup with Baylor on Dec. 5. The Bears announced Saturday they would pause team activities as well.
Gonzaga had previously said it would pause competition through Monday and is next scheduled to face No. 3 Iowa in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Saturday. Baylor is scheduled to visit Kansas State that same day.
THE TOP TIER
The Hawkeyes received the remaining first-place vote to finish ahead of No. 4 Michigan State and No. 5 Kansas. Houston, Villanova, West Virginia, Creighton and Tennessee rounded out the top 10, with the Mountaineers rising three spots and the Volunteers climbing two.
RISING
No. 18 San Diego State had the biggest jump, climbing six spots after beating then-No. 23 Arizona State. No. 15 Florida State jumped five spots, while No. 14 Texas Tech matched West Virginia's rise of three spots.
In all, 13 teams moved up from last week's poll