The Bruins continued their climb through the rankings after beating Oregon State and Oregon, jumping Arizona in the process.
With less than a month to go in the regular season, the Bruins have reached a new peak.
UCLA men’s basketball (21-4, 12-2 Pac-12) climbed from No. 7 to No. 4 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins earned 1,302 points – up from 1,159 points from a week ago – and remained inside the top 10 for the seventh-straight week.
This marks the highest UCLA has been ranked all season, and it is their best showing in the AP Poll since Jan. 31, 2022.
Coming off a home sweep over the Washington schools, the Bruins went up to the Beaver State for another pair of victories. UCLA dismantled Oregon State in a 62-47 win on Thursday, then used a big second half push to best Oregon by a score of 70-63 on Saturday.
UCLA currently ranks No. 5 in the NET, No. 3 in the KenPom, No. 4 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI.
Purdue dropped out of the No. 1 spot following their second loss in three games, handing it over to Alabama. Houston stayed put at No. 2, while Kansas rounded out the top five after beating Texas and bumping the Longhorns down a spot.
Arizona dropped from No. 4 to No. 8 thanks to their loss against Stanford on Saturday, ending their reign as the top-ranked team in the conference.
Again, Arizona and UCLA were the only Pac-12 teams to make the top 25. USC picked up two points in the receiving votes section on Feb. 6, but they dropped back out completely after losing to Oregon on Thursday.
As a result, the Bruins are unlikely to face another ranked opponent until the Wildcats come to Pauley Pavilion for the regular season finale on March 4.
The full AP Poll is listed below:
1. Alabama (22-3), 1523 points (38 first-place votes)
2. Houston (23-2), 1503 (22)
3. Purdue (23-3), 1408 (2)
4. UCLA (21-4), 1302
5. Kansas (20-5), 1283
6. Texas (20-5), 1214
7. Virginia (19-4), 1212
8. Arizona (22-4), 1139
9. Baylor (19-6), 1072
10. Tennessee (19-6), 896
11. Marquette (20-6), 815
12. Kansas State (19-6), 790
13. Gonzaga (21-5), 761
14. Indiana (18-7), 717
15. Miami (FL) (20-5), 693
16. Xavier (19-6), 642
17. Saint Mary’s (22-5), 567
18. Creighton (17-8), 517
19. Iowa State (16-8), 396
20. UConn (19-7), 358
21. San Diego State (20-5), 271
22. TCU (17-8), 204
23. North Carolina State (20-6), 140
24. Providence (18-7), 136
25. Florida Atlantic (24-2), 117
Others Receiving Votes: Missouri 114, Northwestern 96, Illinois 84, Pittsburgh 82, Nevada 36, Oklahoma State 23, Texas A&M 16, Oral Roberts 9, Iowa 5, Arkansas 4, Rutgers 2, Charleston 1, Maryland 1, Boise State 1
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