The Bruins got jumped by Kansas, but held onto a top-four spot with two weeks left in the regular season.
While they were unable to move up for a fourth-straight week, a sixth-straight win helped the Bruins hold onto their spot near the top of the rankings.
UCLA men’s basketball (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12) stayed put at No. 4 in the latest edition of the AP Poll on Monday. The Bruins earned 1,363 points – up from 1,302 points from a week ago – and remained inside the top 10 for the eighth-straight week.
Remaining where they were last week, UCLA tied its best showing in the AP Poll since Jan. 31, 2022.
Only seven of the 62 voters had the Bruins ranked outside the top five. 10 voters had UCLA at No. 2, while one voter had them outside the top 10 at No. 12.
Coming off a road sweep against the Oregon schools, the Bruins returned to their home court for another pair of conference victories. UCLA opened things up with a relatively close 73-64 win over Stanford on Thursday, they roared back with a 78-43 blowout over Cal on Saturday.
UCLA currently ranks No. 4 in the NET, No. 3 in the KenPom, No. 3 in the T-Rank and No. 4 in the BPI.
There was plenty of reshuffling at the top of the polls, with Houston stealing No. 1 back from Alabama, bumping the Crimson Tide down a spot in the process. Kansas jumped up to No. 3 after a big win over Baylor, while Purdue dropped to No. 5 for its lowest showing since Nov. 5.
Arizona climbed from No. 8 to No. 7 after defending their home court from the mountain schools, but the Wildcats still trail the Bruins by 2.5 games for first place in the conference.
Again, Arizona and UCLA were the only Pac-12 teams to make the top 25. 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. Houston (25-2), 1534 points (3848first-place votes)
2. Alabama (23-4), 1448 (7)
3. Kansas (22-5), 1409 (7)
4. UCLA (23-4), 1363
5. Purdue (24-4), 1294
6. Virginia (21-4), 1228
7. Arizona (24-4), 1213
8. Texas (21-6), 1083
9. Baylor (20-7), 1013
10. Marquette (21-6), 968
11. Tennessee (20-7), 887
12. Gonzaga (23-5), 856
13. Miami (FL) (22-5), 833
14. Kansas State (20-7), 666
15. Saint Mary’s (24-5), 650
16. Xavier (20-7), 563
17. Indiana (19-8), 539
18. UConn (20-7), 440
19. Creighton (18-9), 361
20. Providence (20-7), 350
21. Northwestern (20-7), 349
22. San Diego State (21-5), 336
23. Iowa State (17-9), 309
24. TCU (18-9), 162
25. Texas A&M (20-7), 125
Others Receiving Votes: North Carolina State 54, Pittsburgh 34, Maryland 14, Oral Roberts 14, Kentucky 12, Boise State 12, Arkansas 6, Florida Atlantic 6, Charleston 4, Missouri 3, Duke 3, Illinois 2, Kent State 2, Nevada 1, Oklahoma State 1
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