By Jim Meehan
The Spokesman-Review
Duke and Gonzaga, Gonzaga and Duke. The two teams can’t seem to get away from each other in the polls or when they tangled on the basketball court in November.
For now, it’s Duke and Gonzaga as the Blue Devils took over the top spot in the AP poll followed by the Zags, who won the head-to-head meeting 89-87 in the Maui Invitational championship. This is Duke’s third time at No. 1 this season.
Duke collected 58 first-place votes with Gonzaga snagging the other six from the media panel. The last time the Zags received a first-place vote was 10 weeks ago. The Zags (25-2) trail the Blue Devils by 92 points and lead No. 3 Virginia by 26.
Former No. 1 Tennessee dropped to fifth after losing to Kentucky, which moved from fifth to fourth, despite a setback against visiting LSU earlier in the week. Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Houston and Michigan State rounded out the top 10.
There was a change at the top of the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, too. Duke moved past Gonzaga into the top spot. The Zags are second, followed by Virginia, Houston and Kentucky.
The NET rankings are one of the selection committee’s main tools for seeding and selecting NCAA Tournament teams, but several metrics are included on the team sheets.
Here’s where Gonzaga stands in those other key metrics: Kevin Pauga Index (KPI), No. 9; Ken Pomeroy, No. 3; Jeff Sagarin ratings, No. 2; ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), No. 1; ESPN Strength of Record (SOR), No. 5.
The Zags obviously have strong analytics numbers and most project them as a top seed right now. They’re obviously not a lock and several potential challengers, including Kentucky and Michigan, could make a run at a No. 1 seed with strong finishes.
CBSsports.com bracket guru Jerry Palm has Gonzaga as the fourth No. 1 seed, behind Duke, Tennessee and Virginia. Palm’s two seeds are Michigan State, Michigan, Kentucky and North Carolina.
“What distinguishes (Kentucky) from these No. 1 seeds, a loss at Alabama and a loss at Seton Hall,” Palm said. “Those four (No. 1 seeds) above them not only don’t have four losses, they don’t have two losses like that.
“Kentucky isn’t quite there yet, but they can still jump even Gonzaga if Gonzaga doesn’t lose before the end of the season, just not now.”
The USA Today poll followed the AP rankings with a top five of Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Duke collected 28 first-place votes and Gonzaga four.
