A 122-50 pummeling victory over Southern Utah this past week only pushed Gonzaga up one spot to No. 12 in the latest edition of the Associated Press poll. The Zags received a total of 863 points from the voters.
Out of the West Coast Conference, Saint Mary’s received 27 votes. Santa Clara made their first appearance in the poll this season with three votes.
Gonzaga’s average margin of victory is currently at 36.2 points in 2025-26 (ranked the second-highest in the country), blowing out their competition at most times, but that doesn’t look to be the case against coach Nate Oats and his SEC powerhouse at 6:30 p.m. PT on TNT at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. They received 1,070 points in the AP poll.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga is the favorite on Monday night’s Players Era Festival opening matchup against No. 8 Alabama by 4.5 points. Moneyline for the Zags is -192 and -155 for the Crimson Tide. The over/under is set at 178.5.
The AP poll will be used as the Players Era’s sixth tiebreaker to determine who plays in Wednesday, Nov. 26’s championship game. Three teams are ranked ahead of the Zags, including Houston and Michigan.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
