The Washington Huskies, previously No. 21 in the AP Top 25, fell out of the rankings with a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. The poll fell in line with the Coaches’ Poll and featured no Northwest teams in the top 25. However, both Washington and Washington State did receive votes this week, placing each just outside the rankings.
The Huskies picked up 37 votes in the rankings, good for No. 28 in the poll. Texas A&M used its victory over Washington to jump into the rankings at No. 25 this week. The Huskies have taken care of business and dropped the teams they should have in 2010, but struggled against some of the top competition, dropping games in Hawaii against Kentucky and Michigan State.
The Washington State Cougars turned some heads and grabbed five votes in the AP Poll with a win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Wednesday. The Cougars cruised to a 21-point win over rival Gonzaga. The Bulldogs, ranked in the top 15 to start the season, fell all the way out of the rankings, not even receiving a vote after falling to 4-5 on the season with two losses last week.
The Pac-10 looks to be headed for another down year after a disappointing season thus far. The conference is struggling to pick up signature wins while losing to likely tournament teams along the way. Couple that with bad losses and the national impression of the Pac-10 has taken a serious hit over the first month of play.
Gonzaga, on the other hand, has played one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2010, taking the anyone, anytime, anywhere theory of scheduling to a new level. The record reflects the grind of the schedule, but it could come in handy as the Bulldogs head towards the WCC schedule. Can they bounce back from tough losses? We’re about to find out about the mentality of Mark Few’s team.