Arizona rose two spots to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday.
The Wildcats played only one game, beating Washington 95-79 at McKale Center, but top 10 teams Duke, Purdue and Kansas all suffered losses that dropped them.
The move to No. 6 puts the Wildcats back in the same spot they were ranked before their Dec. 22 loss at Tennessee. Arizona's rise in the polls this season is the highest since the second week of 2017-18, when the Wildcats were ranked second before going 0-3 at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
In the new poll, UCLA moved up to No. 3 and USC is No. 5. Arizona was scheduled to play both Los Angeles teams over New Year's weekend but those games were postponed because of COVID issues with the Bruins and Trojans and have not been rescheduled.
FWIW, here was the ballot I submitted to the AP. I dropped only Purdue below the Wildcats and put Auburn ahead of them.
In the computer rankings, Arizona is No. 2 in the NET, No. 4 in Sagarin, and No. 8 in Kenpom.
The latest bracket projections from both CBS and ESPN haveΒ Arizona a No. 2 seed in the West.
UCLA's Tyger Campbell was named the Pac-12's Player of the Week, while Colorado's Julian Hammond III was named Freshman of the Week. Campbell averaged 14.0 points and 7.0 assists between UCLA's wins over Long Beach State and Cal.
UA had nominated Bennedict Mathurin, who had 27 points against Washington.
Kerr Kriisa is hoping to see more fans at McKale Center on Thursday.
I actually signed up for full house of McKale that I haven't seen yet! Lets get this thursday McKale rocking! BTFD!
— Kerr (@KerrKriisa) January 10, 2022
