Gonzaga No. 1 in final regular-season poll

MCLEAN, Va., March 11 (UPI) —

Gonzaga retains the No. 1 ranking in the final regular-season USA Today coaches’ basketball poll, updated Monday.

Gonzaga (30-2) pulls in 29 first-place votes, as it did last week when it took over the poll’s top spot for the first time.

The Bulldogs were preparing to play No. 21 St. Mary’s (Calif.) in Monday’s final of the West Coast Conference tournament.

Duke (27-4), which gets the other two first-place votes, jumps three places to No. 2 while Indiana (26-5) drops from second to third and Louisville is up to fourth from No. 6 a week ago. Georgetown (24-5) keeps the No. 5 ranking.

Kansas (26-5) won a share of a ninth consecutive Big 12 regular-season title despite a loss to Baylor that dropped the Jayhawks three places to sixth. Michigan State (24-7) posts the week’s biggest gain — five places — and is voted seventh, ahead of Big Ten rivals No. 8 Michigan (25-6) and ninth-ranked Ohio State (23-7). Miami (Fla.) (24-6) slips three places to No. 10.

Florida (24-6) is 11th and Kansas State (25-6) 12th after both fall two places this week. Marquette (23-7) is up from 17th to No. 13 followed by No. 14 New Mexico (26-5) and 15th-ranked Oklahoma State (23-7).

St. Louis (24-6) takes the 16th spot with Memphis (27-4) in 17th and Arizona (24-6) at No. 18 while Pittsburgh (24-7) comes in 19th and Syracuse (23-8) is 20th after a four-rung fall.

St. Mary’s (27-5) is 21st and Virginia Commonwealth (24-7) is No. 22 ahead of Wisconsin (21-10). Creighton (27-7) in 24th and 25th-ranked UCLA (23-8) return to the Top 25.

Notre Dame and Oregon fall from the rankings this week.