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It was almost inevitable.
With Gonzaga falling in the final seconds to No. 7 Tennessee on Sunday, the door was open for Nevada to claim the top spot in The Other Top 25 with a win over Grand Canyon. It wasn’t easy, but the Wolf Pack overcame another slow start to do just that.
That’s why eight voters awarded Nevada their No. 1 spot and that was enough to overcome Gonzaga — although everybody to vote in the poll ranked those two teams in their top two.
Buffalo, fresh off a convincing road win at St. Bonaventure, stayed at No. 3 with a streaking Davidson not far behind.
Further down, a whopping five new teams joined The Other Top 25 this week, including two from the West Coast Conference in San Diego and BYU. With Gonzaga, San Francisco and Loyola Marmount already in the mix, that gives the WCC five teams, or 50 percent of its membership, in The Other Top 25. And Saint Mary’s is still receiving votes.
VCU, New Mexico State, and Southern Illinois are the other newcomers. The Rams nearly knocked off Virginia on the road on Sunday, proving that the magic is back in Richmond. The Aggies clobbered New Mexico before almost beating Kansas at the Sprint Center, and the Salukis beat Saint Louis this week.
The complete poll can be found below:
The Other Top 25: Week 9
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | LAST WEEK | POINTS |
| 1 | Gonzaga (12) | 14-2 | 2 | 324 |
| 2 | Nevada | 14-1 | 1 | 309 |
| 3 | Buffalo (1) | 13-1 | 3 | 303 |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 10-4 | 5 | 266 |
| 5 | San Francsico | 14-2 | 6 | 249 |
| 6 | UNC Greensboro | 14-2 | 8 | 230 |
| 7 | Davidson | 10-4 | 10 | 221 |
| 8 | Belmont | 10-3 | 4 | 216 |
| 9 | Lipscomb | 10-4 | 11 | 191 |
| 10 | Wofford | 12-4 | 16 | 181 |
| 11 | Murray State | 11-2 | 18 | 169 |
| 12 | North Texas | 15-1 | 17 | 160 |
| 13 | Furman | 14-2 | 14 | 136 |
| 14 | South Dakota State | 12-6 | 11 | 133 |
| 15 | Charleston | 13-3 | 9 | 128 |
| 15 | Toledo | 12-2 | 7 | 128 |
| 17 | VCU | 10-4 | 21 | 113 |
| 18 | Utah State | 11-4 | 15 | 99 |
| 19 | Old Dominion | 11-4 | 13 | 96 |
| 20 | Liberty | 12-4 | NR | 71 |
| 21 | Hofstra | 13-3 | NR | 70 |
| 22 | Fresno State | 11-3 | NR | 60 |
| 23 | Ball State | 10-4 | NR | 54 |
| 24 | UC Irvine | 12-4 | 24 | 47 |
| 25 | Loyola Marymount | 13-3 | 19 | 42 |
Also receiving votes: Georgia State (42), Fresno State (22), Liberty (22), Radford (21), Old Dominion (20), Murray State (19). Penn (13), Marshall (12), Texas Southern (10), Montana (8), Yale (8), Vermont (8), The Citadel (5), Illinois State (4), Kent State (4), Georgia Southern (4), Saint Mary’s (3), Stony Brook (1).