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In the return matchup of a stellar non-conference matchup from last season, the Iona Gaels dominated Saint Louis by 22 points as the Maroon & Gold reemerge into the Other Top 25. They came in tied for 15th with Drake.
Iona used a 11-2 spurt in the first half to take control of the game against the Billikens. They shut the door with a 12-4 run late in the second half.
The Gaels, who rank 50th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, limited SLU to 30.9% shooting and 26.3% from 3-point land.
Since the calendar turned to December, Iona is 4-0 and have given up 62 or fewer points in all four contests. The Gaels have won by an average of 22.3 points per game in that stretch. Showdowns with Princeton and an undefeated New Mexico team are on the horizon this week.
Iona isn’t the only New York City area team to make its way into the top 25 as Fordham came in tied for 17 with Nevada. At 11-1, the Rams are off to their best start since the 1970-71 season. They have won 10 straight games, a feat the program has not accomplished in 31 years.
Fordham remained unbeaten at home Sunday with a 90-77 win over Central Connecticut State. The Rams shot a 56.6% from the floor for the game as well as a blistering 12-for-24 from 3-point land.
Khalid Moore netted a career-high 25 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Darius Quisenberry tallied 18 points, which came on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Rams’ lone loss of the season came at Arkansas in the second game of the season.
The Alabama Crimson Tide just knocked off the top team in the country, Houston, who remained No. 1 in the Other Top 25.
The Cougars led by as much as 15 points but ultimately fell 71-65 in a matchup of two teams in the AP Top 25. The Crimson Tide shot 50% over the final 20 minutes.
‘’That’s the No. 8 team in the nation,’’ Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. ‘’No shame losing to a really, really good Alabama team. Disappointing obviously. We haven’t lost a lot in this building.’’
Houston remains second in KenPom and will visit Virginia next weekend.
The other four teams to jump into the top 25 are Davidson, UMass Lowell, Marshall and UMass.
The Wildcats, who own victories over South Carolina and San Francisco, defeated Western Carolina this week to bounce back from consecutive losses.
UMass Lowell won three games this week, which included a five-point win over in-state rival UMass. The River Hawks are 11-1 and have won nine straight games.
Marshall has also won nine in a row with victories over Duquesne and Robert Morris this week. The Herd sits at 9-1 on the season.
UMass sits at 8-2 on the season after a 71-56 win over Hofstra Sunday. The Minutemen used an 11-0 run in the first half and a 22-2 second-half sprint to claim the victory.
The Other Top 25: Dec. 12, 2022
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | Record | Previous |
| 1 | Houston (3) | 75 | 9-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Gonzaga | 72 | 7-3 | 2 |
| T-3 | Memphis | 66 | 8-2 | T-5 |
| T-3 | Saint Mary's | 66 | 8-3 | 4 |
| 5 | San Diego State | 61 | 7-3 | 3 |
| T-6 | New Mexico | 59 | 9-0 | 8 |
| T-6 | UNLV | 59 | 10-0 | T-5 |
| 8 | Charleston | 51 | 10-1 | 7 |
| 9 | Utah State | 49 | 8-0 | T-11 |
| 10 | UAB | 40 | 7-2 | 9 |
| 11 | North Texas | 35 | 8-2 | 16 |
| 12 | Boise State | 34 | 8-2 | 14 |
| 13 | Florida Atlantic | 32 | 8-1 | T-23 |
| 14 | Toledo | 26 | 7-3 | 15 |
| T-15 | Iona | 25 | 6-2 | NR |
| T-15 | Drake | 25 | 8-2 | 10 |
| T-17 | Nevada | 16 | 8-3 | 19 |
| T-17 | Fordham | 16 | 11-1 | NR |
| 19 | Davidson | 15 | 7-3 | NR |
| 20 | Kent State | 14 | 7-3 | 25 |
| 21 | Saint Louis | 13 | 7-4 | T-11 |
| T-22 | UMass Lowell | 12 | 11-1 | NR |
| T-22 | Marshall | 12 | 9-1 | NR |
| T-24 | UMass | 11 | 8-2 | NR |
| T-24 | Portland | 11 | 5-5 | T-20 |
Others Receiving Votes:
Furman 9; Richmond 9; Towson 8; UC Santa Barbara 7; James Madison 7; Bryant 6; Southern Miss 6; Siena 5; New Mexico State 4; Santa Clara 4; Yale 3; BYU 3; Western Kentucky 3; UC Irvine 2; USF 2; Dayton 1; UNC Wilmington 1
Dropped from Ranking:
Towson; San Francisco; Santa Clara; Indiana State; Furman; Dayton
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