Arizona falls out of AP Top 25 after three losses in Bahamas

The Wildcats were the first No. 2-ranked team to fall out of the Top 25 since 1986-87

After dropping all three games they played in Battle 4 Atlantis, the Arizona Wildcats have fallen out of the AP Top 25, it was unveiled Monday when the latest poll was released.

This is Arizona’s first time being unranked since the 2011-12 season, and the first time since 2009-10 that it has endured a three-game losing streak.

The UA had been ranked in the AP Poll 100 straight weeks, the second-longest streak in college basketball only behind Kansas.

The Wildcats became the first No. 2-ranked team since 1986-87 Louisville to lose three straight games and subsequently fall out of the Top 25.

The full AP Poll can be found here. Arizona received 34 votes, placing it as the No. 30 team in the country.

Is it right that Arizona dropped from No. 2 to unranked? Yes. Arizona has three losses and zero quality wins. It’s that simple.

Does it matter that Arizona is unranked? No. There’s a lot of time left to turn the season around.

That said, Arizona’s schedule isn’t letting up in the coming weeks. The Wildcats face No. 9 Texas A&M in Phoenix on Dec. 5, and then host No. 24 Alabama on Dec. 9. They also have a road game this Saturday against UNLV which is 6-0 and beat Utah by 27 points.

So Arizona will need to improve substantially if it wants to avoid picking up another loss or two in the near future.

The Wildcats (3-3) return to the court Wednesday when they host Long Beach State at 6 p.m. MST.

Arizona is ranked as the No. 17 team in college basketball by KenPom, with the No. 7 offense in the country and No. 44 defense.

The only Top 25 teams in the Pac-12 are No. 20 ASU and No. 14 USC. UCLA fell out of the polls after losing to Creighton last Monday.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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