College basketball picks: Can anyone slow down Michigan?
ESPN.com's college basketball experts make predictions for Michigan-Minnesota, Baylor-Texas Tech and other top games of the weekend.
ESPN.com's college basketball experts make predictions for Michigan-Minnesota, Baylor-Texas Tech and other top games of the weekend.
— Corey Kispert had 23 points and eight rebounds as top-ranked and undefeated Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 95-70 on Thursday for its 17th consecutive victory over the last two seasons.
Four Gonzaga starters make the updated rankings, but Iowa's Luka Garza still leads the way.
Gonzaga and Baylor remain atop The Associated Press men's basketball poll for the seventh consecutive week in the regular season, while UConn returns to the rankings for the first time since 2016-17, at No. 25.
Juwan Howard and the Wolverines are carrying the banner for the rugged Big Ten, while USC and UCLA had big weeks out west.
— Joel Ayayi posted the first triple-double in Gonzaga history and the top-ranked Bulldogs routed Portland 116-88 Saturday for their 16th straight win.
— Corey Kispert scored 23 points as top-ranked Gonzaga beat rival BYU 86-69 on Thursday in a hastily scheduled game after both teams lost their original opponents to COVID-19 issues.
Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs, Louisville's Carlik Jones and West Virginia's Derek Culver were added to the midseason watch list for the 2021 Wooden Award, which was also reduced from 50 players to 25.
From Baylor to Winthrop, there are more undefeated teams than usual for this time of year. They'll probably all lose at some point. But when?
Gonzaga will face BYU on Thursday after the Bulldogs' game against Santa Clara was postponed.
In a college basketball season like no other, these are the teams, players and coaches causing eyebrows to raise throughout the sport.
Texas enters the top five for the first time since 2011, but Gonzaga maintains a tight hold on the No. 1 spot in the AP poll.
The NCAA released its first NET rankings on Monday, with Gonzaga sitting at No. 1 and typical powerhouses Duke and Kentucky ranked outside the top 100.
— Corey Kispert scored 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting as top-ranked Gonzaga opened its West Coast Conference schedule by beating San Francisco 85-62 on Saturday.
Seth Greenberg and Dan Dakich tip off the podcast discussing why they have no problem with the NCAA’s “Mask Madness,” the strength of the Big Ten, Iowa losing big games, their worry for Michigan State, Baylor and Gonzaga versus the field, and blue blood not flowing through the sport this year.
Gonzaga has had some formidable teams in Mark Few's 22 seasons in Spokane. We asked some former Zags whether this No. 1 Bulldogs group is his best.
— Joel Ayayi had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Drew Timme added 14 points and top-ranked Gonzaga beat Northern Arizona 88-58 on Monday night.
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Gonzaga | 4-0 | - | 13-0 |
Pacific | 1-0 | 1.5 | 4-1 |
Loyola Marymount | 1-0 | 1.5 | 6-3 |
San Francisco | 3-2 | 1.5 | 9-6 |
BYU | 1-1 | 2 | 10-3 |
Santa Clara | 1-1 | 2 | 7-3 |
Pepperdine | 0-1 | 2.5 | 4-6 |
San Diego | 0-1 | 2.5 | 1-4 |
Saint Mary's | 0-2 | 3 | 9-4 |
Portland | 0-3 | 3.5 | 6-6 |
AP | COACHES |
---|---|
1 | 1 |
NAME | POS | STATUS | GRADE |
---|---|---|---|
Ben Gregg | PF | Signed | 85 |
Kaden Perry | PF | Signed | 84 |
Final Fours | 1 |
Tournament Record | 34-22 |
Championship Seasons | None |
Tournament Appearances | 22 |