Undefeated Gonzaga new No. 1 team
Lady Vols pull off upset at 4th-ranked South Carolina
Being the top-ranked team in the country was new to Gonzaga in 2013. The Zags were considered one of the best teams in the West and had a long string of NCAA Tournament appearances, but going to No. 1 carried with it a new level of expectations. They know what to expect this time. The lone remaining unbeaten team in Division I, Gonzaga moved to No. 1 in The Associated Press college basketball poll for the second time in school history.
“We’ve done it before,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “You have to understand the only poll we want to be No.1 at is the one at the end of the year. These things just kind of track who’s winning and who’s losing. I will say as we get deeper into the season, the polls get more accurate because everybody begins to get a feel for everyone’s schedule.”
The Zags (22-0) jumped up from third when Villanova and Kansas both were beaten in a week when seven of the top 10 lost. Gonzaga won both of its games last week, blowing out Portland and Pepperdine.
Gonzaga received 46 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday. The Zags were No. 1 for the last three weeks of the 2012-13 season.
Gonzaga is the fifth team to reach No. 1 this season joining Duke, Kentucky, Villanova and Baylor.
“We can control our games. We can control our effort,” Gonzaga center Przekek Karnowski said. “There are people to take care of the polls and the seedings. It’s not our job to do that. We just have to come out every time we have a game ready to go. So far every obstacle we’ve had in our way this season, we met it. Now we have to keep going.”
Baylor (20-1), one of the three top 10 teams to not lose, jumped from fifth to second. The Bears had six first-place votes and were one point ahead of Kansas (19-2), which dropped one place after losing at West Virginia before winning at Kentucky. The Jayhawks had nine first-place votes.
Villanova, which had been No. 1 for the last two weeks and six overall, dropped to fourth after losing at Marquette. The Wildcats (20-2), who also had a last-second win over Virginia, were No. 1 on four ballots.
Arizona, the other top 10 team to get through the week without a loss, moved from seventh to fifth and was followed by Louisville, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Wisconsin.
XAVIER: Point guard Edmond Sumner has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. The sophomore guard had 17 points and seven assists during the Musketeers’ 82-77 victory over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening.
KANSAS: Forward Carlton Bragg has been charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and remained suspended indefinitely Monday from the third-ranked Jayhawks.
Top 25 men
(21) DUKE 84, (20) NOTRE DAME 74: In South Bend, Ind., Jayson Tatum had 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Grayson Allen scored 21 points and the Blue Devils (17-5, 5-4 ACC) beat the Fighting Irish (17-6, 6-4).
This was also the Blue Devils’ second win since being banned from their locker room by coach Mike Krzyzewski last week. Jeff Capel is 3-3 as interim coach for Krzyzewski, who is still recovering following back surgery.
Top 25 women
TENNESSEE 76, (4) SOUTH CAROLINA 74: In Columbia, S.C., Jamie Nared had a career high 27 points including two tie-breaking free throws with 5.9 seconds left to help the Lady Vols (14-7, 5-3 SEC) end the Gamecocks’ 29-game league home win streak.
Nared was fouled after South Carolina (182, 8-1) rallied from 11 points down in the final six minutes to tie the game at 74 on Bianca Cuevas-Moore’s 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left.