Gonzaga’s undefeated season comes to an end
Zags, upset at home by BYU, could lose No. 1 seed in March.
Top-ranked Gonzaga had an undefeated regular season in its sights, facing a 20-point underdog in the final game at The Kennel.
Instead of racing toward history, the Zags fell flat, losing 79-71 to unranked Brigham Young on Saturday night. The undefeated season is history. So is Gonzaga’s No. 1 ranking, possibly its No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, too.
Now the Zags face the same question every other previously undefeated team gets asked after its first loss: Will this help them in the long run?
“To be 29-1 and be where we’re at?” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We’d have taken that if offered every time.”
Gonzaga (29-1, 17-1) still won its fifth straight WCC title and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament this week in Las Vegas.
But the Zags will undoubtedly drop from the No. 1 spot in today’s AP Top 25 and may get bypassed as the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, where they were in the selection committee’s preliminary rankings.
■ (At) No. 7 Louisville
88, Syracuse 68: Donovan Mitchell made six 3-pointers for 25 points, and Ray Spalding added 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Cardinals (23-6, 11-5 ACC) defeated the Orange (17-13, 9-8). Louisville, which shot 57 percent, rode a 14-4 run entering the break for a 15-point lead that grew to 23 early in the second half. Syracuse got no closer than 11 points. Deng Adel had 17 points and Quentin Snider scored 12 for Louisville. Tyus Battle had 20 points and Tyler Lydon scored 17 for Syracuse.
■ (At) UCF 53, No. 15 Cincinnati 49: B.J. Taylor scored 27 points and 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall had seven points and four blocks as the Knights (19-10, 10-7 American Athletic Conference) upset the Bearcats (25-4, 14-2). After Cincinnati pulled within two points when UCF missed two free throws in the waning seconds, Fall came through by making two free throws with two seconds remaining to hold off the Bearcats. It was the first time in nine meetings that the Knights defeated Cincinnati. The Knights won their fourth straight game and recorded their first win over a Top 25 opponent since defeating No. 4 UConn in 2011.
■ (At) Michigan State 84,
No. 16 Wisconsin 74: Nick Ward had 22 points and nine rebounds, Miles Bridges had 17 points and Matt McQuaid scored a season-high 15 as the Spartans (18-11, 10-6 Big Ten) upset the Badgers (22-7, 11-5). Michigan State has won six of its last eight games, moving the Spartans into a third-place tie in the conference and perhaps sealing their spot in a 20th straight NCAA Tournament. Nigel Hayes had 22 points, Bronson Koenig scored 17 and Zak Showalter 15 for Wisconsin, which has lost four of five.
■ (At) No. 21 Notre Dame 64, Georgia Tech
60: Bonzie Colson had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Matt Farrell scored 17 to lead the Fighting Irish (22-7, 11-5 ACC) past the Yellow Jackets (16-13, 7-9). Tadric Jackson had 20 points for Tech. Josh Okogie added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Heath and Ben Lammers each scored 12 points.
■ No. 22 Butler 88, (at)
Xavier 79: Kelan Martin had scored 25 points to lead the Bulldogs (23-6, 12-5 Big East) past the Musketeers (18-11, 8-8). Butler outscored Xavier 19-8 down the stretch for its fourth straight win. Xavier has lost five in a row, its deepest slump in 35 years. The Musketeers dropped six straight in 1981-82 under coach Bob Staak. Neither team led by more than six before Butler’s closing spurt.