COVID cancels 1-2 showdown
Coaches Mark Few of Gonzaga and Scott Drew of Baylor scheduled Saturday’s game for all the right seasons.
They wanted their teams to have another early-season test and play in front of a national TV audience. The game on CBS between the nation’s top two college basketball teams figured to draw excellent ratings.
For now, No. 1 vs. No. 2 is off.
Less than 90 minutes before tipoff in Indianapolis, the teams announced the postponement because of two positive COVID-19 tests in the top-ranked Bulldogs program. In a joint statement, the schools said one player and one nonplayer in the Gonzaga travel party tested positive. The unidentified player didn’t play Wednesday against No. 11 West Virginia.
“We’re disappointed to not be able to play one of the most anticipated games of the season, but we are following the advice of public health officials,” the coaches said.
The coaches hope to reschedule the game for later this season.
at No. 7 Kansas 65, North Dakota State 61:
Tyon Grant-Foster drove for the go-ahead basket with just over a minute to go, then swatted away Sam Griesel’s layup with 10 seconds left, helping the Jayhawks escape.
Jalen Wilson had 14 points and Ochai Agbaji added 13, including a free throw in the final seconds that helped the Jayhawks (4-1) finish off a 7-0 run to end the game and avoid their first loss to an unranked team since the 2019 Big 12 tournament.
at No. 10 Houston 77, South Carolina 67:
The Cougars shot only 38% from the field, but they made 31 of 38 free throws to defeat the Gamecocks.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his son, assistant coach Kellen Sampson, missed the game because of COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols. The school said the Sampsons were isolating at their homes and not showing symptoms.
Women
No. 2 Stanford 101, at Nevada Las Vegas 54: Haley Jones had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in the Cardinal’s rout.
The game was a reunion for Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and first-year Lady Rebels coach Lindy La Rocque, who played in four Final Fours with the Cardinal from 2009 to 2012 and was an assistant at her alma mater until taking over at UNLV. VanDerveer, who improved to 51-5 against former assistants, has 1,096 career wins and is three victories shy of passing Pat Summitt (1,098) as the winningest coach in women’s college basketball history.