Gonzaga begins season at No. 1

Just about the only thing Gonzaga has left to accomplish under Mark Few is win a national championship.

The ‘ Zags scratched another first off the list Nov. 9: They will open the season at No. 1.

Despite losing West Coast Conference player of the year Filip Petrusev, the Bulldogs received 28 first-place votes and 1,541 points from a 64-member national media panel. That was just enough to edge Baylor (24 first-place vote) by a single point for the top spot in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 heading toward the delayed Nov. 25 start of the season.

“It’s a great honor to be selected No. 1,” Few said. “We understand that it is more a reflection of what our program has accomplished over the years and hope to play up to that standard as we start our season.”

Villanova received 11 firstplace votes and was third, followed by Virginia with the remaining first-place vote. Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history.

Then came a wave of

bluebloods with Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Duke and Kentucky completing the top 10.

The Bulldogs spent four weeks at No. 1 last season before finishing second to the Jayhawks in the final poll, which was taken when the NCAA Tournament was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Petrusev’s choice to play professionally in Serbia and then enter the draft was a blow, but the Bulldogs still have the pieces to win it all. Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi provide scoring punch and the arrival of potential one-and-done guard Jalen Suggs should steady their backcourt.

The ‘ Zags certainly scheduled like title contenders. They open Nov. 26 against Kansas at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, where they also will play Auburn, and face Baylor in Indianapolis and Iowa in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Bears, who also have their highest preseason ranking, spent five weeks at No. 1 last season and only lost one starter in big man Freddie Gillespie. But coach Scott Drew could have the nation’s best backcourt in Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague, the best defender in Mark Vital and depth behind top100 recruit L.J. Cryer and transfer Adam Flagler.

JOHN LOCHER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary’s in the final of the West Coast Conference men’s tournament in Las Vegas on March 10.