SAN DIEGO (AP) — Steve Lavin was eager to leave college basketball broadcasting and return to coaching, even it means being in the same conference as Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.
Lavin was introduced Friday as coach at San Diego, which has struggled for the better part of the last 15 seasons, and not always because of the tough teams that are perennially at the top of the West Coast Conference.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Duke's season and Mike Krzyzewski's coaching career were on the line in the closing minutes of the Sweet 16, it was a talented freshman who made sure it wouldn't end.
Paolo Banchero delivered the key plays down the stretch of the victory over Texas Tech that sent the Blue Devils into the West Region final against Arkansas.
Fourth-seeded Arkansas used what amounted to a sneak attack to take down No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, not only knocking the Bulldogs out the NCAA Tournament but taking out a whole lot of fans still hoping to win bragging rights and office pools.
Duke keeps winning games in the NCAA Tournament and Mike Krzyzewski keeps telling anyone who will listen, “It’s not the coaching.”
There’s some evidence to suggest he’s right.
For one thing, Duke relies almost entirely on freshmen and sophomores, which means his core group of players have only had so much time to soak up Coach K's decades of gathered wisdom.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For 40 frenzied minutes, JD Notae, Jaylin Williams and Arkansas played a maddening, muscular style on both ends that took Gonzaga out of its game — and right out of the NCAA Tournament far earlier than these Zags expected.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — JD Notae scored 21 points despite missing 20 shots and fourth-seeded Arkansas made Gonzaga miserable on both ends of the floor, bouncing the top overall seed from the NCAA Tournament with a 74-68 win on Thursday night.
Arkansas guard JD Notae has a well-earned reputation as a big-time performer.
He also can be maddeningly inconsistent.
During Southeastern Conference play, the fifth-year senior exploded for 30 points against Kentucky and 28 against Auburn in huge wins over top 10 teams that helped the Razorbacks earn a No.
Top seeds Gonzaga, Kansas and Arizona are in. So is little Saint Peter’s, the giant killer and only the third No. 15 seed to make it this far in the NCAA Tournament.
And Coach K's farewell tour continues as he and his Duke Blue Devils made it to the Sweet 16, too.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Drew Timme gathered his Gonzaga teammates at midcourt, pointed at the scoreboard showing a 10-point halftime deficit for the top overall seed and expressed a few choice words.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — RJ Davis scored a career-high 30 points with a nifty layup while being fouled in overtime, and eighth-seeded North Carolina blew a 25-point second-half lead but still found a way to beat defending champion Baylor 93-86 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — While the second-round matchup between top overall seed Gonzaga and No. 9 seed Memphis is a terrific one of preseason Top 25 teams for college basketball fans to enjoy, there’s another group perhaps even more thrilled.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gonzaga coach Mark Few has seen plenty of No. 16 seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. When he watched video of Georgia State, the longtime Bulldogs' coach didn't see a team that fit that profile.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — While Gonzaga is the king of the mid-majors come tournament time, the Bulldogs are happy to spread some of that attention around.
The top-seeded Zags (26-3) are one of three West Coast Conference teams in the NCAA Tournament, along with Saint Mary's, the only team to beat Gonzaga in conference play this season, and upstart San Francisco.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia State has a couple of stunners on its NCAA resume.
The Panthers will need to pull off their biggest shocker yet to be more than a one-and-done team in this year's men's tournament.
Gonzaga will head into the NCAA Tournament exactly where it ended up in the final AP Top 25: right on top.
In fact, that's where the Bulldogs began the season, too.
Any hoops fan hungering for a return to normal this March might have looked at the bracket when it finally came out and wondered what ever changed.
After the pandemic shut things down in 2020 and severely restricted the number of spectators last year, we finally have a March featuring NCAA Tournament games with no crowd restrictions at sites across the country.
The latest on the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement:
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North Carolina turned to Hubert Davis to replace retired Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams. Now Davis has the the Tar Heels exactly where they ended Williams’ final season.
Touting his team's accomplishments has become a defense mechanism for Gonzaga coach Mark Few.
Hard to blame him with all the complaints that the Zags don't play anyone and are in a weak conference.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chet Holmgren spent most of his night frustrated as he got banged around and shots clanged away. Drew Timme, except for a spurt early in the second half, found little room to pull off his variety of drop steps and up-and-unders.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gonzaga looked unstoppable for nearly 35 minutes, its free-flowing offense creating open shots, the defense smothering San Francisco at every turn.
The final five minutes turned into a grind as the Dons ratcheted up the intensity.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drew Timme scored 27 points, Chet Holmgren added 17, and top-ranked Gonzaga reached the West Coast Conference championship game for the 25th straight year by holding off San Francisco 81-71 Monday night.
Tennessee kept winning against a demanding schedule of top teams in the Southeastern Conference. That has pushed the Volunteers to their highest ranking this season in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Former Saint Mary's star Omar Samhan showed up on campus unannounced this week, stopped in to visit the coaches then waited to address the triumphant men’s basketball team two days after the Gaels' upset of No.
The top six and seven of the top nine teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same day last week, an unprecedented day of chaos that led to some big changes in this week's poll — everywhere but at the top.
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Saint Mary’s finally has its first perfect record at home -- and a memorable win over top-ranked Gonzaga to go with it.
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Kuhse had 14 points and six rebounds and No. 23 Saint Mary’s beat No. 1 Gonzaga 67-57 on Saturday night to prevent the Bulldogs from completing another undefeated run in the West Coast Conference.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chet Holmgren had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 1 Gonzaga picked up its defensive pressure in the second half to hold off San Francisco 89-73 and extend its winning streak to 17 on Thursday night.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Coach Mark Few told his top-ranked Gonzaga team to treat this like a tough trip to face a pair of Big 12 opponents — even if it's actually the final week of West Coast Conference play.
Gonzaga has made two trips to the national championship game, annually beats the nation's top programs in nonconference games and wins more consistently than any other program.
Even with all their success, there's still a corner of college basketball fans who insist the Zags are overrated, a product of Mark Few's system and a weak conference.
Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Associated Press men's basketball poll. The Zags aren't likely to budge the way they're dominating the West Coast Conference.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — It was senior night for top-ranked Gonzaga, and seniors Andrew Nembhard and Rasir Bolton helped deliver a hard-fought 81-69 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday.
Nembhard scored 21 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers that iced it, and Bolton contributed 18 points.
The committee that will select the NCAA Tournament sees little gap between Gonzaga and Auburn as the top team.
For now, the Zags are the pick.
Gonzaga was the top overall seed in initial rankings released Saturday by the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, sitting ahead of Auburn, Arizona and Kansas as the other teams holding No.
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Drew Timme scored 19 points, Chet Holmgren had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Andrew Nembhard added a career-high 14 assists to lead top-ranked Gonzaga to an 86-66 win over Pepperdine on Wednesday night.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Cliff Omoruyi had 15 points, 13 rebounds and a reverse alley-oop dunk in Rutgers’ game-breaking run as the Scarlet Knights beat No. 12 Illinois 70-59 Wednesday night for their fourth straight win over a ranked team.
Gonzaga keeps finding its way back to the top of the The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Drew Peterson had his first double-double of the season with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 21 Southern California to a 67-64 win over No. 12 UCLA on Saturday night.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Second-ranked Gonzaga has been blowing out West Coast Conference opponents by an average of more than 30 points, but that wasn't going to be the case against No. 22 Saint Mary's.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Rasir Bolton scored 20 points, Drew Timme added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 2 Gonzaga beat Pacific 89-51 on Thursday night for its 13th consecutive victory.
Julian Strawther had 15 points and Chet Holmgren scored 14 for Gonzaga (20-2, 9-0 West Coast Conference), which has won 65 consecutive home games — the longest streak in the nation.
Auburn keeps finding ways to win — even sometimes in tougher-than-expected games — to maintain its hold on No. 1 in the The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Chet Holmgren had 20 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and five blocks to lead No. 2 Gonzaga to a 90-57 victory over BYU on Saturday night.
The freshman sensation finished with a season high in rebounds and matched his season best in assists.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Wendell Green Jr. made a tie-breaking layup with four seconds remaining and No. 1 Auburn got past Georgia 74-72 Saturday, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to 19 games.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 2 Gonzaga past San Diego 92-62 on Thursday night for its 11th straight victory.
Drew Timme added 13 points and eight rebounds as six Bulldogs scored in double figures.
Auburn keeps winning, Kentucky is rising and that has the Southeastern Conference putting its imprint atop this week's The Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Andrew Nembhard scored 22 points and No. 2 Gonzaga made 18 3-pointers to beat Portland 104-72 on Saturday for its 10th straight victory.
Drew Timme had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Anton Watson also scored 16 for Gonzaga (17-2, 6-0 West Coast), which won its 64th consecutive home game, longest streak in the nation.