ANDREW NEMBHARD

9 seed Memphis 82-78 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Trailing at the half for only the fourth time this season, Gonzaga leaned on its star junior to carry the Zags into its seventh straight Sweet 16. Williams scored 14 points for Memphis but sat a big chunk of the second half with foul trouble. The matchup between future NBA lottery picks Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga and Jalen Duren of Memphis never fully materialized because of foul trouble. Duren finished with seven points and seven rebounds but played just 19 minutes and sat for more than 10 minutes of the second half after picking up his fourth foul.

Drew Timme scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, and top overall seed Gonzaga rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat No. 9 seed Memphis 82-78 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Rasir Bolton added 18 and top-ranked Gonzaga outlasted No. 17 Saint Mary’s 82-69 to win its eighth West Coast Conference tournament title in nine years.

PJ Pipes scored 27 points and Jalen Williams 15 for Santa Clara (18-10, 8-5), which ranks third in the WCC. “He hit a lot of tough shots.”The 12-point margin of victory was the lowest of the season in a WCC game for Gonzaga. But the Zags erupted for a 20-4 run and Santa Clara missed 10 of 11 field-goal attempts. Santa Clara got within single digits several times early in the second half, but the Bulldogs led 59-46 with 12 minutes left. “We battled all the way through until the end,” Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek said.

Drew Timme had 23 points and nine rebounds, Andrew Nembhard added 21 points, and top-ranked Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 81-69 to win its 10th straight West Coast Conference regular-season title.

Drew Timme scored 23 points, Chet Holmgren added 22 and top-ranked Gonzaga beat San Francisco 78-62 in a makeup game after their Jan. 6 contest was postponed by COVID-19 issues.

Drew Timme scored 30 points on 13-of-14 shooting and No. 2 Gonzaga beat rival BYU 110-84 to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 61 games.

Andrew Nembhard scored 24 points, freshman Chet Holmgren showed off his unique skill set and top-ranked Gonzaga overwhelmed No. 2 UCLA 83-63 to win the Empire Classic.

Julian Strawther had 17 points and 10 rebounds as top-ranked Gonzaga beat Dixie State 97-63 in their season opener without coach Mark Few on the sideline.

At one point during Gonzaga's yearlong run at No. 1 last season, coach Mark Few felt so comfortable with the leadership he had on the floor, he could have left a rack of basketballs on the court, walked away and the Bulldogs could have run practice themselves. The talent is certainly there, it’s just a matter of how quickly Gonzaga can fit the pieces together.

The Zags were the runaway top choice in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball preseason poll released Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. The Zags were the runaway top choice in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball preseason poll released Monday. They are starting with their first top-10 preseason ranking since 2009 and their first top-10 ranking in any AP poll since spending 13 weeks there during the 2016-17 season. THE CHAMPSBaylor has a second straight top-10 preseason ranking despite losing four starters from last year’s title winner, including AP All-Americans Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http;//www.twitter.com/aaronbeardapCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

Baylor knew it would need to play to near-perfection to end Gonzaga’s flawless season.

The fresh-as-can-be Baylor Bears obliterated wobbly-legged Gonzaga’s march to perfection in an 86-70 runaway in the national title game.

Baylor is the national champion in college basketball.

UCLA challenged top-seeded Gonzaga for 45 minutes and came up just short.

Gonzaga has given fans the NCAA championship game they wanted with a shot for the ages.

The scary part is, he thinks that also might be true for the undefeated Zags. Nembhard had 17 points and eight assists, both season highs, to keep the NCAA Tournament's top overall seed rolling with Sunday's 83-65 rout of fifth-seeded Creighton in the West Region semifinals. Defensively, the Zags held Creighton to 40 points over the final 30 minutes as they methodically turned a 27-25 game into a blowout. “They just play so fast, so efficient with everything they do," said Marcus Zegarowski, who led Creighton with 19 points. That just about finished off Creighton as the Zags moved within three wins of becoming the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976.

Gonzaga has played one close game, a five-point win over West Virginia, and is winning by nearly 18 points per game. The Hawkeyes dropped a spot in this week's AP Top 25 after losing by 11 to Gonzaga. 19 Michigan, which moved up six spots in this week's poll, faces Nebraska. RANKED VS. RANKED: Two games on Wednesday feature ranked teams facing each other. 13 Creighton (6-2), which dropped four spots in this week's poll after losing to Marquette.

11 West Virginia 87-82. Gonzaga (3-0) has won seven straight, dating to the end of last season, and already has two wins over top 15 opponents — Kansas and West Virginia (3-1). When Suggs returned in the second half, Gonzaga charged back. The Bulldogs have opened this season with wins over two top 15 foes — Kansas and West Virginia — as well as Auburn, all on neutral courts. West Virginia guard Sean McNeil also left during the first half after taking an elbow to the forehead.

This weeks Next Level looks at the contributions of former Montverde Academy basketball standouts Andrew Nembhard, Filip Petrusev and Michael DevoeWith the 17th annual Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament set to begin Thursday, this weeks Next Level will offer updates on three former Montverde Academy basketball standouts who have gone on to make significant contributions for their college teams. At Montverde Academy, Nembhard helped the Eagles win the 2018 mythical national championship with a 76-58 win against Fort Lauderdale University School in the Geico High School Nationals. In his two years at the school, Montverde Academy had a 63-6 record, including a 36-1 mark in 2017-18. Michael Devoe, Georgia TechMichael Devoe will always be remembered in Montverde Academy basketball lore. Devoe played only one season at Montverde Academy after transferring from Orlando Oak Ridge.