Baylor stays No. 1 in AP Top 25; Arizona rises to No. 6
Defending national champion Baylor maintained its top spot in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll, though not without ceding a No. 1 vote to Arizona, while the six remaining unbeatens continued their rise on Monday. The Bears ended a four-week streak of turnover atop the poll by taking care of Oregon last week, receiving 60 of 61 first-place votes from a national panel that regular covers college basketball. The Bears (10-0) reached the top spot last week after dominating then-No. 6 Villanova, something they never accomplished during their title-winning season.
news.yahoo.comBaylor becomes fourth No. 1 in last 4 weeks in AP Top 25
Baylor won the national championship last season without ever reaching No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Bears are there now. Baylor took advantage of Purdue's last-second loss to Rutgers last week to become the fourth different team at No. 1 in the past four weeks. The Bears earned every vote from a 61-member national media panel Monday to reach the top spot in the poll for the first time since a four-week run ended on Feb. 17, 2020.
news.yahoo.comFinal Four set, a question left: Can anybody beat Gonzaga?
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)It’s not easy to bury a team as good as USC, let alone in a half, no matter how easy Gonzaga made it look. He asked Few the day before their game against the high-flying Trojans whether his defense was getting lost in the shuffle. “Obviously, I think he’s the best defender in the country,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. Then Baylor’s bout with the virus came late in the season, requiring a pause of three weeks plus. After everything else fans weathered throughout this wacky season, a few more days might finally deliver a national championship game worth the wait.
Gonzaga's bid for a perfect season moves on to Final Four
Gonzaga (30-0) has been an offensive juggernaut rarely seen in college basketball. Ad“Everyone wants us to keep moving forward, but that’s not how we roll,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. That doesn’t lessen our desire to win this game, the next game or win two more games.”The next one won't be easy. The Bears were embroiled in one of the darkest scandals in college basketball history, when Patrick Dennehy was murdered by teammate Carlton Dotson in 2003. They played in the Final Four.”___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25
Baylor beats Arkansas 81-72 for first Final Four in 71 years
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS – Baylor had been on the cusp of the Final Four twice before under coach Scott Drew, falling to the eventual champion both times. Baylor is headed there for the first time in 71 years, getting 22 points from MaCio Teague and a dominating defensive performance from Davion Mitchell to beat Arkansas 81-72 on Monday night. The top-seeded Bears (26-2) appeared to be barreling toward ending their Final Four drought with a dominating start. That left the Bears short of the Final Four dating back to when the bracket was only eight teams. He gave Arkansas all kinds of trouble on the pick-and-roll in the second half, finishing with 12 points and six assists.
No. 12 Oklahoma St beats No. 2 Baylor 83-74 in Big 12 semis
– Confidence has never been a problem for Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham. 12 Cowboys trying to rally from a second-half hole against second-ranked Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament, Cunningham calmly responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to give his team the lead. Ad“You have to give Oklahoma State a lot of credit," Drew said. The Bears did get off to a quick start, but Oklahoma State answered and gradually pulled ahead. Oklahoma State split the season series with the Longhorns, losing a 77-74 nail-biter in December before winning a 75-67 double-overtime thriller early last month.
Big 12 champ No. 3 Baylor beats No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70
3 Baylor, fresh off clinching its first Big 12 title on the road two days earlier, beat No. 17 Oklahoma State 81-70 on Thursday night to end the Cowboys' five-game winning streak. Freshman standout and Big 12 leading scorer Cade Cunningham had 24 points and Kalib Boone 10 for Oklahoma State (17-7, 10-7), whose winning streak was the longest active in the Big 12. That came right after Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe had a dunk for Oklahoma State, prompting a timeout by Baylor coach Scott Drew. ... Oklahoma State was without guard Isaac Likekele (hand) for the fifth time in six games.
No. 3 Baylor clinches B12 title in OT, 94-89 over No. 6 WVU
6 West Virginia 94-89 Tuesday to clinch the Bears' first Big 12 regular season championship. Baylor (19-1, 11-1 Big 12) bounced back in a big way from its only loss of the season at No. Mitchell’s layup with 59 seconds left in overtime put Baylor ahead to stay. He then took a charge against McBride with 27 seconds left, and Mitchell hit two free throws with 18 seconds left for the final margin. West Virginia: The Mountaineers saw a three-game winning streak snapped but are still looking at a solid NCAA Tournament seeding.
Michigan leaps Baylor into second behind Gonzaga in Top 25
Gonzaga continued to hold down the top spot in the Top 25, just as it has all season, receiving 59 of 63 first-place votes among national media members. Illinois climbed one spot to fourth and Iowa gave the Big Ten three teams in the top five. They have a showdown with the Illini on Tuesday night before wrapping up the regular season with a home-and-home series against Michigan State. That’s a big part of what they’re doing.”West Virginia continued its steady climb, up four spots to No. The newcomer Boilermakers and sliding Badgers give the Big Ten six teams in the Top 25, one fewer than the poll-leading Big 12.
No. 2 Baylor returns with 77-72 win to stay undefeated
Baylor guard Adam Flagler (10) drives the ball against Iowa State guard Tre Jackson (3) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Waco, Texas. They finally overcame some of the rust and Iowa State for a 77-72 victory Tuesday night that made them 18-0 for the first time in school history. Iowa State (2-17, 0-14) jumped out to a 15-4 lead in less than 6 1/2 minutes on a jumper by Tre Jackson. Teague and Butler combined for the last nine Baylor points. They have been close and led in some of them, including in the second half at home against Baylor in a 76-65 home loss on Jan. 2.
Unbeaten No. 2 Baylor back to play after 3-week COVID break
2 Baylor are ready to get back to playing games after a three-week break because of COVID-19 issues in the program. 2 Baylor are ready to get back to playing games after a three-week break because of COVID-19 issues in the program. The Bears (17-0, 9-0 Big 12) are set to resume their season Tuesday night at home against Iowa State. With Baylor only halfway through its 18-game Big 12 schedule, every other team has played at least 11 conference games. The Bears also have not made up their scheduled Big 12 home opener against Texas that wasn't played Dec. 13.
Gonzaga, Baylor sit atop AP Top 25; Kansas returns at No. 23
2 Baylor remained atop Monday's latest AP Top 25, where they have been for all 13 polls this season. 8 in the AP poll to pull closer to the committee's seeding of seventh overall shortly before the Crimson Tide scored 115 points in a win over against Georgia. THE TOP TIERCoach Mark Few’s Bulldogs received 59 of 64 first-place votes in the new AP Top 25, while Scott Drew’s Bears claimed the other five. The Jayhawks fell out of last week’s poll for the first time in 12 years. Kansas was one of three new additions to this week’s poll, joined by No.
No. 2 Baylor on pause again because of COVID-19 protocols
Baylor coach Scott Drew, right, argues a call during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Austin, Texas. 2 Baylor has had its season interrupted again because of COVID-19 protocols, with the Big 12 Conference postponing the Bears' next two scheduled games. Their next scheduled game is now at home Feb. 13 against No. AdCoach Scott Drew missed the first two games of Baylor's reshuffled scheduled after testing positive for COVID-19 in November. The Big 12 said it would work with Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma to reschedule the remaining postponed games.
The Latest: Big 12 postpones No. 2 Baylor's next 2 games
The Big 12 announced late Thursday that Saturday’s home game against TCU and next Wednesday’s game at Oklahoma have been postponed in accordance with the league’s interruption guidelines. With the latest changes, Baylor’s next scheduled game is at home Feb. 13 against No. AdThe NHL is releasing the names of players who are “unavailable” to the club for practice, travel or games due to virus protocols. ___West Virginia is boosting home attendance to 2,800, or 20% of capacity, for the men’s basketball game Feb. 13 between the 17th-ranked Mountaineers and No. ___Thursday’s women’s basketball game between No.
Gonzaga, Baylor remain atop AP Top 25; Alabama cracks top 10
Gonzaga forward Drew Timme celebrates after scoring a basket during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Pacific in Spokane, Wash., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)Gonzaga, Baylor and Villanova remained atop The Associated Press men's college basketball poll Monday, while ninth-ranked Alabama climbed to its highest ranking in 14 years. Villanova remained third followed by Michigan, with the Wolverines cracking the top five for a second straight season under Juwan Howard after being unranked earlier in the year. 18 Tennessee took the week's biggest tumble, falling 12 spots after losses to Florida and Missouri. ___More AP college basketball: http://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap