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College basketball rankings: Gonzaga rolls to easy win, showdown with UConn up next for Zags – CBS Sports
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It’s finals week on campuses all over the country, which is why this is the slowest week of the season. In a related note, only one ranked school played Monday — Gonzaga.
The Zags cruised to a 78-40 victory over a Mississippi Valley State team that received a nice paycheck to travel to Washington and lose by 38 points while dropping to 0-10 on the season with all 10 losses coming on the road. The Delta Devils now rank 362nd out of 362 Division I teams, according to KenPom.com. They are evidence that DI in college basketball is way too big.
If you regularly listen to the Eye On College Basketball podcast, you likely know I’ve long held the opinion that it’s ridiculous games like this are made. Gonzaga closed as a 39.5-point favorite, which is a number you’d never even come close to seeing in the NBA because the NBA would never have two teams so dramatically different in ability on the court together. Simply put, on the list of issues facing college basketball, I’d put the fact that most good teams have too many total mismatches on their non-league schedules pretty high. And, just so we’re clear, I don’t mean Gonzaga specifically or any particular school. I just mean that, broadly speaking, there are too many games between programs like Gonzaga and programs at the bottom of the rankings like Mississippi Valley State, and the truth is that there’s an inherent stupidity to the sport when programs like Gonzaga and programs ranked 362nd nationally are technically competing for the same trophy.
Anyway …
The good news is that the Zags’ next game will not be like the Zags’ last game, and that’s because the Zags’ next game is Friday in Seattle against UConn, the reigning national champion. It’s a fabulous showdown between the schools ranked No. 5 (UConn) and No. 12 (Gonzaga) in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. It’s the only contest between two ranked teams on the schedule over the next four days.
“You come to a school like [Gonzaga] to play big games like that,” said Gonzaga freshman Braden Huff, who finished with 17 points in 18 minutes against Mississippi Valley State. “It’s going to be a fun one. I’m excited to play [UConn] in Seattle in front of what should be a lot of our fans. Hopefully we get a good crowd and come out with a lot of energy.”
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