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College basketball rankings: Gonzaga beats Saint Mary's for eighth straight win, is peaking at right time – CBS Sports
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Gonzaga was 11-5 with zero Quadrant 1 wins, and hovering around 50th in the NET, following a mid-January loss at Santa Clara. At that point, with only four Q1 opportunities remaining on the schedule, it was fair to wonder if the Zags would do enough to make a 25th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
But the wondering is now over.
Or at least it should be.
Because Gonzaga won 70-57 at Saint Mary’s late Saturday to finish the regular season 6-6 in the first two quadrants with three Q1 wins and only one loss outside of Q1. The Zags are now 17th in the NET. Simply put, no matter what happens to them in the WCC Tournament, the committee will not be able to find 36 at-large resumes better than the one Gonzaga will submit on Selection Sunday. Anybody suggesting otherwise is creating drama where there is none.
“We’re playing our best basketball,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. “It’s March — and that’s a great sign.”
Indeed, it is.
The Zags will take an eight-game winning streak featuring Q1 wins on the road against Kentucky, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s into the WCC Tournament. They’re being led by Graham Ike, the transfer from Wyoming who has averaged 23.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in Gonzaga’s past seven games to raise his season averages to 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward is now the first Zag to score at least 20 points in seven straight games since Adam Morrison did it in the 2005-06 season.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Ike said. “Credit to my guys. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Gonzaga is No. 23 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 12th consecutive day. The Zags will not play again until the WCC Tournament semifinals on March 11.
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