March Madness comes early: No. 1 Gonzaga, other 5 top 6 teams upset
No. 1 Gonzaga was upset by Saint Mary’s, but they weren’t the only top team to be upset. The rest of the top six teams lost, too.
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Saint Mary's fans rush the court after their team's 67-57 upset win over No. 1 Gonzaga.
AP
MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s finally has its first perfect record at home — and a memorable win over top-ranked Gonzaga to go with it.
Tommy Kuhse had 14 points and six rebounds for No. 23 Saint Mary’s, which beat No. 1 Gonzaga 67-57 on Saturday night to prevent the Bulldogs from completing another undefeated run in the West Coast Conference.
But misery loves company, and the Bulldogs weren’t the only top NCAA team to suffer an upset.
The top six teams in the AP poll all lost Saturday, and seven of the top nine; only No. 7 Duke won, rolling past Syracuse, 97-72. No. 2 Arizona fell 79-63 to Colorado; No. 3 Auburn was beaten 67-62 by No. 17 Tennessee; No. 4 Purdue lost 68-65 to unranked Michigan State; No. 5 Kansas fell 80-70 to No. 10 Baylor and No. 6 Kentucky suffered a 75-73 upset loss to No. 18 Arkansas.
Gonzaga had beaten the Gaels handily two weeks earlier and had won 34 consecutive conference games, 33 by double-digits. But Saint Mary’s never let Gonzaga get comfortable on Saturday, leading from start to finish while winning their fourth straight since that loss in Spokane.
“They were extremely more aggressive. They got after us and played us really really physical,” Few said of Saint Mary’s. “That was it. When you’re the most aggressive team and most physical team, probably nine times out of 10 you’re going to win.”
Randy Bennett’s St. Mary’s squad completed a 16-0 run at McKeon Pavilion.
“That’s really special,” Bennett said. “It’s been hard to get. We lost it one year to Loyola Marymount in our last home game. It’s been something hard to get and we finally got it. Especially when it’s against the No. 1 team in the country, it just makes it … a night you’ll never forget.”
Saint Mary’s also ended Gonzaga’s 17-game winning streak, beating a No. 1 team for the first time since knocking off the Bulldogs in the 2019 conference tournament title game.
“It’s kind of life in late February and early March, especially on the road,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. His team clinched the WCC regular-season title last weekend.
Fans poured onto the court in a wild celebration of the Gaels’ 18th consecutive win at McKeon Pavilion dating to last season.
Matthias Tass added 13 points for the Gaels (24-6, 12-3) and made a pivotal block with 1:15 remaining. Kyle Bowman made a pair of clutch 3-pointers after missing his first seven shots.
“I wanted to go in the middle of the circle and kiss the logo but people were running on the court so it was difficult,” Tass said. “It was definitely a surreal moment.”
Rasir Bolton scored 16 points for Gonzaga (24-3, 13-1). Drew Timme had six points and eight rebounds, but shot 2 of 10.
