INDIANAPOLIS — The first week of the college basketball season was filled with great games, a few upsets, stellar performances and a handful of coronavirus cancellations.
Next up is a rare treat: No. 1 vs. No. 2.
Top-ranked Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor will play in Indianapolis on Saturday for the ninth meeting between the top two teams in AP Top 25 since 2005.
The game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will be played without fans in the stands, due to the pandemic.
Top-ranked Michigan State and No. 2 Kentucky met last season in the previous 1-vs.-2 meeting, a game won by the Wildcats 69-62.
The Zags and Bears both won Wednesday, setting up a showdown for the No. 1 ranking next week.
Gonzaga blew through its first two opponents, beating No. 7 Kansas and Auburn by a combined 35 points.
The Zags faced a much stiffer test against No. 11 West Virginia Wednesday night in Indianapolis. The rugged Mountaineers stymied the Zags throughout the first half and Gonzaga suffered a scare late when talented freshman Jalen Scruggs went down with a left foot injury.
Suggs managed to return in the second half and so did the Zags’ offensive efficiency, helping them hold on for an 87-82 win.
Baylor pulled out of a multi-team event in Connecticut after coach Scott Drew tested positive for COVID-19 and played its first two games under assistant coach Jerome Tang.
The distractions did nothing to slow the Bears.
Playing in Las Vegas, Baylor opened with a 112-82 win over Louisiana-Lafayette and followed with an 96-52 thumping of Washington.
Drew returned for Wednesday’s game against No. 5 Illinois and the Bears were glad to see him again.
“We’re all really excited,” guard Davion Mitchell said. “We all gave him hugs when he came off the plane, so we’re ready to get to work.”
The excitement carried over into the late-night game, an 82-69 win over the Illini to set up a showdown for No. 1 against the Zags.
Story by John Marshall of the Associates Press
