By JACOB POLACHECK
No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Baylor and unranked Drake are the three remaining undefeated teams in college basketball after Alabama A&M fell to Prairie View A&M 79-57 on the road Saturday.
Gonzaga and Baylor are both projected as No. 1 seeds in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, while Drake is projected as a No. 9 seed, according to Joe Lunardi’s latest mock bracket released on ESPN Friday.
Gonzaga has lived up to its preseason No. 1 ranking, and is now 17-0 (8-0 WCC) after hammering Pepperdine 97-75 Saturday. Despite a poor night from projected top-5 pick Jalen Suggs, four Bulldogs reached double-figures as Gonzaga beat Pepperdine for the 41st straight time. The Zags have wins over four ranked teams.
Baylor has been equally as impressive. Standing atop the Big 12 standings, Baylor is 16-0 (8-0 Big 12) for the second time with wins over three ranked teams.
Baylor’s most recent win came Saturday with a 84-72 victory over Auburn in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Auburn freshman guard Sharife Cooper finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four turnovers in the loss.
Gonzaga and Baylor were set to face off on Dec. 5, but the game was called off due to multiple positive COVID tests within the Gonzaga program.
Drake remains undefeated, surviving its most recent test in a 78-73 victory over Missouri State Wednesday.
Meanwhile, college basketball’s traditional powers have not fared as well.
Duke, which has made the NCAA Tournament in 24 consecutive seasons, was among the field’s next four out with a 7-5 (5-3 ACC) start to the season, per Fox’s Mike DeCourcy.
Kentucky is off to one of the worst starts in program history, sitting at 5-10 overall (4-4 SEC).
The Wildcats matchup with No. 5 Texas on Saturday was canceled due to COVID protocols.
Michigan State has also struggled of late, losing five of its last seven to fall to 8-5 overall (2-5 Big Ten).
Most recently, Michigan State was blown out in a 67-37 loss at Rutgers on Thursday.
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