College Basketball

No. 1 Gonzaga remains unbeaten (Feb 09, 2017)

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:55 p.m. ET

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AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) No. 1 Gonzaga has won 25 games in a season before, in fact the Zags have done that for 10 consecutive seasons. They just have never done it this fast.

Thursday night's 90-60 victory over Loyola Marymount was the Bulldogs' 25th this season in as many games.

Gonzaga, 13-0 in the West Coast Conference, is Division I's last unbeaten team.

''It's the most balanced team they've had,'' Loyola coach Mike Dunlap said. ''And they have size in numbers. They've never had that kind of size.''

The Bulldogs have three 7-footers and two more players at least 6-10, but against Loyola it was 6-3 guard Nigel Williams-Goss who led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulldogs have no problem deferring to whoever has the hot hand.

''This is the most balanced team we've had,'' Williams-Goss said. ''And we have all that size.''

That also makes for a more aggressive team and that was demonstrated at the free throw line, where Gonzaga made 34 of 44, while Loyola went to the line only eight times, making four.

''That's a huge disparity,'' Dunlap said. ''Too many turnovers led to fast break opportunities.''

Johnathan Williams had 13 points for Gonzaga, while Jordan Matthews, Zach Collins and Killian Tillie each had 11.

Collins is 7 feet and Tillie is 6-10. Gonzaga's starting center and second-leading scorer, 7-1 Przemek Karnowski, was held to a relatively modest seven rebounds and six points.

The Bulldogs are so balanced, no player has led them in scoring in consecutive games all season.

Of course, when a team is undefeated it can sometimes be difficult to judge how much they are growing as the season progresses.

''I think we've been a sneaky-good defensive team this season,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ''I don't think we get enough credit defensively.

''And I see small areas of growth. The one thing we've been able to do is change our game plans and do different things. They're good about doing things on the fly.''

Loyola (11-13, 4-9) hung close until midway through the first half. Then the Bulldogs closed the half with a 24-9 run to lead 50-28. The Lions never could recover.

Loyola was led by Steven Haney's 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers. Brandon Brown and Buay Tuach each had 11 points for the Lions.

BIG PICTURE

Gonzaga: Continues its streaking. The Bulldogs have won a school-record 25 consecutive games, 18 consecutive conference games and have beaten Loyola 16 straight times.

Loyola Marymount: The Lions are going a different way. Fourteen of their first 21 games had been decided in the last 10 seconds. Now their last three (one win) have been decided by at last 10 points.

THAT'S IMPROVEMENT

Williams-Goss likes the way his teammates have handled the No. 1 ranking Gonzaga has held in the last two AP polls.

''I think we're getting better each week,'' he said. ''We've had a target on our backs the past couple of weeks, so you have to get better.''

GONZAGA VETRANS

The Bulldogs start four upper classmen and a redshirt sophomore. They have eight juniors and seniors on their roster and three redshirt sophomores.

''We have an old team,'' Few said.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

When you stay unbeaten, you remain No. 1 in the polls.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga: Will face its biggest remaining task to an unbeaten regular season when the Bulldogs travel to No. 20 Saint Mary's on Saturday. Gonzaga won the first meeting in Spokane 79-56 on Jan. 14.

Loyola Marymount: The Lions will attempt to return to the winning column Saturday when they host Portland. They edged the Pilots 79-78 in Portland on Jan. 14.

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More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25.

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