Power 5: Gonzaga Has the Dogs Barking

The defending National Champions are playing like one. Since the loss to Butler, the Wildcats have won 4 in a row, all by double digits. Hart, Brunson and Jenkins make a formidable threesome that has a lot of versatility. There’s nothing like having unselfish stars especially ones coming off of a title. We haven’t seen what Pat Riley used to call “me-ism” out of the Wildcats.

Despite being behind Oregon (their only loss) and Arizona in the conference, UCLA looks like the 2nd best team in the nation (at least right now). The Bruins came away with wins on their Boulder and Salt Lake City swing. After blowing away Colorado, UCLA came back from 9 down in the second half to defeat Utah.

The Jayhawks are where they always seems to be, on top of the Big XII. Kansas got a test in Ames, Iowa from Iowa St. The Cyclones had beaten Kansas the last two times they’ve played them at home and 4 out of the last 6 overall. Frank Mason III and Landen Lucas made sure they put an end to the streak. Mason III had 16 and Lucas had 14 to pace the Jayhawks. Kansas has a struggling Texas team next before travelling to Morgantown to face ranked West Virginia.

The last undefeated team past a major test with a home win versus St Mary’s. The Zags controlled the game from beginning to end as they cruised to a 23 point beat down. Even more impressive than shooting 65% was holding the Gaels to 39.7% shooting. The Bulldogs have a good chance to go undefeated in conference but expect the return trip to St Mary’s (February 11th) to be tougher than their home win over the Gaels.

The Blue Jays have won 5 in a row since their loss to Villanova including two wins over ranked opponents. It was impressive enough beating Xavier at home but to also beat Xavier on the road sent a message to the Big East. Creighton has continued to keep pace with Villanova in the Big East. What we will see if how they will survive without Watson Jr. who was injured in the win over Xavier. Watson was leading the Nation in assists.