Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll. The Bulldogs held the No. 1 ranking all last season and reached the national championship game.
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has seen the Bruins progress from a team that had a school-record 20 true freshmen play during coach Chip Kelly’s first season in 2018 to being ranked for the first time in four years.
Michigan’s Juwan Howard is The Associated Press men’s college basketball coach of the year. Howard received 35 of 63 votes from a national media panel.
The last men's college basketball team to go undefeated and win the Division I national championship was Indiana in 1976. Gonzaga is a real threat to end that 45-year drought this year.
UCLA survived a series of nail-biting misses by top-seeded Michigan in the closing seconds for a 51-49 victory that made the Bruins the fifth No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four.
Gonzaga’s bid for a perfect season will continue into the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Meanwhile, UCLA’s unexpected run through the tournament continues.
UCLA and Southern California are in the regional semifinals of the same men's NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 and the third time overall.