NCAA basketball

Gonzaga continued its slow crawl toward the top of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Monday.

Two minutes into the second half, after the Cal Poly Mustangs made three consecutive baskets, Dan Monson sent five new players to the scorer’s table.

In a game between Gonzaga and San Diego State – two of the last West Coast programs to play for a national championship – it’s no surprise our key matchup features someone with Final Four experience.

Picture this: At one point in the second quarter during the Gonzaga women’s 62-51 win over visiting Wyoming on Sunday, coach Lisa Fortier looked out at the McCarthey Athletic Center court and saw something she believes she’s never seen before.

Fourth-ranked Gonzaga will conclude its two-year, home-and-home series with San Diego State at 7 p.m. on Monday at Viejas Arena.

SAN DIEGO – Gonzaga’s Mark Few and San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher bumped into each other last month at joint West Coast Conference/Mountain West Conference media day in Las Vegas.

Khalif Battle, unofficially Gonzaga’s director of entertainment.

Sometime later this season, David Riley figures, his Washington State team will appreciate the result.

Here are three observations from No. 4 Gonzaga’s 113-54 win over UMass Lowell on Friday night at McCarthey Athletic Center.

Davis Fogle already possesses many of the qualities that have made past Gonzaga players with his body type and general skillset successful. 

Jalen Warley decided he needed a change after three seasons at Florida State, promptly entering the transfer portal after a rugged 2023-24 season with the Seminoles.

Gonzaga (3-0) wasn’t razor sharp from the field in the opening half, but the Zags didn’t need to be in this one. They had loads of extra chances – via offensive rebounds and UMass Lowell’s 14 turnovers – and cruised to a 49-27 halftime lead despite shooting 43.6%.

Could Boise State and Gonzaga leapfrog the Pac-12 schools and eventually join the Power Four?

Gonzaga’s game between its 40-minute battle against Arizona State and Monday’s road test against San Diego State in one of the toughest venues in the West could have fallen into the ‘trap game’ category. Instead, the fourth-ranked Zags, favored by as many as 27.5 points, stayed on task and crushed the River Hawks 113-54 Friday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The Gonzaga women’s basketball team didn’t play well Thursday.

UMass Lowell coach Pat Duquette, watching via television from the East Coast, had a similar reaction to Gonzaga’s 101-63 season-opening rout over Baylor as many of the 12,000 at the Spokane Arena and those tuned into ESPN2. “Whoa,” Duquette said.

Quinton Mincey has gone from last season’s America East Conference sixth man of the year to UMass Lowell’s main man in the scoring column, at least through two games.

So what brings UMass Lowell, located about 30 miles outside of Boston, to the Kennel for Friday’s date with fourth-ranked Gonzaga?

Zags, coming off wins over Baylor and Arizona State, face UMass Lowell on Friday.