Gonzaga didn't lose its first game last season until April 5. Today is December 5 — four months before April 5. And, surprisingly, the Zags already have two defeats.
Alabama got them Saturday night in Seattle.
"We can be dangerous at times with how many threes we shoot," said Alabama coach Nate Oats. "We hit a few [against Gonzaga] and that helped a little bit."
Thirty-four of the 72 shots Alabama attempted against Gonzaga were from beyond the 3-point line, which is more-or-less the percentage of shots (47.2) Oats wants coming from deep each game. It's a smart and modern approach rooted in analytics, one that's turned the Crimson Tide into one of college basketball's best programs. Alabama winning back-to-back outright SEC regular-season titles looks like a real possibility. If Oats does it, he'll be the first coach to do it since Billy Donovan did it at Florida in 2013 and 2014.
Now back to Gonzaga.
This is a program that played for the national championship last season and has the best odds in the betting markets to win the national championship this season. The Zags have been favored in every game this season by at least seven points but have already lost twice — first to Duke by three points the day after Thanksgiving, then to Alabama by 11 points Saturday night.
It's not panic-button stuff.
But it is notable and evidence that Gonzaga probably isn't quite the juggernaut it was last season when it started 31-0. The Zags — who, don't forget, still own double-digit wins over UCLA and Texas, so it's not all bad — dropped to No. 6 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Alabama moving up 10 spots, from No. 22 to No. 12, caused Kansas, Michigan State, UConn, Auburn, USC, Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio State to all drop one spot each, no fault of their own.
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December 05, 2021 at 10:49PM
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College basketball rankings: Gonzaga falls again in the Top 25 And 1 after upset loss to Alabama - CBSSports.com
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