Matthew Dellavedova scored 22 points on Tuesday night, and Saint Mary's got a good start on its second straight NCAA tournament appearance, beating Middle Tennessee 67-54 in the First Four.
Riding the best record in Division I at 29-2, the Bulldogs took advantage of Indiana's loss to Minnesota last week. The Bulldogs switched places with the Hoosiers, advancing from No. 2 to move comfortably into the No. 1 spot Monday.
With No. 1 Indiana losing to Minnesota on Tuesday, the Zags might reach the top of the AP basketball poll Monday if they can beat BYU on Thursday and Portland on Saturday.
Second-ranked Gonzaga's game at BYU on Thursday suddenly has national significance.
Gonzaga served as the model program for college basketball's non-power conference schools for more than decade.
First, Morehead State won one for the underdogs. Then, Richmond. Then, Gonzaga. A 13 seed, a 12 and an 11 turned Denver into Upset City on Thursday and gave America an early refresher on why the NCAA tournament is also known as March Madness.
