CHET HOLMGREN

No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren shined in his debut, scoring 13 of his 23 points in the first quarter to help the Thunder build an early 20-point lead en route to a 98-77 victory over the Utah Jazz.

The Orlando Magic selected Duke freshman Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Orlando Magic selected Duke freshman Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

College basketball season ended almost three months ago, the NBA draft lottery was more than a month ago and the draft itself is later this week.

Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren, Auburn's Jabari Smith and Duke's Paolo Banchero are set to make it a forward-heavy start to the NBA draft.

The Orlando Magic won the NBA draft lottery and landed the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since they got Dwight Howard nearly two decades ago.

Duke keeps winning games in the NCAA Tournament and Mike Krzyzewski keeps telling anyone who will listen, “It’s not the coaching.”.

JD Notae scored 21 points despite missing 20 shots and fourth-seeded Arkansas made Gonzaga miserable on both ends of the floor, bouncing the top overall seed from the NCAA Tournament with a 74-68 win.

Drew Timme scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, and top overall seed Gonzaga rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat No. 9 seed Memphis 82-78 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Drew Timme scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half and top overall seed Gonzaga struggled to shake No. 16 seed Georgia State for 30 minutes before pulling away late for a 93-72 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated press All-American for the third straight year.

Gonzaga will head into the NCAA Tournament exactly where it ended up in the final AP Top 25 — right on top.

Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Rasir Bolton added 18 and top-ranked Gonzaga outlasted No. 17 Saint Mary’s 82-69 to win its eighth West Coast Conference tournament title in nine years.

The lanky 7-foot freshman always has an answer, usually in the form of a thunderous dunk, 3-pointer or swatted shot into the stands. “You hear it, but at the same time you're pretty locked in,” Holmgren said after finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots in a recent win over San Francisco. A highly touted prospect when he arrived in Spokane, Washington, Holmgren didn't dominate as expected early in his freshman season.

Gonzaga has reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

Drew Timme scored 23 points, Chet Holmgren added 22 and top-ranked Gonzaga beat San Francisco 78-62 in a makeup game after their Jan. 6 contest was postponed by COVID-19 issues.

Drew Timme scored 30 points on 13-of-14 shooting and No. 2 Gonzaga beat rival BYU 110-84 to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 61 games.

Jaden Shackelford scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half, Jahvon Quinerly and JD Davison both hit key 3-pointers later, and No. 16 Alabama held off Gonzaga’s big second-half rally for a 91-82 win over the third-ranked Bulldogs.

Baylor coach Scott Drew knew his sixth-ranked Bears might need time to blend a changed roster after losing four starters from a national-championship run.

Paolo Banchero scored 21 points to lead No. 5 Duke over No. 1 Gonzaga 84-81 on Friday night.

Andrew Nembhard scored 24 points, freshman Chet Holmgren showed off his unique skill set and top-ranked Gonzaga overwhelmed No. 2 UCLA 83-63 to win the Empire Classic.

The destination is the summer pro-am run by former NBA star Jamal Crawford. “It was unreal to see a unicorn in real life!” Crawford tweeted in August. “Chet Holmgren is special.” Fast-forward three months and as much as top-ranked Gonzaga might be downplaying all the “unicorn” talk, it’s clear Holmgren is a special talent unlike any that’s come through the Bulldogs’ program.

Julian Strawther had 17 points and 10 rebounds as top-ranked Gonzaga beat Dixie State 97-63 in their season opener without coach Mark Few on the sideline.

At one point during Gonzaga's yearlong run at No. 1 last season, coach Mark Few felt so comfortable with the leadership he had on the floor, he could have left a rack of basketballs on the court, walked away and the Bulldogs could have run practice themselves. The talent is certainly there, it’s just a matter of how quickly Gonzaga can fit the pieces together.

Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll.

The 7-foot, 190-pound center is also considered a favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft.