At one time or another, according to my count, there were 72 Division I men's basketball games scheduled for Saturday. Forty-seven were played while the rest were canceled or postponed. So 35% of the schedule was eliminated by COVID-19.
"Is this the new normal?" one power-conference coach texted me Saturday night.
My reply: "Looks like it!"
As I wrote on Saturday, after the showdown between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor was called off because of multiple positive tests on the Gonzaga side of things, this was always how the season would unfold once schools opted to play outside of bubbles. In the past week in the United States, new daily cases rose 10.7%, COVID-related hospitalizations rose 12.7% and COVID-caused deaths rose 35.0%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising Americans to neither travel nor gather.
So good luck flying and setting ball screens.
Which is not to suggest the season should be canceled or even paused. Literally hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake. Countless jobs are at risk. It's impossible to overstate the importance of crossing the finish line. So, one way or another, college basketball's finish line will be crossed and a champion will be crowned. But, at this point, I'll be surprised if we get through a single three-day period this season without COVID-19 disrupting something.
Anyway …
Gonzaga remains No. 1 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Zags' next game is scheduled for Tuesday against Tarleton State. But it remains unclear if it'll actually be played, mostly because it remains unclear if anything will actually be played.
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Sunday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Corey Kispert finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 87-82 victory over West Virginia. Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and six assists off the bench. | -- | 27-8 |
| 2 |  | Adam Flagler got 18 points off the bench in Wednesday's 82-69 victory over Illinois. Davion Mitchell added 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds. | -- | 24-11 |
| 3 |  | Luka Garza finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 99-58 victory over Western Illinois. The senior center is averaging 34.0 points and 9.7 rebounds through three games. | -- | 19-15 |
| 4 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 65-61 victory over North Dakota State. The Jayhawks' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 23-11 |
| 5 |  | Rocket Watts finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists in Friday's 83-76 victory over Detroit Mercy. The Spartans' 4-0 record features a win at Duke. | -- | 20-15 |
| 6 |  | Marcus Zegarowski finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in Friday's 93-58 victory over Kennesaw State. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14 points and six rebounds off the bench. | -- | 25-10 |
| 7 |  | The Illini allowed Baylor to shoot 45.5% from the field in Wednesday's 82-69 loss in Indianapolis. Illinois gave up 51 points in the second half. | -- | 29-9 |
| 8 |  | Matthew Hurt made six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Friday's 76-54 victory over Bellarmine. Duke's lone loss is a single-digit loss to Michigan State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | The start of the Vols' season has been delayed because of COVID-19 issues. Tennessee is now scheduled to open Wednesday against UT Martin. | -- | 27-9 |
| 10 |  | Keve Aluma finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's 64-57 victory over VMI. The Hokies' 4-0 record features a win over Villanova. | -- | 19-15 |
| 11 |  | Justin Moore finished with 15 points and five assists in Tuesday's 87-53 victory over Hartford. Eric Dixon added 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. | -- | 18-16 |
| 12 |  | Miles McBride missed 10 of the 14 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 87-82 loss to Gonzaga. The Mountaineers opened the season with three wins over top-80 KenPom teams. | -- | 9-23 |
| 13 |  | Jay Huff finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's 71-64 OT victory over Kent State. Sam Hauser added 18 points and seven rebounds. | -- | 23-11 |
| 14 |  | Quentin Grimes finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 77-67 victory over South Carolina. The Cougars are 4-0 with a neutral-court win over Texas Tech. | -- | 32-5 |
| 15 |  | Matt Coleman hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 69-67 victory over North Carolina. Greg Brown added 10 points and six rebounds. | -- | 21-13 |
| 16 |  | Mac McClung finished with 20 points and five assists in Friday's 80-46 victory over Troy. The Red Raiders' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Houston. | -- | 23-11 |
| 17 |  | Micah Potter gave up an offensive rebound and the winning bucket in the final second of Friday's 67-65 loss at Marquette. Brad Davison finished with zero field goals and five fouls. | -- | 22-14 |
| 18 |  | E.J. Liddell finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 77-44 victory over Morehead State. Kyle Young added 10 points and nine rebounds. | -- | 22-14 |
| 19 |  | The Tar Heels were just 1-of-9 from 3-point range in Wednesday's 69-67 loss to Texas. Caleb Love finished with four turnovers and zero assists. | -- | 29-8 |
| 20 |  | Nathan Cayo finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 76-64 victory at Kentucky. The Spiders won despite shooting just 28.0% from 3-point range. | -- | 23-10 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats missed 18 of the 21 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 65-62 loss to Kansas. Kentucky's starters were 0-of-11 from beyond the arc. | -- | 23-10 |
| 22 |  | Ron Harper Jr. finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 70-56 victory over Hofstra. Jacob Young added 17 points and three rebounds. | -- | 15-17 |
| 23 |  | Remy Martin finished with 22 points and five assists in Thursday's 70-62 victory at California. The Sun Devils' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Villanova. | -- | 14-18 |
| 24 |  | M.J. Walker finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 86-58 victory over North Florida. Balsa Koprivica added 13 points and five rebounds. | -- | 17-16 |
| 25 |  | Dre Davis finished with 21 points and two assists in Tuesday's 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky. The Cardinals' 4-0 record also features a win over Seton Hall. | -- | 8-24 |
| 26 |  | Isaiah Livers finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 84-65 victory over Ball State. Hunter Dickinson added 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. | -- | 8-24 |
