SPOKANE, Wash. – Elias Harris had 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 2 Gonzaga beat Portland 81-52 on Saturday to stake a claim to its first-ever No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press’ Top 25.

Kelly Olynyk added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Gonzaga (29-2, 16-0 West Coast), which had already clinched the West Coast Conference regular-season title and the top seed in next weekend’s tournament. Gary Bell Jr. added 14 points.

Gonzaga, winner of 12 consecutive games since a last-second loss at Butler, has escaped the losses that have afflicted other teams at or near the top of the poll in recent weeks. That included a loss by top-ranked Indiana to Minnesota earlier this week that opened the door for the Bulldogs.

The Zags have never been ranked higher than their current No. 2 position. But because of their lightly regarded conference schedule, there is a chance a lower team could leapfrog them in the poll.

Gonzaga’s only other loss was at home to Illinois in December.

(1) INDIANA 73, IOWA 60: Cody Zeller overcame a sluggish start to score 22 points and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell added a career-high 19 as the Hoosiers (25-4, 13-3 Big Ten) got a win at Bloomington, Ind.

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The Hoosiers rebounded from this week’s loss to Minnesota, but it was not a typical night for Indiana’s shooters, who were just 39 percent from the field and didn’t hit a 3-pointer until the final minute.

(3) DUKE 79, MIAMI 76: Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 36 points in his return from a foot injury that had sidelined him since January, helping the Blue Devils win at Durham, N.C.

Kelly knocked down 10 of 14 shots — including 7 of 9 3-pointers — for the Blue Devils (25-4, 12-4 ACC), who avenged a blowout road loss in January. Shane Larkin had 25 points for the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-2).

(6) KANSAS 91, WEST VIRGINIA 65: Ben McLemore scored a Kansas freshman-record 36 points, and Jeff Withey came within one block of a triple-double as the Jayhawks (25-4, 13-3 Big 12) won at Lawrence, Kan.

McLemore, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman, hit 12 of 15 shots from the field, including 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Withey’s nine blocks ran his Big 12 and Kansas career record to 281.

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(8) FLORIDA 64, ALABAMA 52: Casey Prather had 10 points and nine rebounds, most of them in the second half, and the Gators (23-5, 13-3 SEC) rallied from an eight-point deficit to win at Gainesville, Fla.

The Gators used a 15-0 run late in the second half — fueled by Prather — to pull away from the Crimson Tide (19-10, 11-5) and remain unbeaten at home.

(10) LOUISVILLE 58, (12) SYRACUSE 53: Luke Hancock hit a 3-pointer from the corner to break a tie with 1:39 left, and the visiting Cardinals (24-5, 12-4 Big East) beat the Orange (22-7, 10-6), exacting a measure of revenge for a loss earlier this season.

It was the third straight loss for Syracuse, which was humbled 57-46 in a loss to No. 7 Georgetown a week ago before a record Carrier Dome crowd of 35,012.

(13) KANSAS STATE 64, BAYLOR 61: Rodney McGruder hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and Kansas State (24-5, 13-3 Big 12) pulled out a victory after a failed desperation inbound pass by Baylor (17-12, 8-8) gave McGruder one last shot in a win at Waco, Texas.

(14) NEW MEXICO 53, WYOMING 42: Alex Kirk had 15 points and nine rebounds, and New Mexico (25-4, 12-2) clinched the Mountain West Conference regular-season title with a win at Albuquerque, N.M.

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(15) OKLAHOMA STATE 78, TEXAS 65: Markel Brown scored 18 points, Le’Bryan Nash added 16 and Oklahoma State (22-6, 12-4 Big 12) corralled Texas star Myck Kabongo to beat the Longhorns at Stillwater, Okla.

(18) SAINT LOUIS 66, GEORGE WASHINGTON 58: Dwayne Evans scored 22 points and Kwamain Mitchell added 18, and Saint Louis (23-5, 12-2 Atlantic 10) won its 11th straight game with a win at Washington.

VCU 84, (20) BUTLER 52: Troy Daniels scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and VCU (23-6, 11-3 Atlantic 10) used full-court pressure to overwhelm Butler (22-7, 9-5) at Richmond, Va.

In a rematch of their unlikely meeting in the national semifinals in Houston in 2011, the Rams dominated, forcing 14 turnovers in the first half.

(22) MARQUETTE 72, (21) NOTRE DAME 64: Jamil Wilson tied his career high with 19 points and Chris Otule added a season-high 16 to help the Golden Eagles (21-7, 12-4 Big East) beat Notre Dame 72-64 (22-7, 10-6) at Milwaukee, the Golden Eagles’ 25th consecutive home win.

(19) MEMPHIS 76, CENTRAL FLORIDA 67: Senior Keith Clanton led all scorers with 29 points for Central Florida, but Memphis (25-4, 14-0) was able to beat the Knights (19-10, 8-6) at Orlando, giving the Tigers the Conference USA regular-season championship.

(25) LOUISIANA TECH 88, SAN JOSE STATE 61: Raheem Appleby scored 16 points and Louisiana Tech (26-3, 16-0 WAC) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games, clinching at least a share of its first Western Athletic Conference championship with a win at Ruston, La.

Alex Hamilton and Jaron Johnson added 13 points apiece for the Bulldogs.


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