NCAA scores: Gonzaga Bulldogs shocked by BYU, perfect season ended

The No. 1 team went into Saturday's game with an unblemished on the season. Several hours later, their record reflected a first loss for the college basketball season. The Gonzaga Bulldogs fell to the BYU Cougars by a final of 79-71 in Spokane, Washington thanks to sophomore Eric Mika. The latest NCAA upset joined several other top 10 teams that lost on Saturday. Will that mean the Bulldogs no longer get a No.

1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and what might it mean for the team that finally defeated them this season, the BYU Cougars?

Eric Mika leads way

Mika, a sophomore forward from Alpine, Utah, gave an impressive performance, finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Mika was 10-for-14 from the floor and hit 9-of-13 free throw attempts for the BYU Cougars. Also helping out in the team's victory was guard TJ Haws who had 17 points and Elijah Bryant who finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

With just a minute left on the game clock, Mika's biggest shot came as he made the score 73-71.

From there, Gonzaga was never able to recover, losing the ball on consecutive possessions, and giving free throws to the opponents to boost the lead.

Four of the Bulldogs starters finished in double digits including leading scorer Nigel Williams-Goss with 19. Forward Johnathan Williams finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

Gonzaga and BYU each had 38 rebounds and shot over 45 percent from the field. However, the Bulldogs weren't able to find their shot from behind three-point range. BYU finished at a rate of 37.5 percent from three, compared to just over 18 percent by Gonzaga.

NCAA Tournament implications?

With the loss, Gonzaga dropped to 29-1 overall and 17-1 in conference. They were considered a No. 1 seed heading into the game, and probably still are, barring any major surprises in the next week or so.

The BYU Cougars are now 21-10 overall and 12-6 in their conference including this huge win over the No. 1 team on their resume. As Sporting News reported, it's possible this team could have earned an at-large bid to the tournament, but they may still need to do a bit more.

The two teams are back in action next Saturday when the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament begins. BYU will be the No. 3 seed and take on No. 6 seed Loyola Marymount at 1 p.m. local time, while No. 1 seed Gonzaga awaits the No. 8 or No. 9 seed from the day prior for a 7 p.m. local time game.