At least for the moment, ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi isn’t picking the Gonzaga Bulldogs to come home with another West Coast Conference Tournament championship this season.

Despite being in the No. 1 seed conversation for most of nonleague play, the Zags (9-4, 1-0 WCC) tumbled down to the 4-seed line in ESPN’s latest forecast that was released Tuesday, a few days removed from a 65-62 loss to UCLA. San Francisco, making its first appearance on ESPN Bracketology in 2024-25, is Lunardi’s new pick to earn the WCC’s automatic bid.

Checking in on the 12-seed line, the Dons (12-3, 2-0 WCC) sit at No. 61 in the NET, which is fourth-best in the WCC behind Gonzaga (No. 7), Saint Mary’s (No. 55) and Oregon State (No. 56). The Gaels (11-3, 1-0 WCC) have been teetering on the bubble throughout nonconference play and currently fall in Lunardi’s “First Four Out” grouping with Missouri, Iowa and Northwestern.

The Bulldogs, who were picked to win the WCC in the league’s preseason coaches poll, haven’t had to worry about their postseason aspirations like many in Spokane were doing this time last year. Gonzaga backed up some of its preseason hype with notable wins over Baylor, Arizona State, San Diego State and Indiana during nonleague play. Those victories helped vault Mark Few and company up to No. 3 in the first NET Rankings that were released on Dec. 1. 

San Francisco doesn’t have a marquee win on its resume yet, though an NCAA Tournament case can be made from having zero “bad” losses just as well. That’s sort of where the Dons find themselves heading into the thick of league play, where they’’ have a few opportunities to pick up quality victories outside of just Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. Beating either one of the league’s top two programs for the past two decades would certainly help the Dons’ postseason case, too.

San Francisco added to its at-large resume following a 97-94 overtime thriller against Santa Clara at the Hilltop on Monday. Senior guards Malik Thomas (34 points) and Marcus Williams (23 points) helped the Dons overcome a 10-point deficit while earning their second Quad 2 win of the season. San Francisco also holds an 84-73 victory over Boise State.

Gonzaga and San Francisco won’t be able to settle things head-to-head style until they meet in Spokane on Feb. 13. The Zags return the favor a few weeks later when they battle the Dons in the regular season finale from the Chase Center on March 1.

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The San Francisco 49ers suffered a heartbreaking 40-34 defeat to the Detroit Lions in their Week 17 matchup on “Monday Night Football.” Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the 49ers played with pride in their final home game of the 2024 season at Levi’s® Stadium. In a contest that featured big plays and plenty of momentum swings, San Francisco fought until the end, but ultimately fell short.

Here are six takeaways from the Lions-49ers game

The San Francisco Police Department held a virtual town hall meeting Monday, showing surveillance and body cam videos of moments that led up to deadly police shooting at Union Square.

The incident happened on Dec. 19 on Kearny Street in San Francisco.

Some of the video clips showed the moment a black SUV hits at least one person on a sidewalk and a bicyclist on the road as well as what led to officers firing their weapons.

Police also shared that 911 call at Monday’s town hall meeting, detailing how the chaos unfolded that night.

The video shows that black SUV hitting a cyclist, who is able to run off. The driver of the SUV takes off too but not before swiping the cyclist’s bag.

Police quickly identify the suspect as 50-year-old Peter Hodge. They also shared police body camera video of their plan to take Hodge into custody, hours after the hit-and-run.

In the audio, they mentioned that Hodge was armed as they located him outside the Dior store.

“During their investigation, officers located the suspect, who was working as an armed security guard,” said acting Commander Mark Im with San Francisco police.

Their video then cuts to officers approaching Hodge outside the Dior store. Officers order him to put his hands up. Hodge turns and that’s when police deploy a “bola wrap” to try to restrain him.

But it doesn’t seem to work. Officers then hit him with a bean bag round but that didn’t seem to stop him, either.

Moments later, officers open fire after it appears Hodge draws a gun on them.

San Francisco police enhanced the body cam video, showing Hodge raise the weapon before officers fired. NBC Bay Area has decided not to show the moment he was hit.

Video also shows officers rendering aid. Police say Hodge died at the hospital. A glock was recovered at the scene. It’s not known why Hodge was allegedly chasing after that cyclist as police want to talk to the victim.

“We’re still looking for him. We’d like for him to come to us, he is a victim in this case,” said David Lazar with San Francisco police.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is also investigating the incident.