Gonzaga’s Graham IkeSoobum Im/Getty Images
Current Projected Seed: No. 9
Gonzaga and its zero national championships in program history is certainly more of a sleeper candidate than six-time champion Connecticut.
But with 25 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including making it at least as far as the Sweet 16 in each of the last nine dances, the Zags aren’t exactly sneaking up on anyone at this point. (Then again, neither is North Carolina, and we already included the Tar Heels.)
However, there is a growing concern over whether this team will even make the tournament this year, sitting at 5-7 against the top 2 Quads without a single legitimately marquee win to its credit.
The destruction of Baylor on opening night looked incredible at the time, but that’s barely even a Quad 1 result now.
Let’s save the bubble debate for another day, though, and assume for now that Gonzaga makes the cut.
Few offenses (no Mark Few pun intended) are more relentless than this one.
Ryan Nembhard is averaging 10 assists per game. Graham Ike is a wrecking ball in the post, averaging 32.1 points per 40 minutes. And when he comes out, in comes Braden Huff at 26.7 points per 40 minutes, for a center tandem playing 38.5 minutes per game and averaging 28.6 points and 10.7 rebounds. Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman both have some Jekyll and Hyde in them, but this is a tough team to beat when either shooting guard shows up.
The question—as it always seems to be with Gonzaga—is the defense.
The Zags allowed 97 and 103 in back-to-back losses to Oregon State and Santa Clara last month. And in the overtime loss to Kentucky, it barely took Gonzaga three minutes to blow an 18-point second-half lead.
Rim protection is minimal at best, and no one other than Nembhard (1.7) is averaging better than a steal per game. That makes it terrifying to put the life of your bracket in Gonzaga’s hands, because those great offense, mediocre defense teams rarely last long.
Guess what, though? Their defense this year is better than either of the past two years, in which they won a combined five tournament games.
Gonzaga’s first miracle run back in 1999 came as a No. 10 seed. Maybe it could happen again.
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