For only the second time in school history, our neighbors to the west are the top-ranked men’s basketball team in the country, and it’s not the Cougars or Huskies.
Only 80 miles away, an hour and a half drive, you will find Spokane, Washington. A town mostly known for its dynasty led by Mark Few – an elite, but small college basketball program that is looking at its 19th straight NCAA tournament appearance and its first championship.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs, or Zags remain as the only unbeaten team in the country.
At 28-0 with two games remaining in the regular season, the Zags are in complete control of the West Coast Conference (WCC). A month in the future, Gonzaga will likely earn a No. 1 overall seeding in the NCAA tournament — and with some lucky bracket placement, the Zags may win it all.
But we have seen this several times before.
Gonzaga has failed to come up with the stretch in the tournament time after time. The Bulldogs have yet to appear in the Final Four, often falling to opponents from larger conferences. This begs the question – can Gonzaga be trusted to pull through this time around, or will the people of Spokane be heartbroken for the 19th straight year?
On the one hand, I grew up near Spokane, so the national championship would be a blast to watch if the Zags somehow made it. I have strolled around Gonzaga’s campus more than a few times and have even seen a few basketball games.
The Zags are close to home, and I have always respected the talent, recruiting and coaching of Gonzaga. They always find a way to earn a national ranking and keep it, despite being small compared to their national competition.
On the other hand, I find it hard to be a Zags fan. Many would say the team is overrated and many would agree. Gonzaga is in the WCC, the 11th toughest conference according to the Rating Percentage Index, a conference-ranking system designed by Ken Pomeroy, which makes the undefeated record much less impressive.
Gonzaga basketball is similar to Boise State football. Both are regularly ranked programs that receive national attention, both sometimes win big games, but neither team seems to get to the big one.
Sure, Gonzaga has put up some impressive wins against a few larger, ranked schools – a 5-point win against current No. 15 Florida, a 7-point win over No. 5 Arizona and two double-digit victories over WCC rival, St. Mary’s, a team with only three losses.
Looking at these wins alone might convince some, but it is the conference schedule that holds Gonzaga back when it gets to the NCAA tournament.
Take Villanova and Kansas for example, the second and third-ranked teams in the AP poll right now. Villanova currently has a 26-2 record, with their two losses coming to No. 18 Butler and Marquette, usually two powerhouses. Villanova has faced off against seven ranked opponents thus far, and still plays No. 24 Butler and No. 20 Creighton this week.
The 24-3 Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 conference have anything other than a cupcake schedule this season. Although they have only squared off against seven ranked opponents, five of them were top-10 teams, and Kansas won every one of those games.
Take a minute to look at the schedules of the other top-10 teams besides Gonzaga. The ACC, SEC, Pac-12, Big 12 and even Big East teams are quickly gaining ground on the Zags because of the caliber of their schedules. While Gonzaga is wiping the floor with Pacific and San Francisco, Kansas must deal with Baylor, West Virginia, Texas and Iowa State in conference play.
Outside of Big 12 play, the Jayhawks defeated Duke early in the season when it was No. 1 overall and beat No. 4 Kentucky Jan. 28. Kansas also handed UNC Asheville, a tournament team last year and current Big South conference leader, a 38-point loss.
The Big South conference is not far behind the WCC, as far as schedule strength goes, making an under-the-radar win an impressive one.
Perhaps this year is different though. The Zags have taken to a new, defensive mindset this season instead of relying on their stars to score.
Before this season, Gonzaga’s game focused on its playmakers. The early 2000’s team reached the Elite Eight behind stars like Adam Morrison and eventual NBA champion with LeBron’s Heat, Ronny Turiaf. Kelly Olynyk, Kevin Pangos, Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Pargo, Gary Bell Jr. and Kyle Wiltjer headlined the past few seasons of GU basketball. All were terrific scorers, but lockdown defense was always a problem.
Now, Gonzaga has found a few new stars to lead the team with efficiency and defense at the front of their minds. Junior guard and Washington transfer Nigel Williams-Goss has a great sports name and the talent to make it famous. He is averaging 16 points, nearly six rebounds and five assists per game while shooting over 51 percent from the field. Karnowski is shooting the ball well on turnarounds and proving to be a nightmare for most posts. He is averaging 13 points and six rebounds per game.
If their record holds up, this will be the second time the Bulldogs will go into the tournament as a one-seeded team.
The last time this happened was 2013, when Gonzaga was the fourth overall team in the tournament. The Zags would end up being out-shot by a nine-seed and eventual Final Four team, Wichita State, in the second round.
Gonzaga lost to eventual champions Duke in the Elite Eight in 2015 as a two-seed then were beaten by eventual Final Four team Syracuse as an 11-seed last season. While I will remain skeptical because of the Zags’ easy schedule and usual poor showing in the tournament, I would like to see a small school in the championship, a small northwest school at that, rather than another Kentucky team or Duke and Grayson Allen’s smug attitude and questionable play.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected]