Another season, another WCC Tournament win. But will Gonzaga basketball’s streak of consecutive Sweet 16s continue?
General Information:
Team: Gonzaga
Location: Spokane, Washington
Record: 25-8 (14-4)
Head Coach: Mark Few (26th season, all at Gonzaga)
What to know about Gonzaga basketball:
It may seem like an off year with an 8 seed for the Bulldogs but make no mistake – 1 seed Houston does NOT want to see this team in the round of 32.
The Zags march into March Madness with four straight wins, all over quality teams. They beat San Francisco twice, Saint Mary’s, and Santa Clara all within that span.
Mark Few’s squad doesn’t necessarily have one leader, although you can look to Ryan Nembhard as who makes everything flow. The Zags’ point guard is averaging just short of a double-double with 10.8 points and 9.8 assists per game.
The main go-to option is Graham Ike inside. The 6-9, 245 forward is putting up 17.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and commands physical defense.
Elsewhere, Khalif Battle can get hot, Nolan Hickman can be a sparkplug, Braden Huff and Ben Gregg spell Ike incredibly, and Michael Ajayi is a talented role piece averaging 6.7 points as the seventh scoring option.
Needless to say, Gonzaga can put the ball in the basket at a high level. They have the second-highest scoring average and most assists per game as a team for a reason and can also defend, albeit at the WCC level.
NCAA Tournament prediction for Troy basketball: Round of 32 exit
Seed: 8
Gonzaga basketball has made the Sweet 16 or further in every NCAA Tournament since 2015. However, they’re usually not slated to face the 1 seed in the second round of the dance, meaning a potential matchup with Houston is more difficult than they’re used to.
While I think Gonzaga gets past Georgia in the round of 64, and I also think they can give Houston one heck of a game, it’s tough to pick against a Cougars team that can also spray it from distance and absolutely shut down the best scoring teams in the nation. It would truly be a game of clashing styles, but defense wins championships and Kelvin Sampson is bound to break through and finally win that first national championship.
Still, it’s a true 50/50 game so don’t be surprised if the Bulldogs are the first team to dethrone any of the four 1 seeds.
[…] high 30 points, and hit six 3-pointers, including a couple clutch buckets down the stretch. Even Gonzaga head coach Mark Few mentioned postgame Cryer was spectacular. Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts […]