Poll: Does Gonzaga Deserve a 4 SEED?

[visitingcock]

NET 12
RPI 15
Warren ELO Chess 8
Massey 18

AP Poll 16
Coaches Poll 13

 

[nwhoopfan]

Their metrics are hurt by a weaker than usual WCC this year. Nothing they can do about that. Pretty good OOC schedule.

 

[Vowelguy]

Double digit win over Stanford.

And while their conference is weak, they have won every game by double digits.

Folks rightly criticize Fairfield for eeking out close wins over weak opponents. Zags have not done that.

 

[JellyBean]

I voted "Yes" on Gonzaga being deserving of a 4th Seed in the tournament. I watch a lot of their games and on the eye test level, they are just as good and competitive as any other top 20 team, minus South Carolina. They gave a Washington State, then ranked 24th, a good run. Same with Louisville. We all know what they did to Stanford, then ranked 2nd or 3rd at the time. The only knock against Gonzaga is that they play in weak WCC but other than that, they are just as deserving of that 4th Seed as any other team.

 

[jdote33]

I agree with most posts in the thread. I think I saw in the athletic bracketology they had them as a 3 seed over UConn which is pushing it. But they've been pretty dominant and even have some notable wins against power 5 teams. They are super experienced and have been in the top 25 for quite awhile with no real drop off

 

[Plebe]

They're right on the cusp. The win over Stanford is huge, but the resume after that is VERY thin for a hosting candidate. The only other win over a definite at-large team is Alabama. After that it's bubble teams and below (Arizona and fringe bubble teams like Cal, South Dakota State, and Toledo).

If the committee didn't put them in the first reveal, I don't love their chances. Louisville and Indiana were both ahead of them; Louisville will drop out this week, but the last spot is probably now between Gonzaga, Utah and Notre Dame. With how much the committee traditionally values quality wins, I feel like Utah is the most likely bet.

 

[Plebe]

Update: Kansas State's loss to Iowa State improves Gonzaga's hosting prospects immensely.

Even if they're in tonight's reveal (which I think they will be now), there's a danger that a team like Notre Dame, Louisville or Syracuse could displace them with some strong results in the last two weeks. Notre Dame, for example, has a big game tonight vs Virginia Tech.

 

[faninwisc]

I honestly think they could/should be a three seed. I've watched quite a few of their games this year and they are legit! They shoot very well, they are cohesive, and they don't make mistakes. If this team had a true post presence, they would be competing for a national championship.

 

[nwhoopfan]

If this team had a true post presence, they would be competing for a national championship.

Ejim might be undersized, but I don't see how you can say she isn't a true post presence. She's been dominant all year. Hollingsworth and Huijbens combine for about 17 pts/11 rebs per game and are both listed at 6-3. I don't see lack of post presence as a problem for this team. They don't block a lot of shots, but you don't have to have that to be good defensively.

 

[faninwisc]

Ejim might be undersized, but I don't see how you can say she isn't a true post presence. She's been dominant all year. Hollingsworth and Huijbens combine for about 17 pts/11 rebs per game and are both listed at 6-3. I don't see lack of post presence as a problem for this team. They don't block a lot of shots, but you don't have to have that to be good defensively.

They definitely have some solid players in the post but I'm thinking a 6'6 big that can control the paint. With someone like that, I think this team could contend with anyone in the country.

 

[nwhoopfan]

They definitely have some solid players in the post but I'm thinking a 6'6 big that can control the paint. With someone like that, I think this team could contend with anyone in the country.

How many players like that are there? Cardoso, Betts, Lee, Kitley...anybody else? Not enough to go around, and some Championship contenders don't have that.

 

[faninwisc]

How many players like that are there? Cardoso, Betts, Lee, Kitley...anybody else? Not enough to go around, and some Championship contenders don't have that.

After I posted that, I thought the same thing....lol. There are a lot of teams that are a 6'6 post player away from being a true contender for a national championship.....UCONN is one of them.

 

[nwhoopfan]

After I posted that, I thought the same thing....lol. There are a lot of teams that are a 6'6 post player away from being a true contender for a national championship.....UCONN is one of them.

Yeah, what team wouldn't want that?

I think Gonzaga's biggest asset is familiarity playing with each other. Maxwell has been there 2 years, the rest of the starters 4-5 and a fair bit of experience off the bench as well. For them, adding that 1 extra ingredient might not be worth it if it threw off their chemistry.


Maybe I should've added Jackson from Kansas to that list. She didn't portal out for her covid year, I'm sure she would've had plenty of programs interested in her. As it is KU is a bubble team who has been gaining some momentum lately.

 

[visitingcock]

I nights off in the WCCconference.

It’s hard to beat a decent team three times.

Portland punches their ticket to “host” a regional?

 

[Vowelguy]

Holy crap. They beat them by 50 two weeks ago.
Gonzaga hosting position becomes very precarious. And the loss isn’t even to Santa Clara.

Their saving grace may be that all the teams vying for 4 seeds have bad losses since the last reveal. But none are this bad.

 

[visitingcock]

Holy crap. They beat them by 50 two weeks ago.
Gonzaga hosting position becomes very precarious. And the loss isn’t even to Santa Clara.

Their saving grace may be that all the teams vying for 4 seeds have bad losses since the last reveal. But none are this bad.

And it’s not like the committee members were all distracted by Caitlin scoring 70 today . Ouch!

 

[WBBTakeover]

I know it's easy to say this now, but no.

 

[Plebe]

Holy crap. They beat them by 50 two weeks ago.
Gonzaga hosting position becomes very precarious. And the loss isn’t even to Santa Clara.

Their saving grace may be that all the teams vying for 4 seeds have bad losses since the last reveal. But none are this bad.

FWIW they interviewed Creme during the first half of the game, and he opined that Gonzaga would likely host even with a loss. I'm not so certain.

As you say, the one thing that could save them is that almost every team that was in the mix for a 4 seed has laid some eggs.

 

[Vowelguy]

Meanwhile Portland wins a trip to Corvallis.

 

[visitingcock]

Meanwhile Portland wins a trip to Corvallis.

Yeah, but they’ll have home court for the sweet 16.