Tell me about Gonzaga

OSUTideFan

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Dec 17, 2019
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I don’t know anything about basketball.
I see Gonzaga is going into the postseason undefeated with a record of something like 24-0, far and away the best win record in the sport this year. My question is, do they play an easy cupcake schedule to get to this point, or are they really world-beaters in college basketball?
 
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BAMAVILLE

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I don’t know anything about basketball.
I see Gonzaga is going into the postseason undefeated with a record of something like 24-0, far and away the best win record in the sport this year. My question is, do they play an easy cupcake schedule to get to this point, or are they really world-beaters in college basketball?
Gonzaga has beaten the following in out of conference play. All of whom are ranked in the AP:

#13 Kansas (who was ranked higher at the time)
#6 West Virginia
#5 Iowa
#21 Virgina
(And they beat Auburn as well)

They pretty much dominated their conference but note, they are the only team that's ranked from that conference. I think BYU may have been ranked at one time (they are currently 26)

They are a great team and the understanding is they can beat you with numerous styles of play. History is not in their favor though because no team ranked number one from the start and the end of the ap polling season has won a national championship. This could be the year though. If everything holds up, they have a very winnable bracket in region 1.
 

CB4

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I’ve watched Gonzaga probably a half dozen times this year. As @BAMAVILLE says, they are the best team in the country in my estimation. And I agree what makes them so good they can beat you playing so many different ways: inside, outside, transition, half court...you name it .

The thing I always try to remember about this time of the year is that it isn’t about the best team...it is about the best team at tournament time. A team that gets hot for a handful of games can find themselves sitting in The Final Four.
 

Tide Rev

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Gonzaga always plays well in the season. But somewhere along the way in the tournament, they lose their way and lose in the NCAA. It will probably happen this year unless they are finally as good as advertised. Just my 2 cents...
 
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TideEngineer08

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They have to front load their schedule because they play in the WCC. And to their credit, as BAMAVILLE pointed out, they do all they can do in the non-con schedule to get some legit competition. This is not the basketball equivalent of UCF or Boise State in football by any stretch.

I think the reason they tend to not do as well in the ncaa tournament as you would expect is because they get into their conference schedule and the competition is lowered way down for 2 and half months and you get used to playing that level. It's difficult to ramp it back up. But I do think they are really good.
 

BAMAVILLE

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These are the 2 through 5 seed teams currently in the region Gonzaga would be in:

2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma State
5. Florida State
 

BAMAVILLE

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FThomas

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Oct 18, 2011
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Gonzaga, unlike when they were the plucky small school, has a ton of NBA-type talent. Jalen Suggs is predicted to be a top 10 draft pick (possibly top 5), Corey Krispert, is also expected to be taken in the top half of the first round. Joel Ayayi may be a 2nd round pick. Drew Timme could possibly also be drafted, although he is a borderline 2nd round selection. So basically, they have a top NBA draft pick, another who is a likely top half of the first round pick, one who may be picked in the 2nd round, and another that is a borderline prospect but who may get a G-league invite or drafted late in the 2nd round to try to work himself into the league. Gonzaga has a lot of talent.
 

Bpilktree

1st Team
Jan 7, 2019
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This Gonzaga team is a completely different animal then prior years teams. The past teams were usually veteran teams that fit the system well and played better as a team then the individual parts. If you look at the top 60 recruits each year from 2007-2017 class Gonzaga had 3 top 60 recruits total in all those years coming out of high school. This team with the recruits from 2018-20 has 5 current roster players that were top 60 coming out of high school.
 

Bpilktree

1st Team
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They did better in the tournament when no one knew who they were.
They went to National championship game and lost to a loaded UNC team as a number 1 seed in 2017. They made 2 more elite 8s as a 1 and 2 seed. They never have done better then sweet 16 as a seed lower then a 2.
 
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