NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga, Villanova and LSU among teams to avoid

NCAA Tournament 2019: Gonzaga, Villanova and LSU among teams to avoid picking

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Zach Norvell Jr. #23 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives against Tanner Krebs #00 of the Saint Mary's Gaels during the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 12, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 09: Zach Norvell Jr. #23 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts with teammates Josh Perkins #13 and Corey Kispert #24 during the second half of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga: 1 seed in the West

Don’t get me wrong, Gonzaga is a good, if not great team. However, it seems their reputation has been hanging on their early season win over Duke all year. This one win should not prompt you to put them in the Final Four or championship with a second win over Duke along the way. They lost to the only other two top teams they played, Tennessee and North Carolina, and they struggled against eight seeded Washington.

Their path to the Final Four may be the toughest three game stretch of any one seed with Syracuse, Florida State, and Michigan being the worst case scenario. Syracuse and Florida State are both teams that have proven to be able to hang with Duke just as Gonzaga did. Syracuse won on the road while Florida State lost on a buzzer beater early in ACC play.

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All I am saying is if you have confidence in Gonzaga, it should be based off more than just that one win months ago. Other teams in their own region have shown that exact same capability and they are the teams Gonzaga will have to go through. I see Florida State pulling off the upset in the Sweet Sixteen.

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