Busting Brackets
Fansided

WCC Basketball: 5 biggest questions for rest of 2019-20 season

By Tristan Freeman

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 08: Gonzaga Bulldogs players celebrate at half court after defeating the Washington Huskies 83-76 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on December 8, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mike Tedesco/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 08: Gonzaga Bulldogs players celebrate at half court after defeating the Washington Huskies 83-76 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on December 8, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mike Tedesco/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Filip Petrusev #3 and Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Filip Petrusev #3 and Killian Tillie #33 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

1. Will Gonzaga run the table in the regular season?

Hope

February 22nd, in Provo, Utah. If Gonzaga is going to lose a game in the WCC this season, that is the game I would expect them to drop. Saint Mary’s without Matthias Tass doesn’t have the frontcourt firepower to beat Gonzaga this year, and the Zags will work extra hard to avoid another letdown in Vegas. That BYU game comes on the heels of a three-game stretch of road games against Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine and a home game against San Francisco. Do I expect Gonzaga to lose a game? No, they appear to be too consistent. But that game against BYU is the biggest game of the season.

Patton

I don’t expect Gonzaga to lose, but road games against BYU and SMC are always tough. Realistically, Gonzaga should create enough matchup issues to get by St. Mary’s, even though Jordan Ford and the Gaels slow offense will make scoring 100 difficult. BYU creates more challenges for Gonzaga, especially with Yoeli Childs back, and that game in February will be during a particularly brutal stretch of hoops for the Zags. However, if they are healthy, they are too deep and reliable to lose a game in the WCC.

Caldwell

I will say no. Gonzaga will only be slight favorites at both Saint Mary’s and BYU. The Bulldogs have seen lapses allowing their opponents to get back into ballgames. The Zags always see a packed house in the WCC, many of them in tiny venues where the fans are right on top of the action with the exception of Provo. Both the McKeon Pavilion (SMC) and the Marriott Center (BYU) will be rocking and primed for an upset.