Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs had five marquee non-conference matchups this season and split the first four, beating Texas and UCLA and falling to both Duke and Alabama. They got their third win over a ranked opponent, beating a Texas Tech squad that didn’t have leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. on Saturday.
It’s another Quad 1 win for Gonzaga as they head towards WCC play, where they’ll still have opportunities to bolster its resume. With teams such as Arizona, UCLA, and USC on their trails for the No. 1 seed in the West Region, it was important for them to get another Quad 1 win against a good Red Raiders team. Now they can be satisfied with its results to this point.
Richmond Spiders
After starting out the season 3-4, Richmond has since won four straight games. That includes road wins over Northern Iowa and Wofford, along with beating Toledo at home. The most recent victory came this weekend over NC State, which will at worst be a Quad 2 victory.
The Spiders have played one of the most difficult schedules in the country to this point and that should help them out with its metrics. They still have plenty of work to do come league play but the recent run should provide optimism going forward.