NCAA Basketball top 25 power rankings: Tennessee and Villanova rise, Alabama falls

4. Gonzaga (10-2)

With the way Gonzaga has played in recent years, those two losses on their record almost look like a mistake. After marching to last season’s title game with an unbeaten record, the Bulldogs have indeed slipped twice this season, but there’s no disaster in Spokane. Gonzaga still looks like a national title threat and will certainly have ample time to prove that in WCC play in the months ahead.

The Bulldogs have played a really tough schedule, with five games against top 25-level opponents. They made easy work of Texas and UCLA before slipping in games against Duke and Alabama. The Bulldogs high-powered offense has bounced back a bit in recent weeks, including a nice win over Texas Tech last Saturday. The WCC looks better this year than it has for quite some time, but they still aren’t going to get quite the same level of fight in conference play that they’ll get from a team like the Blue Devils.

Drew Timme is phenomenal, Chet Holmgren is developing into a star, and Andrew Nembhard is just one of a crew of talented guards on this team. They boast perhaps the best offense in college basketball, currently sitting second in offensive efficiency, and are dynamic and deadly both in transition and in the paint. Gonzaga is a fantastic team, as we’ve seen in recent years, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them enter the NCAA Tournament with no more than their current two losses; though anything can really happen this season and there are some feisty teams in the WCC.