NCAA Basketball: Buy or Sell Alabama, Gonzaga, and Kansas as title contenders?

Gonzaga Bulldogs – Sell

Had you asked me a month ago if the Bulldogs could find themselves in the National Championship game, I would have told you no way this year. They had some notable deficiencies on this roster and there was not an easy fix to any of them. Gonzaga lost at Saint Mary’s on February 4th and since that game the Bulldogs are 9-0 and are averaging over 90 points per game as they have blown out everyone in those 9 games including Saint Mary’s twice.

The Bulldogs enter the tournament playing at an extremely high level. The Bulldogs also have something else going on. Gonzaga has a renewed focus, and they are locked into every game they have played over the 8-game stretch. The tough non-conference schedule and some uncharacteristic upsets have helped Gonzaga. I am not always one to play your way into a loss to regain your focus, and I do not think that the Bulldogs did that but the losses to Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary’s did their job and have gotten Gonzaga locked in. So then why the Sell rating?

The Bulldogs do still have some issues at the point guard position. Nolan Hickman, who starts at that position, has had some forgettable moments this year. He has been playing much better over the last 8 games, but his decision-making is still questionable at points. The other factor to consider is how well will everyone play around star Drew Timme.  Julian Strawther and Malachi Smith have been playing at a high level right now. In the losses, the backcourt has not been great and there is still the question marks of how will Gonzaga play when the shots are not falling.

Teams are going to force Gonzaga to play through someone else other than Timme. Can the depth of Ben Gregg and Efton Reid hold up?  Can the backcourt continue to play well?  There are too many questions this year for the Bulldogs and this is the one season over the last 5 seasons I don’t think they can win it. I am a Gonzaga fan and I always think they can win it, but this year there are too many things to overcome. However, that is just my opinion so don’t be surprised if the most consistent program in the country over the last 20 years makes a run and finds a way to get to the final four.