Gonzaga (12-4) (NET: 5)
2-4 (Q1), 2-0 (Q2), 4-0 (Q3), 4-0 (Q4)
Gonzaga should be safely in the NCAA Tournament field, but this team was on the bubble at this point last season and hasn’t exactly looked their best in recent weeks. Overall, the resume is in fine shape, including Quad 1 wins over Baylor on opening night and at San Diego State in mid-November.
All four losses are Quad 1 ones as well, with a few wasted opportunities. The Bulldogs lost to West Virginia in the Bahamas, Kentucky in Seattle, UConn in New York, and against UCLA a few weeks ago. All four of those teams are in great shape this season; it’s just a shame that Gonzaga couldn’t add to their resume by winning one of those games.
The obvious issue is that the WCC is a very weak conference but Gonzaga regularly plasters the weaker teams in their league. There are more Quad 1 and 2 games than usual this season with the addition of Oregon State and Washington State and these Bulldogs will be just fine if they keep winning the games they’re supposed to win.
This isn’t a bubble team; Gonzaga is just included since the WCC is a mid-major league but they’re clearly more than a mid-major program. Some sort of dire stretch with several bad losses could put them more in danger, but unlike last year they picked up some Quad 1 victories in nonconference play and are right where they want to be.
Liberty (13-2) (NET: 68)
0-0 (Q1), 2-0 (Q2), 4-2 (Q3), 4-0 (Q4)
That NET figure is in great shape though this resume is clearly lacking in opportunity. The Flames haven’t played a single Quad 1 game this season and their only power conference matchup currently sits as a Quad 3 win over Kansas State. The two notable wins are at Charleston and at home over McNeese State.
On the other end, the fact that both of Liberty’s losses are Quad 3 defeats isn’t exactly great news. They lost to a tough Florida Atlantic team in Charleston and also dropped a regrettable home game last week to Western Kentucky.
Conference USA isn’t exactly dripping with resume-building opportunities either. As it currently stands, there aren’t just zero Quad 1 games on the schedule, but the Flames may only have a few Quad 2 chances left, all coming on the road against decent CUSA teams like Middle Tennessee and UTEP.
Without real chances to shine against top teams, Liberty is almost in do-or-die mode already. They cannot afford performances like they had against Western Kentucky this past week and almost need to win out to garner consideration.