13. Gonzaga (7-3)
There’s no question that Gonzaga has been one of the nation’s best programs in recent years and they prove it each year in the postseason. However, we’re nearing that dull period where Gonzaga is bogged down in conference play against far weaker teams. Fortunately, they’ve proven their value already in big wins over Baylor, San Diego State, and Indiana, though some losses have come from those tough challenges as well.
They traveled across the country again for a Saturday night matchup at Madison Square Garden against UConn. The Huskies beat them 77-71 in one of the best games of the week even with a poor long-range shooting effort. For Gonzaga, Khalif Battle played well with 21 points while Ryan Nembhard had 16 points and 7 assists.
Look now at the bigger picture, because Gonzaga is still in fantastic shape. Their only losses before this week were both in overtime and they’ve looked the part of a contender in their other outings. They’re going to spend most of the next three months beating up on WCC foes and have put themselves in decent enough position for the long term. They’ll be facing off against UCLA in a few weeks but it should be easygoing from here on out for the most part in Spokane.