12. Gonzaga (30-3)
In their last regular season finale as members of the WCC, Gonzaga fell at Saint Mary’s in an 11-point loss that split the conference title between the two schools. While the Bulldogs have largely spent conference season beating up on weaker teams, they always get their money’s worth out of the Gaels. However, that one performance wasn’t any kind of harbinger of things to come because Gonzaga showed again why they’ve owned the league for decades.
In their semifinal, a strong opening half did the job in a 65-56 victory over Oregon State. Graham Ike looked great in the postseason again with 24 points and 11 rebounds to knock out the Beavers. Since Saint Mary’s was beaten in their semifinal, Gonzaga instead matched up with Santa Clara and got a 79-68 win over the Broncos. The Bulldogs saw brilliance from Mario Saint-Supery with 21 points and a 20-point, 7-rebound effort from Tyon Grant-Foster off the bench.
Gonzaga claims one last WCC Tournament championship and reassert themselves as a team to watch in the days ahead. The Bulldogs don’t know exactly what’s ahead as a program in the new Pac-12 but this specific team knows they can win multiple games in the Big Dance. Remember, Gonzaga spent the nonconference schedule beating up on power conference teams like Alabama, Kentucky, and UCLA and aren’t going down easy if they’re on top of their game.