You can't even get a Gonzaga sweater.
Someone needs to send this man some merchandise for how he promotes them.
Someone needs to send this man some merchandise for how he promotes them.
If Gonzaga wins the NC
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Who started as a 7 seed? Not Kansas....Not UK....Not Duke....Not UNC....
I agree over the years Gonzaga has gotten a sweet deal...Not arguing that.
The past 5 though? They have been really good.
You help me, and I will help you with a Shaka bobble head----Or have you collected them all?
With hair or without
The one with hair is worth some money. Bald headed Shaka is worthless
I see you....Texas football has become Indiana basketball....So I get ya man. Kind of like with me jumpin on IU football....Gotta get something. TC football has been , well, shit. So Shaka finally has a team, and ya need to talk some smack...
Good for you....Good for you..
Why the one with hair? The bald-headed one he is wearing his FF shirt from VCU....What has he done at TX to make the one with hair, worth shit? Or are you guys pimpin Top 10, December rankings, now?
Never. Its a crap shoot. But from what we have seen, i;d certainly put Gonzaga and Baylor above the field.
Your football program isn't that good..
Texas would beat you there as well.
You are more on the Arkansas/Ole Miss level
Our program has been shit...The past two years have been good...This year, outside of Bama, Clemson, I'd put IU up versus anyone---including 5-3 Texas....You guys are what, 41-36 the past 7 years? Yeah, that ain't exactly killing it there fella...
IU vs TX, this year? I;d take Indiana.
You don't have the talent. You have a few players but not the depth.
Texas can have a bunch of players opt out and their replacements are just as good.
Reason why Ole Miss might embarrass you
Just letting you know. But IU is getting better
So you agree....but it’s dumb. Got it.
I thought this whole “make up my own argument” thing was just a schtick, but apparently you don’t realize you’re doing it.
When have I said that Gonzaga isn’t really good?
All I’ve said is the lack of challenges/adversity for over two months could hurt them vs a team like Baylor, which is already at or near their level and will probably improve more between now and then. Not sure what the hell is so controversial about that.
I love how you’ve arbitrarily drawn the line at the last 5 tourneys, btw, as if the 1 seed in 2013 had no talent. Or the high seeds they had a decade earlier. You don’t get a high seed without posting a great record AND having quality wins.
Yes, KU lost in the second round in 15 and 19. Both teams limped to the finish line due to injuries/suspensions etc and lost to teams that were just better at that point in the year. No one expected either team to go very far. KU didn’t have Udoka for two tourneys, and were missing several other top players in that span. How many of Gonzaga’s top players were out for the tourney during that span? If you want to conveniently narrow it down to such a small sample, these things have to be considered.
Also interesting that, despite claiming that Gonzaga has been as good as anyone for the last five years, you seem to have lower expectations for them. You bash KU for not having more national championships but celebrate Sweet 16s for Gonzaga. Ha..
Bottom line: Few’s been there a long time and had a lot of good teams over the years. Yet ONE final four on his resume. The program you act like he compares favorably to has as many tourney wins as any in the last 20 years and goes to the final four every 5 years. Elite eight every other year.
But sure, sure...a five year Sweet 16 streak proves that Gonzaga isn’t hampered at all by their crappy conference.
KU had no idea how to play defense that first game. Our offense and rotation has been a major work in progress and we still scored 90. We were tied when Ochai went out with a 4th foul.
The game would be completely different if we played again. Our defense and offense is much better since that game. They had 15+ wide open looks at the rim they wouldn’t have if we played again. Not saying we are better but you can say our defense which is solid now was the same defense on opening night.
I think that’s a little misleading. Gonzaga hasn’t been competing for Final Fours for 20 years. They have had good teams in the past no doubt, but in the first 10+ years of Few’s run, Gonzaga was more the Little Engine that Could vs National Power.
I would put Gonzaga’s last 22 years into 3 categories:
98-03: Loveable Cinderella story. America’s scrappy underdog
04-14: Can this team actually compete? Some awesome years, some so-so years. No Elite 8’s and some flameouts as high seeds in 2004 and 2013. St. Mary’s enters as a legitimate rival at this point. Gonzaga fatigue begins the set in as they have great records but never beat the best teams. Being a mid major who wins a tournament game every year isn’t impressive anymore.
15-Current: legitimate contenders. Elite 8 teams, NBA talent, highly ranked recruits. Beating top 25 teams regularly. Competing for Final 4s.
Has Gonzaga had a great run? Absolutely. Have they always had teams good enough to get to a final 4? I don’t think so. A few years probably in that 04-14 range, but it’s been a huge change within the last 6 years.
They’ve been a 4 or better almost 60% of the time since 04. That’s a final four contender. Three 1 seeds. A 2 or 3 four times. Some of those teams may or may not have been worthy of their seeds, but you can’t just declare them overseeded because they didn’t play to seed. And if you’re not basing it on the tourney, what are you basing it on? They had to have done well in OOC in those years to earn those seeds.
I’ve been a Zags fan the majority of my life. I’m comparing with what I have seen out of the teams. There is a clear difference in talent in the last 6 years and with previous teams.
Also, I would consider 1-2 seeds to be legit Final 4 contenders. 3 seeds make the final 4 12% of the time. 4 seeds make it 9% of the time.
18-19, they played 3 ranked teams. Lost to two of them. Had one win over a ranked team all year and ended up a 1 seed.
Yup. It’s really hard to seed Gonzaga. ESPECIALLY when the PAC 12 doesn’t have a 1 seed team. But, I think we all saw with our eyes that that Gonzaga team was really good. Their 1 ranked win was against Duke. Lost an awesome game to Tennessee. Comfortably beat #10 FSU in sweet 16. Lost to eventual runner up Texas Tech in the Elite 8.
I don’t think that Zags team was over seeded. Talent wise I think they were a 1 seed and lost a good game to the runner up. Shoot that team ended up having 2 all NBA rookie team players and a 3rd player who was between G League and NBA all season.
But again, it’s really hard to judge with a limited sample size. I do not argue that. What I would say is that the teams over the last 6 years have consistently had the talent of 1-2 seeds. I don’t think I’d say that with previous 1-2 seed Gonzaga teams.
The difference in 2 seeds and 3 seeds reaching the final four is only 8 percent. And the percentage of 3s that have reached the title game is almost the same as the percentage of 2s.
Regardless, I think it’s kind of ridiculous to say that there are only 8 contenders for 4 spots.
But I’m not denying that Gonzaga’s talent level has been higher in recent years.
In this day and age you are a F4 contender if you are a five seed or better. Heck, this season you are a F4 contender if you are an eight seed or better and don't end up in the same region as Gonzaga or Baylor.
F4 teams by decade consisting of either a one or two seed (of 40 possible participants)
80s - 25
90s - 26
00s - 26
10s - 20
With that said there is a big difference in being a F4 contender and winning the whole thing.
F4 teams by decade consisting of either a one or two seed (of 40 possible participants)
80s - 25
90s - 26
00s - 26
10s - 20
With that said there is a big difference in being a F4 contender and winning the whole thing.
Ugh. Yes. Very questionable calls. Refs were too trigger happy, in general, with the whistle. But, Collins fouling out completely changed the complexion of the game.
Well, they have advanced to 5 consecutive Sweet 16s. While 5 straight Sweet 16's may not seem like a big deal, consider the fact that it's been sometime since Duke (02-06), Kentucky (95-99), Kansas (93-97), and UNC (89-93) have been able to achieve that same feat. If not for COVID, the streak most likely would have extended to 6 last season. And they've advanced to the Elite 8 in 3 of the past 5 seasons, which is tied with Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky for the most.
I don't see it as controversial either.
The soft schedule for months could hurt them earlier than a Baylor game, once the 2nd round is calling there are no walks. The question about soft schedules comes down to getting away with not playing well and still getting wins - developing bad habits that aren't costly after 40 min against lesser opponents, but. These things can and do happen.
Intensity and focus is also not easy to just switch on. Go long term not needing to be fired up it's easy to run into a buzzsaw somewhere in the NCAAs
But they've never won a title before and that's the expectation this year. I think they may be more affected by the league than in years past because they're likely more dominant over the field than ever before. I don't see anyone in that league giving them a game. 2.5 months is a long time to not be challenged. And breezing through nobodies won't improve them, just as OOC games vs low majors doesn't improve major conference teams.
Does it matter when you end up a 1 seed with a shitty schedule and have the easiest path?
A team does not deserve a 1 seed while playing three ranked teams the whole year. Meanwhile playing in the Big12 or Big10 is 10 ranked opponents minimum.
Made it to the S16 in 2018 as a 4 seed - and in 2016 as an 11 seed. They're also 5-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as a double-digit seed. Find me a program with a better first round record than that as a double-digit seed.
Yes, a title is the expectation. And the league competition is a legitimate concern. Saint Mary's and BYU don't appear as competitive as they've been in past seasons. Bubble teams, at best (looks like BYU is currently the last team in the field on Bracket Matrix). And with no crowd factor, it should be that much easier for Gonzaga to overwhelm their conference foes. 7 of the WCC schools are located in California. So given the state's cautious nature, you'd expect a few games will cancel. I think it would be beneficial if they schedule a game or two on short notice against Power-6 opponents.
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I agree that they should get in a couple more OOC games to keep up the competition. I think getting in a game against SDSU makes sense. They probably want another big game and it would be easy with GU already having to travel to play USD and SDSU already having to travel to play Boise.
I’m a Zags fan but I do believe that playing in their conference hurts them during tournament time for a couple reasons.
1. Their first or second option on each offensive possession is always a good shot. They don’t have to run through their offensive sets as much to get a good end of shot clock look. They really don’t have to grind on offense.
2. Not a single team in conference can put ball pressure on them. In the tournament, Gonzaga struggles against long, athletic defenses that put a lot of ball pressure. Recently, they have struggled/lost to Texas Tech, Florida State, WVU, and Syracuse. Ball pressure and length on defense.
Playing West Virginia was a good test. I really wish their game vs Texas Tech wasn’t cancelled. I saw a bracket that had them as a 4 seed in GU’s section. That would make me nervous.
To be fair, Gonzaga hasn't really had to grind on offense against West Virginia, Kansas, or Virginia. They carved up all of those defenses. There were a few offensive struggles against WVU, but not many. This offense appears to be on another level compared to all of the previous teams. But yes, to your point, a long, athletic team could give the Zags fits. USC is a long and athletic. They could be present an interesting matchup. Stanford is tall on the wing positions. Both schools are very close in proximity to a number of WCC schools.
So do you know if Gonzaga is openly talking about scheduling Pac-12 or other power schools, peradventure a game or two is canceled?
Yup, the difference would be that GU has never had as many ball handlers on the team as they do now. But those are just the types of defenses that GU can't prepare for in Conference games.
I haven't heard anything on GU's side about scheduling more games. But I believe SDSU has reached out to GU and a few other PAC 12 schools about getting a game in.
In a normal year I think Gonzaga should push to be allowed nonconference games sprinkled throughout the conference season.
San Diego State could be a good game. They're a tough, grind-it-out type of team. Mensah sometimes gets in foul trouble. He's a force down low; he wreaked havoc on Arizona State and Saint Mary's. Mitchell and Schakel get a lot of the attention, but I think Mensah is their most important player. He makes their defense elite. Without him, they're essentially Cincinnati. Would be great to see the Zags pick up SDSU and maybe 1 or 2 Pac-12 schools. That could be very, very helpful for tourney prep.
Yeah if those teams aren’t slowing down Gonzaga’s offense then damn
Seems like everybody plays their worst game of the season against Gonzaga. Probably just a coincidence.
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