Down goes Zaga

[DukeSky85]

At the hands of my current town team! Way to go Cougars!!!

 

[dukedevilz]

Vegas had Gonzaga at a 20.5-point favorite... Did not see this one coming. I was praising Gonzaga heavily in some other thread. I still like Gonzaga as a final four team to be honest (unless they're in the same bracket as UCLA). But BYU always plays really tough against the Zags. Gotta love Mika.

 

[eastspartan]

If Duke can't win it I hope Gonzaga does just to shut up the haters

 

[QC Dukie]

Same thing every year for gonzaga. They're not going to the FF

 

[SoCal Dukie]

BYU was hitting some crazy shots. Zags got a taste of what it's like being Duke nearly every game, where the opponent plays like it's the National Title.

 

[tripleb71]

Gonzaga would shock me if they get out of the sweet 16.

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

I don't see Gonzaga making a FF. They do have a wealth of talent but playing cupcakes all conference season does a disservice. I do see them however making it to the elite 8 before getting knocked out.

 

[skysdad]

One of the BYU players played against Duke a couple of years ago in Cameron when Elon visited. He transferred and is starting for BYU. He had 39 the game before Gonzaga. OFC

 

[dukedevilz]

Elijah Bryant is a stud. I thought he should have been starting all year in front of LJ Rose, to be honest. Now as far as Gonzaga playing cupcakes, I agree. They have played a lot of cupcakes. But they've also beaten the Pac-12 leaders in Arizona, and the second-place teams in the SEC and Big 12, in Florida and Iowa State, respectively. Saint Mary's is ranked in the top 20 in the RPI and they've handled them easily twice. They have quite a few impressive wins. I think the big issue with Gonzaga playing in the WCC, is they RARELY have any sort of competition. It's almost like they've forgotten what a close game feels like. Gonzaga needed a close game like that.

I know very few people are going to pick them for the Final Four after Saturday's game, but I think I still will. They have all the ingredients of a championship team. Great guard play, great shooters, multiple effective low-post players, depth, defense. To me, they actually have a greater margin for error than most of the top teams. Kansas and Villanova, for example, both field two extremely talented teams. But both are facing major limitations in terms of depth and inside scoring.