The Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the final week of February and the start of March in unfamiliar territory: on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
They knew they needed at least one win in the final week of the WCC regular season, but road games against San Francisco and St. Mary’s looked daunting.
So far, so good for the Zags however, as Mark Few’s team took their first lead of the game with under a minute to go in the first half and never once looked back – destroying the Dons in the first seven minutes of the second half and coasting to an 18 point victory.
Graham Ike was outstanding, potentially locking up the WCC Player of the Year award by posting 26 points on 9-12 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two blocks and a perfect 8-8 performance at the free throw line.
Gonzaga moves to 23-6 overall and 13-2 in WCC play, cementing themselves as the No. 2 seed heading into the conference tournament which gives them a double-bye. They are now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, a still unremarkable record but one that comes with being No. 19 in the NET and No. 17 at KenPom.
With only one regular season game remaining, on the road against the No. 17 ranked Gaels of St. Mary’s, the Zags have positioned themselves to earn a bid in the Big Dance regardless of how things play out on Saturday and next week in Vegas.
Of course, Gonzaga would like nothing more than to avenge a two point loss at home and spoil St. Mary’s perfect regular season record – and a win in Moraga gives the Zags even more wiggle room and could lead them to as high as a six or seven seed if they win out and take the WCC autobid.
Gonzaga has not missed the NCAA Tournament since 1998, the third longest current streak, and Thursday’s second half against the Dons likely insured that streak won’t end in 2024.
