let's just say they are overrated. I wouldn't rule out the Zags getting eliminated before the Elite 8. They barely beat the mighty Loyola Marymount by 1.
And like you said in a different thread, they struggled against San Diego. I'll be shocked if Gonzaga makes it past the Sweet 16. They'll probably get a No. 2 or 3 seed. They'll win the first round and could possibly lose against the No. 7 or 10 seed. They always struggle in the NCAA Tournament.
LMU is not that tough. They played Gonzaga well the three times they clashed this season, but other teams in the WCC have done the same. San Francisco nearly knocked off the Zags.
If they get upset in the 2nd round that will be their wake up call for next season, so that the Zags learn their lesson of not letting inferior teams keep the games interesting!
Well, they should have gotten that wake-up call half a dozen times already. What Gonzaga should do is move to a better conference so that they're better prepared for the NCAA Tournament. It's just too difficult to go from playing San Francisco, San Diego and LMU to playing Connecticut, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, etc. Gonzaga should try to get into the PAC 10 or Big East.
UCLA is the only great team in the PAC 10 this year. They have the guard play to go to the Sweet Sixteen and perhaps the Elite Eight, depending on who they play and what region they are in.
If you've looked at my picks, you know that I don't have Memphis going far. I think the Tigers are really overrated. UCLA could go far if it beats Marquette. The Bruins have problems defending the three, while the Golden Eagles are the top-shooting team in the tournament. I think Marquette can make a West Virginia-like run.
I thought the game was over when UCLA was down 13 with about 10 minutes left. My friends and I actually went out to the bar at that point because we thought the game was over. When we walking in, we looked at the TV and it said, "UCLA 73, Gonzaga 71." It's safe to say that we were surprised.
