Despite 14 game winning streak, Gonzaga drops seed line in latest Bracketology report

The Zags have a major test this weekend against Saint Mary's

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs boast the fifth-longest winning streak in college basketball, rattling off 14 straight after getting crushed by Michigan in the Players Era Championship back on Nov. 26.

Gonzaga (21-1, 9-0) has managed to win the last three without leading scorers Braden Huff (knee) and Graham Ike (ankle), a monumental feat that is thanks to heroic performances from Jalen Warley, Tyon Grant-Foster, and freshmen Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supery.

The Zags were rewarded with a two-spot jump in this week's AP Poll, from No. 8 to No. 6, but surprisingly dropped in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology projection from ESPN.

Lunardi moved the Zags from the No. 2 seed to the No. 3 seed in the West Region, with Michigan State jumping up to take their spot on the two line. Gonzaga would still be sent to Portland, OR to play their first two games, lining up against No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington (18-3, 7-1) out of the CAA.

The Zags would then draw the winner between No. 6 seed Clemson and whoever wins the projected play-in game between No. 11 seeds USC and Texas. Gonzaga and Clemson have played just once - a Zags win in 2012 - but GU does have quite a bit of history against both coaches in the play-in matchup in USC's Eric Musselman and Texas' Sean Miller.

Musselman was the coach at Arkansas when the Hogs knocked off No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 in 2022, while Miller was at Arizona during many marquee non-conference and NCAA Tournament matchups between these two schools. He was also at Xavier when Gonzaga beat them in Portland in the Phil Knight Invitational in 2022.

Jan 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Eric Musselman. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Zags would have to get past another familiar foe in Tom Izzo and the Spartans in order to set up a potential epic Elite Eight matchup with No. 1 Arizona and longtime assistant coach Tommy Lloyd, who remain undefeated this season after a narrow two-point win at BYU on Monday night.

Gonzaga is one of two WCC teams in the projected NCAA Tournament field alongside Saint Mary's, who sit as a No. 9 seed in the South Region, where they draw No. 8 SMU, followed by a potential second-round matchup against No. 1 UConn, whom SMC lost to in the NCAA Tournament back in 2023.

Santa Clara (17-5, 8-1) is squarely on the bubble, listed among the first four out alongside Seton Hall, Indiana, and TCU. Meanwhile, Creighton is among the next four out after a solid - but unspectacular - 6-3 start to Big East play.

The Zags have played four teams that are projected in Lunardi's field of 68, including Michigan (1 seed), Alabama (5), Kentucky (7), and UCLA (10), who sneaks back in after upsetting Purdue early last week.

Gonzaga will have a chance to pick up a marquee win on Saturday, Jan. 31, when Saint Mary's comes to town. The game will tip at 7:30 PM PT and will be broadcast on ESPN.