Gonzaga back on the bubble in latest NCAA Tournament projections

The Zags have some work to do if they want to guarantee a March Madness berth

Gonzaga men's basketball. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

It’s odd to see the Gonzaga Bulldogs listed as an NCAA Tournament bubble team, but that’s the situation heading into the final week of the regular season following their 74-67 loss to Saint Mary’s on Saturday night that gave the Gaels the outright West Coast Conference regular-season title.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Gonzaga listed in his most recent Bracketology Bubble Watch posted several hours before the Zags played at Santa Clara in their last true road game of the season. 

Palm wrote that “this feels like a game Gonzaga should win, but they lost the first meeting at home to the Broncos 103-99. That is just one of a handful of surprising results involving the Bulldogs this season.”

Palm said a win against the Broncos, who have been lights-out from behind the 3-point arc, would be the Zags’ fourth-best of the season. 

Jerry Palm's bracket predictions

Palm had the Zags listed as the No. 9 seed in the South Region in his most recent bracket. He said he had them as No. 10 before swapping them up and the Cougars down to accommodate the Cougars’ need for Thursday-Saturday sites. BYU doesn’t play on Sundays for religious reasons.

Tuesday night’s game is a Quad 1 opportunity. The Zags, No. 10 in the NCAA Net Rankings, are just 2-6 in Quad 1 games. Santa Clara is No. 52 in the NET.

Palm wrote that the Bulldogs don’t have a game on their schedule that will fix the problems on their resume. That chance wouldn’t come until next week at the conference tournament. Saint Mary’s swept the regular-season series.

Gonzaga ends the regular season against San Francisco on Saturday night at the Chase Center. The Dons, tied for second in the WCC with Gonzaga at 12-4, are No. 61 in the NCAA NET Rankings.

ESPN Bracketology update

Joe Lunardi of ESPN also has the Zags trending downward. Lunardi has them as the No. 9 seed in the South, down one spot from his previous Bracketology post. They're projected to play No. 8 Creighton in the first round in Lexington, Kentucky.

If Gonzaga beats Creighton, they would play No. 1 Auburn in the second round — a matchup many pundits expected to see in the Final Four when the season started.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• How to watch Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Santa Clara Broncos: TV channel, game time, predictions

• Despite Saint Mary’s loss Gonzaga still near top of college basketball rankings

• What Gonzaga's Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard said after loss to Saint Mary’s

• What Mark Few said after Gonzaga’s 74-67 loss to Saint Mary’s

• Saint Mary's stuns Gonzaga to clinch WCC title: Game recap, analysis

• Gonzaga humbled at home: 3 takeaways from Saint Mary’s WCC-clinching victory at the Kennel

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