NET Rankings update: Gonzaga finishes regular season inside top 10

The Bulldogs sit at No. 8 in the latest NET Rankings

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

The Gonzaga men's basketball team could present one of the more intriguing postseason resumes for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to consider once the dust settles on what's likely to be a wild conference tournament week around the country.

As the Bulldogs (23-8, 14-4 WCC) recoup from their latest California road trip, which was highlighted by a pair of impressive quadrant 1 wins over Santa Clara and San Francisco, they moved up to No. 8 in the NET Rankings as of Monday. The Zags finished with three quad 1 victories plus five quadrant 2 wins and went undefeated in the other two quadrants (15-0 combined).

Over the last three seasons, all but one team that ranked inside the top 10 of the NET heading into Selection Sunday earned a 4-seed or better from the selection committee. The lone exception was Houston in the 2021-22 season, when the Cougars were No. 3 in the NET coming off their American Athletic Conference Tournament championship win, but were put on the 5-seed line, likely because they had just one quad 1 win and a borderline top-100 strength of record ranking that season.

A 5-seed can't be ruled out of the realm of possibility for the Bulldogs, though it would require going 2-0 at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas next week. In that case, Gonzaga, the tournament's No. 2 seed, would have bolstered its postseason resume with presumably two more high-quality wins, barring any upsets to the other teams that finished top four in the league standings.

Currently, though, Torvik's projection model projects the Bulldogs are more deserving of an 8-seed based on their lack of quad 1 wins in comparison to some of the other teams ranked highly in the NET, Torvik and KenPom.com. Gonzaga is ranked No. 41 in Wins Above Bubble, with its three quad 1 wins coming on the road at San Diego State (No. 50 in the NET) and its two most recent triumphs against the Broncos (No. 52) and the Dons (No. 62). Baylor, which got thumped by the Zags on opening night, fell to No. 32 in the latest NET, meaning that game at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 4 counts toward the Bulldogs' quad 2 record. Home games are considered quad 1 contests when the away team is ranked inside the top 30 of the NET.

Here's a look at the rest of the teams in the WCC through the lens of the NET.

Gonzaga Bulldogs

NET Ranking: No. 8
Record: 23-8, 14-4 WCC    Q1: 3-6  Q2: 5-2  Q3: 4-0  Q4: 11-0 
Best wins: Q1 at San Diego State (50), Q1 at Santa Clara (52), Q1 at San Francisco (62)

Saint Mary’s Gaels

NET Ranking: No. 18
Record: 27-4, 17-1 WCC    Q1: 4-2  Q2: 6-2  Q3: 6-0  Q4: 10-0 
Best wins: Q1 at Gonzaga (8), Q1 vs. Gonzaga (8), Q1 at Santa Clara (52)

Santa Clara Broncos

NET: No. 52
Record: 20-11, 12-6 WCC    Q1: 2-5  Q2: 4-2  Q3: 5-4  Q4: 9-0
Best wins: Q1 at Gonzaga (8), Q1 at McNeese (61), Q2 vs. San Francisco (62)

San Francisco Dons

NET: No. 62
Record: 23-8, 13-5 WCC    Q1: 1-5  Q2: 3-3  Q3: 6-0  Q4: 12-0
Best wins: Q1 vs. Saint Mary's (18), Q2 vs. Boise State (43), Q2 vs. Santa Clara (52)

Oregon State Beavers

NET: No. 80
Record: 20-11, 10-8 WCC    Q1: 1-6  Q2: 2-3  Q3: 2-1  Q4: 14-1
Best wins: Q1 vs. Gonzaga (8), Q2 vs. Santa Clara (52), Q2 vs. UC Irvine (63)

Washington State Cougars

NET: No. 113
Record: 18-13, 8-10 WCC    Q1: 2-7  Q2: 2-4  Q3: 2-0  Q4: 12-2
Best wins: Q1 neutral vs. Boise State (43), Q1 at Nevada (71), Q2 vs. San Francisco (62)

Loyola Marymount Lions

NET: No. 163
Record: 16-14, 8-10 WCC    Q1: 0-7  Q2: 2-4  Q3: 5-0  Q4: 8-3
Best wins: Q2 vs. Santa Clara (52), Q2 vs. Nevada (71), Q3 vs. Oregon State (80)

Pepperdine Waves

NET: No. 256
Record: 10-21, 4-14 WCC    Q1: 0-8  Q2: 0-4  Q3: 1-3  Q4: 8-6
Best wins: Q3 neutral vs. New Mexico State (144), Q4 vs. UC Davis (222), Q4 vs. Northern Arizona (252)

Portland Pilots

NET: No. 283
Record: 12-19, 7-11 WCC    Q1: 0-6  Q2: 0-4  Q3: 1-6  Q4: 9-3
Best wins: Q3 vs. Oregon State (80), Q4 vs. LMU (163), Q4 at Pepperdine (256)

Pacific Tigers

NET: No. 293
Record: 9-23, 4-14 WCC    Q1: 0-6  Q2: 1-6  Q3: 3-2  Q4: 3-9
Best wins: Q2 at WSU (113), Q3 vs. WSU (113), Q3 at LMU (163)

San Diego Toreros

NET: No. 319
Record: 5-26, 2-16 WCC    Q1: 0-6 Q2: 0-6  Q3: 0-3  Q4: 4-11
Best wins: Q4 vs. Idaho (263), Q4 vs. Portland (283), Q4 vs. Boston U. (287)

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• What Gonzaga's Ryan Nembhard and Ben Gregg said after the big win at San Francisco

• What Mark Few said after Gonzaga’s win against San Francisco

• Gonzaga clinches No. 2 seed in WCC tourney: 3 takeaways from win against San Francisco

• Gonzaga decimates San Francisco to finish second in WCC standings: Game recap, analysis

• 7-foot freshman brings energy and a new look to Gonzaga Bulldogs

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