Where Gonzaga stands in latest NCAA Tournament bracket projection

Gonzaga is 27-2 and 15-1 in WCC play in the final week of the regular season

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster. | Photo by Erik Smith

The Gonzaga Bulldogs sure didn't look pretty against the Pacific Tigers Saturday night, but Mark Few's team ultimately secured a 71-62 win - something many other top teams failed to do over the weekend.

Key losses - like Kansas to Cincinnati, Illinois to UCLA, and Vanderbilt to Tennessee - heavily altered the projected top 4 seeds in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, giving Gonzaga an easier path to earning a coveted No. 3 seed for the fourth time in school history.

Rocco Miller, who runs popular bracketology website Bracketeer.org, updated his projections on Monday and has the Zags on the No. 3 line in the Midwest region, where they would play their first two games at the Moda Center in Portland, OR.

Gonzaga's first matchup is against 14-seed UC Irvine, the projected automatic qualifier out of the Big West. Irvine is 18-10 on the year and 11-5 in conference play, putting them in a three-way tie for first place with Hawaii and CSUN. The Anteaters are one of the strongest defensive teams in the country, sitting at No. 31 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, while holding opponents to just 41.6% on two-point attempts on the year.

However, Irvine did not play a single power conference team this year and took home losses to Cal Baptist, Northern Iowa, and Belmont.

Should Gonzaga advance in Miller's bracket, they would face the winner of a 6-11 matchup between Wisconsin and Miami, OH.

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few and guard Jalen Warley. | Photo by Erik Smith

The Badgers are 19-8 on the year and 11-5 in league play, with a quartet of massive wins at Michigan, at Illinois, and at home against Michigan State. However, Greg Gard's team has also struggled against mediocre opponents, losing to TCU on a neutral floor, Ohio State on the road, and at home to USC.

Meanwhile, Miami OH has not lost yet this season, the last remaining undefeated team in the sport. The Redhawks sit 27-0 thanks to a highly efficient offense that shoots 61.3% on twos and 38.5% from three, which rank 3rd and 12th in CBB, respectively.

If Gonzaga makes it to the Sweet 16, they'd potentially square off with No. 2 seed Iowa State and former Saint Mary's forward Joshua Jefferson, who is having an All-American caliber season for the Cyclones.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5). | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, a rematch that no Zag fans would want to see in the Elite Eight.

The Wolverines are one of six teams Gonzaga has faced this season that Miller projects in the Field of 68, alongside Alabama (5 seed), Kentucky (7), Saint Mary's (8), UCLA (10), and Santa Clara (11).

Gonzaga will face the Gaels on Saturday, Feb. 28, to close out the regular season, and could see them again in the WCC Tournament championship.

Prior to either of those games, however, Gonzaga will host Portland on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Kennel. The game tips at 6:00 PM PT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.