Why Gonzaga can - and can't - win a national championship in 2026-27

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are two months away from the end of what has been the strangest offseason in program history, and there are still so many questions to answer.

Will international commits Izan Almansa and Nathan de Sousa be eligible? Will the NCAA keep all three class of 202 senior transfers - Xaivian Lee, Chauncey Wiggins, and Javon Bennett - from suiting up this year? Will the Zags fill the final roster spot vacated by Skylar Wicks' decommitment?

One thing that is clear is the serious level of talent on this roster, should it all come together. Few and the staff built a team that can compete with anyone in the country, thanks to an elite frontcourt, a veteran backcourt, and potential breakout sophomore seasons from wings Davis Fogle and Isiah Harwell.

There are plenty of reasons to believe this team - if everyone is eligible - can lead Gonzaga to a third Final Four, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few concerns with Kraziness in the Kennel just one month away.

Why Gonzaga can win it all

A formidable frontcourt

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Huff's return is one of the biggest, and least talked about, stories in college basketball this upcoming season. The 6'10 big man was in the midst of a breakout year, averaging 17.8 points on 69.7% shooting on two-pointers through 18 games before going down with a knee injury in mid-January.

His return and the arrival of Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop - a hulking 7'1 big man with elite rim protection and a growing offensive game - give coach Few a truly outstanding, well-rounded starting frontcourt that will be a nightmare for opposing teams all year long.

Add in 21-year-old Izan Almansa and two young, high-upside bigs in Parker Jefferson and Sam Funches and you have a group that competes with anyone in the country - and can absolutely lead this team to the promised land in March.

Veteran experience

Feb 7, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee (1) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Easily the biggest question mark on this team due to eligibility. Lee, Wiggins, and Bennett are all fifth-year seniors who - if eligible - make this a veteran-laden team with high major and NCAA Tournament experience all over the roster.

If not, the team will rely on Huff and a group of primarily underclassmen - like Fogle, Harwell, and Diop - to lead the team, as well as older international players in de Sousa and Almansa who are new to college hoops.

That matters quite a bit in March, and is a big swing for this team's potential upside in 2027.

Why Gonzaga could fall short

The 3-point problem

Feb 28, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Florida State Seminoles forward Chauncey Wiggins (7) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last year was the worst three-point shooting season of Few's head coaching career, and it was a major reason the team struggled down the stretch - and lost to Texas in the Round of 32.

The team's two best three-point shooters from last year - Steele Venters and Mario Saint-Supery - are now with Washington and Valencia, respectively, while the roster hasn't exactly been filled with perimeter snipers.

That makes the eligibility of Chauncey Wiggins particularly crucial, as he provides high-level outside shooting - drilling 39% of his six attempts per game last year at Florida State, the top mark in the country for a player 6'10 or taller.

Javon Bennett - who is currently ineligible thanks to the stay granted in Ohio - is also a solid outside shooter, but unless both players are in Spokane, the shooting looks very problematic in 2026-27.

Xaivian Lee (29.2%), Isiah Harwell (27.1%), Massamba Diop (30.8%), and Braden Huff (33%) aren't lighting it up from deep, and while Fogle's 35% was solid last year, it came on a very low volume and isn't guaranteed to improve with a bigger role.

Luca Foster has drawn praise for his shooting, but unless the freshman emerges as a Corey Kispert clone, the Zags could once again be in trouble beyond the arc.

Lack of continuity

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Davis Fogle (4). | Photo by Myk Crawford

The strangest offseason in Gonzaga history could end with a very talented crop of players in Spokane, but even in that best-case scenario, the team will have had very little time to gel and familiarize themselves with each other.

Right now, the only players who have been around for most/all of the summer are Huff, Fogle, Harwell, Diop, Jefferson, Foster, Funches, and the two walk-ons, Alonzo Metz and Carter Nilson.

The other six - Lee, Wiggins, Bennett, Almansa, de Sousa, and Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa - have all spent very little or no time at all in Spokane, and with the exception of Ekanga-Ehawa - who is in Spokane with the team currently - it's unclear how much time they will get over the next two months before the season begins.

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Erik Smith

Wiggins and Lee are currently eligible, but that could change at a moment's notice if the NCAA successfully gets stay requests in the Georgia or California lawsuits. That would immediately render Wiggins (Georgia) or Lee (California) ineligible until an appeal is heard, and that could take a month or longer.

If Bennett, de Sousa, and Almansa are all eligible soon, and Lee and Wiggins remain eligible, this team will be locked and loaded heading into the season opener against Purdue. If not, it's hard to know how ready this squad will be for the rigors of a college hoops season - even if on paper the talent is national championship caliber.

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