Joe Lunardi drops Gonzaga another seed line in latest ESPN Bracketology report

Gonzaga is still set up to potentially face Arizona and former Zag assistant coach Tommy Lloyd

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

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have long been projected to open up the 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Moda Center in Portland, OR.

That remains the case, according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, but instead of sitting pretty as the No. 2 seed in the West Region, the renowned bracketologist now has Gonzaga down on the No. 4 seed line.

The Zags would likely rather open as a No. 4 seed in Portland than as a No. 3 seed in one of Greenville, Buffalo, Tampa, or Philadelphia, but it's certainly less ideal than the previously predicted No. 2 seed.

Of course, Gonzaga didn't do itself any favors with an ugly road loss to Portland last week, which not only goes down as arguably the worst loss of coach Few's career, but as a Quad 3 defeat to a team that was No. 230 in the NET coming into the contest.

Lunardi's latest bracket has Gonzaga facing No. 13 Cal Baptist, the projected winner of the WAC following a legal dispute with departing member Utah Valley, which could render UVU ineligible to represent the conference as the automatic qualifier.

CBU is 18-6 overall and 8-3 in WAC play, currently boasting an eight-game win streak. The Lancers went 0-3 against power conference opponents in the non-con, losing at Colorado and Utah and to BYU in Salt Lake, although they did go 2-0 against WCC opponents - beating San Diego 76-61 in Palm Springs and winning in Corvallis against Oregon State, 75-69, back on Nov. 29.

Should Gonzaga advance, they would face the winner of a 5-12 matchup between Alabama and South Florida. Gonzaga, of course, already played Alabama this year, beating the Crimson Tide 95-85 back on Nov. 24 in the first game of the Players Era Festival. Alabama recently got five games from center Charles Bediako, who last played for the team in 2023 before declaring for the NBA draft. Bediako was allowed to play on a temporary restraining order, but his motion to continue to play this season was denied on Monday, making him immediately ineligible and raising questions about how Alabama will be treated by the Selection Sunday committee.

Nov 24, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) shoots against Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8). | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, South Florida is now the projected automatic qualifier out of the American after beating Tulsa on Sunday, 80-74, to move to 8-3 in league play and 16-8 overall.

Should Gonzaga come out of their pod on top, they would likely face No. 1 overall seed Arizona, setting up a highly-anticipated matchup between coach Few and longtime former assistant coach Tommy Lloyd. Arizona is 23-1 on the year after losing its first game of the season on Monday at Kansas, 82-78.

Alabama is one of five teams Gonzaga has played this year that are projected to make the field of 68, joining Michigan (1 seed), Kentucky (7), UCLA (10), Saint Mary's (10), and Santa Clara (11).

Next up for Gonzaga is a home matchup against Washington State on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 8:00 PM PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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