Gonzaga Needs to Win Tonight to Keep At-Large Hopes Alive

Gonzaga has dropped to 13-7 on the season after consecutive losses in conference to Santa Clara and San Francisco. The ‘Zags played their typical solid non-conference schedule, but lost most of the games that matter for at-large selection. Their best wins are against teams that are at best on the bubble themselves, in Baylor, Marquette, Oklahoma State and Xavier. They appeared to have righted themselves after a 4-5 start that included losses to San Diego State, Kansas State, Illinois, Washington State, and Notre Dame. However, the two conference losses muted that.

The Bulldogs need to improve their profile for the committee, or else win the conference tournament. They are in the 60’s in RPI, on the outside looking in tonight. The best chance to improve that starts with the game against ranked St. Mary’s at home, along with the rematch later, and a non-conference game against Memphis. The rest of the schedule will do little to improve the Bulldogs’ standing with the selection committee.

St. Mary’s has developed into a prime contender in the West Coast Conference in recent years, just missing the tourney two years ago, and knocking off Villanova and reaching the Sweet Sixteen last year. The Gaels are 17-3; they don’t have many great wins (St. John’s in November would probably rank as the best), but the three losses won’t hurt them (San Diego State, BYU and Vanderbilt). They are solidly in the field, but are no lock, so in addition to grabbing the conference by a stranglehold, they could use this win to solidify their tournament stock.

Tip time is 11 pm eastern, television coverage on ESPN2. It should be a good one for those who are up late.

[photo via Getty]