SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga begins their season this coming Tuesday. As alwaysm there are a lot of expectations around the squad.
We're diving into what their record could be for the regular season.
GROUND RULES
- I’m going to assume Gonzaga wins every game against quote unquote "lesser" competition
- I’m including BYU in that lesser competition group because the Cougars don’t have a super deep team this season and they have a new head coach
- I’m also going to assume Gonzaga goes 2-1 in the Battle for Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving weekend
- With all those assumptions, that puts Gonzaga at 25-1
Now let’s go through the games that are up in the air on their schedule chronologically.
GONZAGA AT WASHINGTON
DETAILS: December 8th on ESPN2 at 4 PM.
The Huskies pushed the Zags to the brink last season, as the Bulldogs needed a game-winning jumper from Rui Hachimura to win.
However, these are definitely different teams this season, with both squads losing pivotal playmakers.
Both Gonzaga and UW lost their top four scorers from last season.
I am going to give the Zags the edge in this game for a few reasons:
- The Zags have way more tenured, experienced leadership than the Huskies do. Kispert, Tillie, and senior grad transfers Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge will be able to keep their cool.
- UW has heralded transfer Quade Green on their squad this year, but he’s not eligible to play for the Huskies until after this game.
- Gonzaga has won all of the games since this rivalry was renewed. I'm not going to pick against the Zags until the Huskies get a win against them.
GONZAGA AT ARIZONA
DETAILS: December 14th on ESPN2 at 7 PM.
This Arizona team does have solid veteran leadership in redshirt senior center Chase Jeter. They also have grad transfers Max Hazzard, who made a name for himself in the NCAA Tournament last year with UC-Irvine, and Stone Gettings, a 6'9 forward who transferred from Cornell.
On Thursday the school announced that Kentucky transfer and shooting guard Jemarl Baker Jr. was ruled eligible by the NCAA to play this season. That's a big deal because Arizona has already lost their starting point guard and second leading scorer Brandon Williams for the whole season due to a knee injury.
Because this is on the road in Tucson and this Arizona team should be in some sort of groove by then, I'm picking the Wildcats in this contest.
NORTH CAROLINA AT GONZAGA
DETAILS: December 18th on ESPN2 at 6 PM.
Just to give you an idea of what the media thinks this match up looks like coming into the season: Gonzaga was ranked #8 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, North Carolina was ranked #9. So yeah, even though personally I think Gonzaga’s preseason ranking is a little high, this still should be a pretty fun game.
Getting down the nitty gritty here: North Carolina lost all five of their top scorers, but that’s common in a program of their level. They have the #9 recruiting class in the country, but Gonzaga has the #13 recruiting class in the nation, so that feels like a wash.
One factor that might prove pivotal in this contest is health. North Carolina has three players, two freshmen and one junior, who have knee injuries, although the extent is unknown. While the only injured player for Gonzaga right now is Killian Tillie, and all signs indicate that his knee surgery was not serious.
I am pretty much giving Gonzaga the narrowest of edges in this game especially since it's at home, but don't be surprised if this one comes down the wire.
GONZAGA-SAINT MARY'S SERIES
DETAILS: February 8th at SMC on ESPN or ESPN2 at 7 PM, February 29th at Gonzaga on ESPN or ESPN2 at 7 PM.
The Gaels are going to be good this year. Like really, really good. Like they return eight of their top nine scorers good. I don’t think I need to say much else than that.
I think the Zags split this series this season.
THE VERDICT
My record prediction for the Zags is 28-3. By the way, Vegas agrees with me as they have the line for Gonzaga’s record at 28-3, too.
They could very easily end up being a 27-4 or 26-5 squad.