Comments on: Can Zags handle being No. 1? It’s now or never.

By: maxfoff06

maxfoff06 — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:14:59 +0000

I’m sure you thought the same thing about Butler, until they took your team out. Common sense and college basketball tradition suggests that even the little guys can play pretty good ball!

By: my6bs

my6bs — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:38:09 +0000

I want to make sure I got this right: Gonzaga does not deserve to be #1 because they lost to Illinois and Butler, Indiana should be #1 because they ONLY lost to Illinois and Butler (and Wisconsin, and Minnesota). GU should also be dismissed because they lost to Illinois (RPI 34) at home. Pay no mind to Indiana losing to Wisconsin (RPI 43) at home. GU has more top 100 RPI wins than Indiana, Michigan, Michigan St, etc, despite playing fewer games.

By: zagdog

zagdog — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 06:48:34 +0000

Big 10 fans are disappointed their teams can’t hold #1. Scoreboard and records don’t matter, only the “power conference”. Zags are 5-0 against Big 12. They have beaten
Kansas St., Ok St., Ok, Baylor, supposed “power conf.” illini played a great game against Zags,illini also wins against Minnesota and Indy. Zags will finish season with #1 going into Wcc tourney. They have work to do to keep it with a target on their backs.
St Marys and BYU are tough matchups.

By: sdb74

sdb74 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:21:46 +0000

Point was Gonzaga lost @ HOME to Illinois genius. Michigan lost to Penn St on the ROAD. If Gonzaga is a #1 seed it’s conceivable we could have our first #16 beat a #1. Regardless, Gonzaga won’t make it out of round 2. I couldn’t possibly have less respect for anyone than Gonzaga.

By: sdb74

sdb74 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:17:39 +0000

By: jjmd06

jjmd06 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:13:23 +0000

Granted the Zags play in a weak WCC conference. But year in and year out they play a tough non conference schedule. But most of those games are played on the road. No one wants to play the Zags at home. I would like to see someone like Duke or Indiana come to Spokane and play Gonzaga and see how deserving of the high ranking the Zags have. Gonzaga will show the college basketball world what we are made of in a couple weeks. Go Zags !!!

By: ireportyoudecide

ireportyoudecide — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:13:12 +0000

That’s a really stupid comment, a terrible Penn St team beat Michigan. Enough said. See how silly that looks just becuase Illinois beat Gonzaga doesn’t mean they are better then them. You have to look deeper then that man. Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt last year on a neutral court. Enough said.

So by your reasoning Kentucky the national champion was actually terrible last year becuase they lost to Vanderbilt. In March I might add.

By: sdb74

sdb74 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:58:43 +0000

Illinois is a middle of the pack Big 10 team (they are 8-8 currently) & they went into Spokane & best Gonzaga by double digits. Enough said.

By: savoirlaire

savoirlaire — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:14:10 +0000

I call total bullish-t. Your argument holds no water…so a team that plays a second rate schedule should be number one because their competition isn’t nearly as good, but they managed to win them all? Sorry, that is not how you determine “the best team in the country”. And btw, Butler is now number 20 and Illinois is back to their usual level of mediocrity. Again, Gonzaga being number one is a joke and an insult to the rest of the teams at the top. You know, the ones that play in a real conference against real competition night in and night out…

By: florida727

florida727 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:50:19 +0000

Common sense also would have said that George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011 and Butler in 2010 AND 2011 couldn’t get into the Final Four without a ticket, right? By the way, don’t forget Utah in 1998 and Mississippi State in 1996.

By: florida727

florida727 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:45:28 +0000

I give Gonzaga credit for one thing: they beat whoever is put in front of them. We can criticize their schedule, their conference, whatever, but the bottom line is, they’re the only team in the country with only 2 losses, and both were to Top 15 teams. I’m not a Zags fan, but I say let them enjoy this. The great thing about basketball: they’ll get a chance to prove they deserve it ON THE COURT when the NCAAs roll around. This #1 ranking is huge for their program, huge for their fan base. I say congratulations Zags fans. You should revel in this. It’s hard earned.

By: savoirlaire

savoirlaire — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:38:07 +0000

Absolutely right…a decent team in a terrible conference, and now they’re number one? Who the hell have they beaten? Oh yeah, St. Mary’s and Pepperdine. And yes, I’m also aware they beat Oklahoma, OK St. and Baylor, none of which is anything to get too excited about. And they lose to Illinois and Butler…number one? Hardly. Can you say “Boise State” of basketball? What a joke…

By: sdb74

sdb74 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:25:26 +0000

If Gonzaga played IU, Kansas, Duke, etc 10 times on a neutral floor they may win ONE time.

By: sdb74

sdb74 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:09:13 +0000

Gonzaga would be 9-9 @ best in the Big 10. If they get a #1 seed in the tournament, I would love to be the #2, #3, #4, etc in their region. Common sense & history tell you Gonzaga has no chance to make Final 4.

By: savoirlaire

savoirlaire — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 13:01:10 +0000

Give me a break…this is a joke, right? As I’ve said on here before, you put Gonzaga in the Big Ten or Big East and they don’t have two losses…they have ten. They pass their first big test by beating…Portland??!? Their conference is an absolute joke, they are going down hard in the first couple games of the tourney. And people bitch about football rankings? As I’ve said, what a joke that this team is potentially number one…no way!!!

By: 32stork

32stork — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 09:56:43 +0000

They play basketball. No chest pounding, phony hard guy looks, crotch grabbing, glaring, whining to referees. The coach is never out on the floor gesturing like an idiot to the referees complaining about every call. Zags are a joy to watch. Go Zags!!!

By: bordner

bordner — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:08:14 +0000

@xli2006

First of all – is that how we determine who should be #1? By the number of wins that they have over ranked teams? What about the opposite of that – the number of losses to unranked teams? GU has two losses all season, both to Top-15 ranked teams. IU has 4 losses this season – apparently all to unranked teams. Has there ever been a #1 ranked team this late in the season whose only losses are to unranked teams? They should be happy with their #2 or #3 based on that logic.

Secondly – this is college BASKETball son. Rankings don’t really mean all that much in the grand scheme of things. There’s a little tournament that starts in a couple of weeks that will determine who the true #1 is. And if that’s your Hoosiers, so be it. Let the Zags and their fans enjoy this for now.

By: sailbum7

sailbum7 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 03:38:40 +0000

If the Zagnuts are ever going to do it, this is the year it should happen. They have a solid, experienced team and should be able to make a run to the final four.

By: xli2006

xli2006 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:38:33 +0000

Has there ever been a #1 ranked team this late in the year with only 1 win over a ranked team?

IU likely falls to 2 or 3 and is 6-0 over ranked teams, 4-0 vs Top 10 (2 of those on the road).

Meanwhile, Gonzaga will take it’s 1 win over #22 OK St and it’s questionable conference.

Put Gonzaga in a power conference and see if that record holds… the answer is no. Good team, but their resume doesn’t warrant a top ranking.

By: bordner

bordner — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:19:26 +0000

My thoughts exactly. Everything is aligned for them this year, so it might be now or never. Go Zags!

By: swu32733

swu32733 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:11:39 +0000

Most of their games have been on ESPN.

By: imaduffer

imaduffer — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 01:57:34 +0000

Gonzaga must be pretty good. Does anyone know what TV channel they’re on?