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March Madness Preview: Gonzaga

By Brendan Wright

Feb 16, 2017; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs center Przemek Karnowski (24) goes up for a basket against San Francisco Dons forward Matt McCarthy (10) during the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2017; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs center Przemek Karnowski (24) goes up for a basket against San Francisco Dons forward Matt McCarthy (10) during the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /
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March Madness
Feb 11, 2017; Moraga, CA, USA; Fan holds up a sign during the first half of the game between the St. Mary’s Gaels and the Gonzaga Bulldogs at McKeon Pavilion. The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the St. Mary’s Gaels with a score of 74-64. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports March Madness /

In case you missed the College Basketball  March Madness action this past weekend, the Bulldogs’ attempt to go 30-0 on the season, was spoiled. Gonzaga suffered defeat at the hands of BYU on Saturday dropping them down to 4th in the AP Poll.

Even with this loss, if Gonzaga runs the table in the WCC Tournament, they’re likely to find themselves as a #1 seed in the NCAA.

However, should you put faith in the Bulldogs heading into March Madness?

March Madness: Gonzaga Breakdown

Over the past 20 years, Gonzaga has been beating up on lesser talent, propelling them to every NCAA Tournament since 1999. They are a talented team non-the less, but is it possible that some experts give them too much credit?

Tournament Success

Gonzaga’s tournament success has been non-existent. They’ve experienced March Madness 18 times in a row, so to shorten the sample size, let’s just break down when they were seeded in the top-three.

They’ve been in the top-three, five time.

  • 2004 (#2)
  • 2005 (#3)
  • 2006 (#3)
  • 2013 (#1)
  • 2015 (#2)

Now this is an amazing stretch for any Collegiate Program, but the struggle for success is why they’re to be overlooked in your bracket selection.

Struggles

Due to the lack of talent they face throughout conference play, Gonzaga is always “stunned” early in the tournament.

In their three-seed run mentioned above:

  • Gonzaga’s never made it to a final-four.
  • They’ve been to the elite-eight once.
  • As a #1, they were bounced in the round of 32.

That’s the plus! They’ve never been bounce in the round of 64 as top-three. So, we can mark that down in our March Madness notes.

Is this the year they prove us all wrong? Or are they going to continue to add to this argument?

Let us know what you think on twitter @FantasyCPR!

Next: College Basketball: March Madness Preview

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR each day as we build towards March Madness for all your college basketball analysis and insight!