Gonzaga finishes season ranked No. 8 in NET rankings, No. 10 in USA Today poll

Gonzaga closed the college basketball season No. 8 in the NET rankings and No. 10 in the USA Today poll.

The third-seeded Zags, who reached the Elite Eight before losing 82-54 to eventual national champion UConn, dropped one spot to 10th in the coaches poll released Tuesday. Gonzaga (31-6) was No. 9 in the final Associated Press poll released on March 13, prior to the NCAA Tournament.

UConn (31-8) received all 32 first-place votes after winning all six NCAA Tournament games by double figures. San Diego State, which fell to the Huskies 76-59 in Monday’s championship game, finished second, followed by Miami, Alabama and Florida Atlantic.

Miami and Florida Atlantic joined UConn and San Diego State in the Final Four. Top overall seed Alabama lost to San Diego State in the Sweet 16.

Gonzaga finished 6-5 against teams in the USA Today top 25 with wins over No. 4 Alabama, No. 8 UCLA, No. 15 Xavier, No. 20 Michigan State and No. 22 Saint Mary’s (two victories).

The Zags lost to UConn, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Purdue, No. 19 Baylor and Saint Mary’s. GU also defeated TCU, which just missed cracking the top 25, and Kentucky, third among those receiving votes. Gonzaga lost to No. 16 Tennessee in an October exhibition game.

Gonzaga received 514 points, two behind No. 9 Kansas State and 80 points in front of No. 11 Kansas.

Houston, which lost to Miami in the Sweet 16, finished No. 1 in the NET rankings, followed by Alabama, UConn, UCLA and Tennessee. Purdue, Texas, GU, Kansas and Arizona, coached by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, rounded out the top 10.

Saint Mary’s, which fell to UConn in the round of 32, was No. 11. No. 84 BYU and No. 87 Santa Clara finished inside the top 100. Loyola Marymount was No. 111 and San Francisco was No. 114.

Gonzaga posted an 8-5 record vs. Quad 1 foes, 5-0 in Quad 2, 9-1 in Quad 3 and 8-0 in Quad 4.