Subscribe now
Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga finds out seeding, opponent and destination on Selection Sunday

Gonzaga guard Julian Strawther (0) is all smiles from the bench late in Tuesday’s West Coast Conference Tournament championship game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga won 77-51. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Will it be Denver? Sacramento, California? Perhaps a longer flight? A No. 3 seed or possibly a shot at a No. 2?

The a

nswers to those questions and Gonzaga’s first-round assignment will be announced during the NCAA Tournament selection show at 3 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Gonzaga’s resume – No. 7 in NET rankings, 6-4 Quad 1 record, 5-0 Quad 2 mark – points to a No. 2 or 3 seed, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports counterpart Jerry Palm and Mike DeCourcy of Fox Sports.

The Zags are 5-4 vs. teams in the NET top 26 with wins over No. 2 Alabama, No. 11 Saint Mary’s (two wins), No. 19 Xavier and No. 26 Kentucky and losses to No. 5 Purdue, No. 9 Texas, No. 13 Baylor and Saint Mary’s.

As of Sunday morning, Lunardi projected Gonzaga as a No. 3 seed in the West Region, opening against No. 14 UC Santa Barbara in Denver. UCSB beat Cal State Fullerton 72-62 for the Big West Tournament title Saturday night for the conference’s automatic bid.

Lunardi lists Houston as the top seed with UCLA at No. 2 and Indiana at No. 4 in the West, which will stage its regional rounds March 23 and March 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Kansas is Lunardi’s top overall seed but that may change after a 76-56 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game. The Jayhawks (Midwest) are joined on the top-seed line by Alabama (South), Houston (West) and Purdue (East). No. 2 seeds are UCLA (West), Texas (South), Arizona (Midwest) and Baylor (East).

Arizona, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, is projected to play the first weekend in Sacramento. The Wildcats faced UCLA for the Pac-12 title Saturday night.

In Lunardi’s bracket Friday, Gonzaga was the West’s No. 3 seed scheduled to face Louisiana in Columbus, Ohio.

Palm’s bracket has GU seeded second in the Midwest, opening against UNC Asheville in Sacramento, and third-seeded Arizona facing UC Santa Barbara in Denver. Kansas is the region’s top seed with Virginia No. 4.

Palm’s top seeds in the West are, in order, Houston, UCLA and Baylor.

Gonzaga is a No. 3 seed in the Midwest and meets UC Santa Barbara in DeCourcy’s bracket Saturday morning. Kansas and Marquette are the top two seeds.

DeCourcy has UCLA as the No. 1 seed in the East with Purdue a No. 2 seed in the South.

Lunardi, Palm and DeCourcy project Saint Mary’s, which shared the West Coast Conference regular-season title with Gonzaga, as a No. 6 seed.