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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga slides to No.12 in the poll after loss to Saint Mary’s

Gonzaga's Adam Miller looks to pass against Saint Mary's guard Mikey Lewis during the first half of the Gaels' 70-59 victory Saturday at UCU Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. (TYLER TJOMSLAND/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga’s road loss to West Coast Conference rival Saint Mary’s resulted in a predictable drop in the AP poll, the NET rankings and in most NCAA Tournament bracket projections.

The Zags slipped from No. 9 to No. 12 in the AP poll following a 70-59 setback to the Gaels in Moraga.

Gonzaga (28-3, 16-2 WCC) received 752 points from the media panel and stands closer to No. 13 Virginia (731) than No. 11 Illinois (838).

Saint Mary’s (27-4, 16-2), which earned a share of the WCC title with Gonzaga, climbed into the top 25 for the first time this season at No. 21. Third-place Santa Clara received one point.

The WCC is one of six conferences with at least two ranked teams. The Big 12, Big Ten and SEC each have five, the ACC four and the Big East and WCC both have two.

Duke retained the No. 1 spot, followed by Arizona, Michigan, UConn, Florida, Iowa State, Houston, Michigan State, Nebraska and Texas Tech.

Duke picked up 55 of 59 first-place votes. Arizona, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, received four first-place votes. The Wildcats (27-2) have clinched at least a share of the Big 12 title.

The Zags are No. 6 in the NET rankings, down one spot from the previous Monday. The NET rankings, a tool used by the selection committee to select and seed March Madness, are updated daily.

Gonzaga is 6-2 in Quad 1 games, 5-0 in Quad 2. The Gaels snagged their first Quad 1 win and moved up to No. 21 in the NET. They are 1-3 in Quad 1 and 8-1 in Quad 2.

Santa Clara is No. 40 in the NET. Pacific is the next highest WCC team at 115.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who attended GU’s game in Moraga, dropped the Zags from a three seed (12th overall) on Saturday morning to a four seed (15th overall) in his Monday projections.

Lunardi’s top eight seeds, in order, are Duke, Michigan, Arizona, UConn, Florida, Houston, Michigan State and Illinois.

Several outlets, including CBSsports.com, bracketmatrix and On3, have the Zags as a four seed. CBS sports listed Saint Mary’s as a seven and Santa Clara as an 11 in the First Four.

Gonzaga is a three seed, Saint Mary’s a six and Santa Clara an 11 in Jerry Palm’s latest bracket.

Gonzaga, which is the top seed in the WCC Tournament, will likely face a Quad 3 opponent in the semifinals next Monday at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Fourth-seeded Oregon State, No. 175 in the NET, and has the shortest route to facing the Zags, needing only one win. Fifth-seeded San Francisco, No. 122 in the NET, is two wins from a third meeting with Gonzaga.

Other potential GU semifinal foes are eighth-seeded Washington State (No. 135 NET), ninth-seeded Portland (No. 227) and No. 12 Pepperdine (No. 270). A GU-WSU matchup would be Quad 3 while Portland and Pepperdine would be Quad 4. Portland and Pepperdine meet in the opening round Thursday with the winner advancing to face the Cougars.  

The Zags dropped from 9th to 12th in the USA Today coaches’ poll. GU also fell out of the top 10 in KenPom, checking in at No. 12.