Gonzaga women penciled in as 8 seed in first ESPN bracket projection for NCAAs

It’s never too early for some bracketology, even if the Gonzaga women are still a month away from their first game.

In his first bracket of the 2022-23 season, released earlier this week, Charlie Crème of ESPN has the Zags as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, facing No. 9 seed Arkansas in a foursome hosted by top-seeded Texas.

That’s close to what the Zags experienced last postseason, when they earned a No. 9 seed and went on to beat Nebraska in the first round before falling to host Louisville on the second.

Gonzaga (27-7 last year) will face Louisville again this year, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas on Nov. 19. They also could face Texas, which is in the other half of the bracket in the eight-team tournament.

Also in the Bahamas tournament is UCLA, which is projected for a No. 7 seed.

Crème’s bracket also predicts a third straight NCAA appearance for Washington State. The Cougars are slotted as a No. 11 seed facing South Dakota State in a foursome hosted by none other than Louisville.

South Dakota State, one the nation’s top midmajor programs, is also in the Battle 4 Atlantis field.

Predicted brackets are sure to change all the way to Selection Monday, and there’s no guarantee of accuracy, even from Crème.

ESPN and other bracket sites were all over the map last year in predicting where the Zags would land. Crème had GU penciled in as a No. 11 seed.