Gonzaga rises to No. 10 in NET, nearly matches projected seeding

Gonzaga is back in the top 10 in the NET rankings, which nearly matches the Zags’ projected seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Yes, that’s a bit unusual. The Zags (20-7, 11-3 West Coast Conference) moved up four spots in the NET following Saturday’s blowout victory over Pepperdine. Meanwhile, GU checks in as a nine seed in numerous NCAA Tournament bracket projections.

That’s where CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm lists the Zags, opening against No. 8 New Mexico in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the winner likely facing No. 1-seeded Florida. On3.com has GU as an nine taking on No. 8 Oregon in Lexington, Kentucky. Teamrankings.com and bracket matrix also project Gonzaga as a nine.

The Zags continue to be strong analytically, including No. 11 in KenPom. In terms of NET rankings, the teams right above and below Gonzaga are power conference programs and way up the seed line compared to the Zags.

No. 8 Iowa State is a three seed and No. 9 Arizona is a four in Palm’s latest bracket. No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 12 Wisconsin are two seeds.

The teams’ performance in Quad 1 and 2 games probably best explains the difference. Gonzaga is 2-5 in Quad 1 – the least number of Q1 wins among the NET top 39 except for No. 34 VCU (1-1) – and 3-2 in Quad 2. Iowa State is 7-4 in Q1 and 5-1 in Q2. Arizona, led by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd, is 7-7 and 2-1. Texas A&M is 7-5 and 7-0 while Wisconsin is 6-5 and 7-0.

GU also is 11-0 in Quad 4, No other team in the NET top 33 has played more than nine Q4s (Saint Mary’s 9-0). VCU is 11-1 in Q4.

The Zags’ final two weeks of the regular season feature one Quad 2 (at Washington State on Wednesday) and three Quad 1s (home vs. Saint Mary’s on Saturday, at Santa Clara on Feb. 25 and vs. San Francisco on March 1 at the Chase Center).

No. 20 Saint Mary’s is 4-2 in Quad 1 and 5-2 in Quad 2. The Gaels are projected as an eight seed, according to Palm.

No. 1 Auburn is 14-2 in Quad 1. The next closest is eight Q1 wins by Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Gonzaga is tied for 16th with Kansas at 50/1 in BetOnline’s national championship odds. Auburn is favored at 3/1, followed by Duke at 4/1.

The Zags received 14 points in Monday’s AP poll, eighth among teams receiving votes. The Gaels had 63 points, second behind New Mexico outside the top 25.

Auburn received 59 of 60 first-place votes from the media panel. The other first-place vote went to Florida, which moved up from No. 3 to No. 2. Duke, Alabama, Houston, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Texas Tech and St. John’s rounded out top 10.

The USA Today coaches’ poll has the same top eight with St. John’s at No. 9 and Texas Tech at No. 10. Saint Mary’s is ranked No. 24. Gonzaga received 15 points.