Gonzaga vaults to 15th in AP and Coaches Poll
by Zach Bell on Dec 14, 2009 10:00 AM PST
6 comments
After a 2-0 week, the home loss to Wake Forest has pretty much been erased from memory as Gonzaga has entered the top 15 for the first time this season. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll was also just released and Gonzaga is tied with Georgia Tech for the 15th spot in the nation. Thanks to a plethora of subpar performances from a handful of top 25 teams, Gonzaga has risen six spots from their 21st ranking a week ago. All five schools directly ahead of the Zags in last weeks AP Poll (Wisconsin, Cincy, Washington, Texas A&M, and UNLV) all lost this week and Ohio State also fell to Butler. So just in case you were curious how that happened, there you go!
Heading into the week I think it is pretty safe to say that we didn't expect wins over division three Augustana and a two-win Davidson team to net Gonzaga six spots but with all the mediocrity in college basketball this season, anything is possible.
Keeping an eye on Gonzaga's future schedule, there is still only one ranked team remaining this point and that is the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has improved to #7 in the nation in both polls after Villanova was upset by Temple. Expect Gonzaga's schedule strength to improve a bit as Memphis is 26th in the nation according to the AP and Illinois is also receiving votes. I expected St. Mary's to get some votes this week from the AP but that did not happen. The loss of Wayne Hunter makes them much more vulnerable. The Gaels' versatile guard suffered a season ending knee injury this past week.
continue reading after the jump...
In the Coaches Poll, St. Mary's is receiving 17 votes but Memphis is still struggling to get recognition. They are only receiving 21 votes from the Coaches this week with their only loss being by two points to Kansas. Josh Pastner did a nice job at softening the Tigers' schedule with all the turmoil and that probably explains why they have yet to be ranked. The Gaels of St. Mary's have played a tougher schedule than Memphis but are getting less recognition.
The Pac-10 continues its free fall this week with Washington barely hanging on in the AP. They are somehow 21st in the Coaches Poll but 24th in the AP. Cal is receiving a couple votes in the Coaches Poll but other than that, the Pac-10 is downright woeful. I do expect Mike Montgomery to get the Golden Bears together in time to dominate the Pac-10 season schedule but Washington has a couple of big tests before they hit easy street with the conference slate. On Saturday they have Portland and then that following Tuesday they have Texas A&M. Both games will be played at home but, much like Gonzaga, the next couple weeks are of great importance for UW.
Assuming Duke takes care of Gardner-Webb, the game in Madison Square Garden has become very important for the Zags' tournament resume. Wins over Wisconsin, Cincinnati, and Washington State look pretty good but a win over a top ten Duke team would take this team to another level. The West Coast Conference has really come back to Earth and will probably only be a two-bid league at best. Memphis should be ranked when the two teams meet but aside from that, Saturday is the day when the Zags must show they are for real.
The moral of this story: Gonzaga is the best in the West!
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I don't like to see
any athlete injured no matter if they do play with one of our biggest rivals. St. Mary’s will still be a tough competitor without him and we cannot dismiss them. Deladova was a great catch for them and he will have to carry more of the load on the perimeter. Samhan is one of the best big men who gets the least press. If Samhan played for UCLA he would already be in the NBA.
I am confident that this Zag team is as good as any in men’s basketball. I watched KY win over NC and, in my opinion, the Zags could have matched up against KY as good as or better than NC. WIn or loose, the Zags will play Duke hard. If they loose, it won’t be by much. I predict another come from behind win for the Zags, maybe in OT.
Tom117
by Tom117 on Dec 14, 2009 10:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Even if St. Mary's is our rival...
… as a Zag fan, you should cheer for them in every non-conference game.
by leone on Dec 14, 2009 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Tom
First, Samhan doesn’t get press because he isn’t that good. He doesn’t deserve much press because he is not an NBA talent. He has some big nights in the WCC, so what. Is John Bryant an NBA player too then, nope.
Second, I love this team we have going here and I think we are top 10 or 15 material, but we don’t match up well at all with Kentucky. Why do you think that? Because Calipari could embarrass us anytime, anywhere with less talent and depth than he has now? I’m sorry to rag on your post but UK would just stomp us mercilessly. We would match up well with them if they didn’t take us seriously, but Coach Cal knows better he likes to thrash the Zags.
by SoundPound on Dec 14, 2009 12:38 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Zags are the best in the West
Huskies looked just awful at times against Georgetown. Romar looked like a deer in the headlights.
At this point in time, I really think WAZZU may well win the PAC 10 — probably won’t run the table but I like them better than any of the other PAC 10 teams — and I am not a big a WAZZU fan.
mjc
by quidveritas on Dec 14, 2009 11:10 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
It's unanimous.
Gonzaga has been the best program out west for a bit, but we do currently have the best team West of Kansas. WSU is not that good of a team, but they could win the Pac-10 just by default. The Pac-10 is like the SEC of late, but without a legit contender like they had in LSU. As delusional as WSU’s fans are about their team, this year will just make it worse.
by SoundPound on Dec 14, 2009 12:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Surprisingly unsurprised.
I love the Zags. I am irrationally overconfident every year. However, when I saw the rankings this morning, I was surprised by how high we were. I thought only a win over Duke could push us up to the 15 range. I didn’t count on all the teams that lost this past week losing, and didn’t think about how there are no teams besides Kentucky and Texas that really stand out as close-to-unbeatable, but I am so irrationally overconfident this year (as I say every year) that I think we can even beat them on a good day. I also realized that we’ve already beat two of the teams we surpassed in the rankings, and UW should have NEVER been ranked higher than us anyway. So do I think the ranking is accurate, yep, and I think we could even be ranked a little higher. We need to prove ourselves past that, good thing we have a shot against Duke. I am tired of being just the best in WA or the best in the West. I want to see GU get to the Final Four, and I think this could be the year. Oh, and Duke Sucks!
by BW2020 on Dec 14, 2009 6:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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