Weekly Zag Briefing

I would really like the injury bug to be done with the Zags and move on to greener pastures. Both the men’s and women’s teams have been plagued by injuries this season. Though they have both handled the adversity like champions and continued to rack up the wins, we’re getting to the point in the season where there won’t be enough time to recover from any moderate-to-severe injuries before tournament play.

• In Seth Davis’s latest column, he attempts to outline a power primer of sorts of the college basketball landscape this season, listing Gonzaga as one of his “Power 5” due to its offensive excellence; lists Michigan’s win over the Zags as one of the five best wins of the season; and includes Ryan Woolridge as one of the five best three-point shooters in the country (I would not have believed this at the start of the season).
• BYU and Saint Mary’s come in at #3 and #4 respectively in Brian Bennett’s Mid-Major rankings for The Athletic, though he correctly notes that SMC doesn’t have much of a margin for error moving forward if it wants to make the tournament in lights of its three conference losses.
• Corey Kispert spoke with CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander about the impact Kobe Bryant had on his basketball worldview, and his tribute to the late Bryant in Gonzaga’s first game after the accident.
• The women’s basketball claimed the program’s highest ranking ever in the AP Poll, but Lisa Fortier would trade the honor and last weekend’s win over rival BYU for a healthy Katie Campbell, who’s status remains unclear after she suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s game.
• Gonzaga Baseball alum Marco Gonzales signed a four-year extension with the Seattle Mariners worth $30 million, with a club option to add a fifth year for $15 million in 2025, that provides him with financial security in exchange for buying out his first year of free agency (and second if the option is picked up).
• BRACKETOLOGY: Joe Lunardi has the Zags as the 1-seed in the East with SDSU getting the nod for the West region, while BYU moves up to the 7-line and SMC remains a 9. Chris Dobbertean has Gonzaga as a #1 in the Midwest region, with BYU and SMC both in the “Last Four Byes” group. Jerry Palm also has Gonzaga as the Midwest’s #1, and notes that while BYU’s win over SMC should jump it to the 10-line, this creates a Sunday conflict for the Cougars which required him to drop them back to an 11-seed so they could return to a Thursday/Saturday tournament schedule.
• This is going to be sick: