Zags could face some familiar foes
Gonzaga’s road to perfection will be filled with familiar faces.
The Bulldogs are the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket as they try to become the first team since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers to complete a perfect season.
Gonzaga, the first team since Kentucky in 2015 to enter the tournament undefeated, already has beaten the teams seeded two through four in its region — all by double digits.
The Zags (26-0) beat No. 2 Kansas 102-90 to open the season and took down No. 2 seed Iowa 99-88 a month later. Gonzaga also beat No. 4 seed Virginia 98-75 in late December.
Gonzaga won every game this season by double digits except for one — when star freshman Jalen Suggs was injured — and has a school-record 30-game winning streak over two seasons.
“We finally acknowledged this is a big deal,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It puts us in some incredible company. It’s a heck of an accomplishment.”
Beneficial scheduling
Kansas and Virginia have to be thankful the NCAA not only pushed back the start of the tournament but put them in a region that begins Saturday. Both teams had to bow out of their conference tournaments before the semifinals due to positive COVID-19 tests.
No. 11 Kansas held out David McCormack and Tristan Enaruna before the Big 12 Tournament started due to positive tests, then had another before it was supposed to play No. 13 Texas.
“Since that’s the draw we got, I might as well be comfortable with it and like it,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I certainly don’t dislike it.”
Loping in
Grand Canyon has a difficult test in its opener against Iowa.
The 15th-seeded Antelopes lost to New Mexico State in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title game for two consecutive years under previous coach Dan Majerle. The Antelopes finally got over the hurdle in their first year under coach Bryce Drew, beating the Aggies 7456 in Las Vegas to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years as a Division I program.
Drew knows a little something about tournament drama, hitting a game-winning three-pointer for Valparaiso against Mississippi 23 years ago, so you never know.