1-loss Gonzaga looks to regroup

Top-ranked Gonzaga had an undefeated regular season in its sights, facing a heavy underdog in the final game at the Kennel in Spokane, Wash.

Instead of racing toward history, the Zags fell flat, losing 79-71 to Brigham Young on Saturday night. The undefeated season is history. So is (likely) Gonzaga’s No. 1 ranking, possibly its No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, too.

Now the Zags face the same question every other previously undefeated team gets asked after its first loss: Will this help them in the long run?

“I don’t know,” Gonzaga senior center Przemek Karnowski said after his final home game. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

Gonzaga (29-1, 17-1) still won its fifth straight WCC regular-season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in Las Vegas.

The Zags almost assuredly will drop from the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 on Monday and might get bypassed as the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, where they were in the selection committee’s preliminary rankings.

And with the loss, the usual chorus of Gonzagais-overrated has begun. The Zags have wins over Arizona, Florida, Iowa State, Tennessee and St. Mary’s twice, so it kind of falls flat, but then, they’re used to it by now.

“To be 29-1 and be where we’re at?” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “We’d have taken that if offered every time.”

Gonzaga’s first game in the WCC tournament will be against either Pacific or Pepperdine in the quarterfinals Saturday night in Las Vegas.