How Good Is Gonzaga - They Are The Biggest Favorite In A Final Four Game Since The Tournament Expanded In 1985
Oh right, Gonzaga is fucking awesome. I know UCLA is an 11 seed but it's still shocking to see a spread this high in the Final Four. Shit, we're talking about a power conference team even. Just for comparison sake Iowa was a 15 point favorite over 15 seed Grand Canyon. That's how good Iowa is. The 2 seed in their region was a point favorite in its first round matchup. Then again it's not really shocking when you remember all Gonzaga does is beat the shit out of people:
The one game they didn't win by 10+? West Virginia, a game where Jalen Suggs was injured. This is a historically great team, one of the best we've ever seen. There are a bunch of stats we can throw out to support that. They have the best 2pt offense in the KenPom era. Their KenPom rating is the highest we've ever seen at 38.82. They are undefeated. They just beat anyone and everyone they play and frankly it's hardly close. The whole thing about them not playing anyone? They played Virginia, Kansas, Auburn and Iowa in the nonconference. Not too shabby. They just beat a Big 12, Big East and Pac-12 team to get to the Final Four.
Shit, this isn't even your standard Gonzaga team. I've said it before but typically Gonzaga has a couple of pros, maybe a lottery pick. Look at the 2017 team, often regarded as the best Gonzaga team until now. Zach Collins was a lottery pick and then they had a bunch of decent players. Nigel Williams-Goss is making a ton of money in Europe. Johnathan Williams bounced between the G League and NBA before moving overseas. Silas Melson, Josh Perkins and Karnowski are all playing overseas. This team? Jalen Suggs is a top-5 pick. Corey Kispert is a lottery pick. Drew Timme and Joel Ayayi will get drafted and Andrew Nembhard has a chance to play in the pros. You don't see that at Gonzaga. You don't typically see a Jalen Suggs there. The guy is unreal.
There's not a guy you can gameplan to take away. That's what makes them so dangerous. We've seen teams try everything. They try to zone Gonzaga, can't do that. They try to take away Suggs, which sounds like a good idea but then you remember Nembhard can initiate offense. They dare Ayayi to shoot, that's fine. They try to double Timme in the post. Can't do that when he's a willing passer surrounded by shooters. They shade Kispert and try to eliminate him? That's been successful until you remember Suggs and Timme attack a 2-man game then. It's impossible to plan defensively for this team.
That's why they are the heaviest favorite in a Final Four since expansion. That's why they are one of the best teams we've seen of this era.