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Joe Lunardi Updates Gonzaga's Seed in Latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andy Patton | Last updated Feb 25, 2025 1:50 PM ET

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs may have lost out on the opportunity to earn at least a share of the WCC regular season title, but the team still has two major opportunities in front of them this week to pick up desperately needed Quad 1 victories - starting Tuesday night on the road against Santa Clara.

The Zags loss to Saint Mary's on Saturday dropped them to 2-6 in Quad 1 games this year, although the team still sits at No. 10 overall in the NET rankings.

Still, the loss was enough for ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi to drop Gonzaga one seed line in his updated projections released on Tuesday.

Lunardi now has Gonzaga as a No. 9 seed in the South Region, facing No. 8 seed Creighton out of the Big East in Lexington. The winner of that game would take on the No. 1 overall seeded Auburn Tigers. Michigan State (2), Kentucky (3), Arizona (4), and Oregon (5) round out the other top five seeds.

Creighton has been a projected 8-9 matchup against Gonzaga before, and it's among the scariest potential first round matchups the Zags could play.

The Bluejays have arguably the best center in college basketball in Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7'0 machine who can block shots, score effortlessly around the rim, and can even stretch it out to the three point line when necessary.

Creighton also features a big time three point shooter in Steven Ashworth, who replaced Ryan Nembhard at Creighton prior to last season after Nembhard transferred to Gonzaga.

Saint Mary's moved up to a No. 6 seed after sweeping Gonzaga and clinching the WCC regular season title, lining up against No. 11 Texas in Denver, with No. 3 seed Texas Tech waiting in the Round of 32.

Other Gonzaga opponents from this year in Lunardi's updated bracketology include Kentucky (3 seed), UCLA (6), UConn (9), Baylor (9), West Virginia (10), and San Diego State (10). Indiana is in the first four out category, moving toward being on the right side of the bubble after a big win over Purdue on Sunday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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