Gonzaga earns No. 8 seed in NCAA Tournament

Any disappointment Gonzaga might have felt with their NCAA Tournament seeding matching their NET ranking — No. 8 in both — was quickly dismissed with appreciation to be dancing again and the reality of the challenges ahead.

The Zags (25-8) boast strong analytics (No. 9 in KenPom), but also eight losses, matching their highest total since a 10-loss 2011 season and making them a bit of a conundrum for the committee. While many pegged Gonzaga as a seven seed with a shot at a six, the committee put GU on the eight line in the Midwest Region and No. 30 in the 1-68 seed list.

Gonzaga opens against No. 9 Georgia on Thursday at 1:35 p.m. in Wichita. Georgia is 33 in the NET and 34 on the seed line.

“I thought we may be a little higher. Surprised by it honestly,” Zags senior forward Graham Ike said with a shrug. “It is what it is. I’m glad we can still play basketball. I’m grateful to be part of a great tournament like this, once again keeping the streak alive (26 straight NCAA Tournament appearances).

“Hopefully we can keep more streaks alive.”

Gonzaga’s 26 consecutive trips to March Madness — it would be 27 but the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the pandemic — is the third longest active streak behind Michigan State (27) and Kansas (35).

A significant test awaits against Georgia as the Zags try to extend their 15-year streak of first-round wins. Kansas, at 17, has the longest active streak.

Georgia (20-12, 8-10 SEC) owns wins over No. 1-seeded Florida, No. 2 St. John’s and No. 3 Kentucky. The Bulldogs are battle-tested in the toughest conference in the country. Fourteen of 16 SEC teams are in the March Madness field, including two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2s.

“It is what it is. They make those decisions,” point guard Ryan Nembhard said of GU’s eight seed. “You have to go win a bunch of games if you want to win it all, so you’re going to have to play a bunch of great teams. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

If the Zags advance, they’ll likely face top-seeded Houston in the round of 32. The Cougars, led by former Washington State coach Kelvin Sampson, are favored by 281/2 points against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.

Gonzaga, which has played in the last nine Sweet 16s, is 0-9 vs. No. 1 seeds all-time in the tournament. The Zags have been seeded eighth twice and finished 1-1 both times with losses to Syracuse by 22 in 2010 and to Arizona by 23 in 2014.

But first things first. Gonzaga is a 7-point favorite over Georgia, whose best player, freshman Asa Newell, was heavily recruited by the Zags and visited the campus. GU was one of four finalists for the 6-foot-11, 220-pound Newell, whose older brother, Jaden, is a redshirt sophomore forward with Georgia and has played in six games this season.

“Just a great player, even better person,” Zags coach Mark Few said of Newell. “Mike (White, Georgia coach) has done a really good job. I thought he did a great job at Florida.

“For Georgia to scoop him up and get him was quite a coup. I know we’ll have our work cut out for us because they have some really nice wins. That’s quite a resume.”

Newell leads Georgia in scoring (15.3) and rebounding (6.8) and ranks second in blocks (32) and minutes (29.0). He’s finalist for the Kyle Macy Award, presented annually to the country’s top freshman.