WCC Basketball

I know what you're going to say: "Gonzaga has played only five games! Chill out!"

Have you watched this team play, though?

Gonzaga has already shown that it is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the top threats to win the 2021 men's college basketball tournament.

But what else is new?

Gonzaga was a No. 1 seed in each of the 2013, 2017 and 2019 NCAA tournaments, and it might have been the No. 1 overall seed if there had been a tournament in March. The Zags entered this season with 257 victories dating back to the start of 2012-13. That's nearly 10 percent more than the next-closest team—Villanova at 235, with two national championships.

It has pretty much become an annual February tradition for me to write an "As you start thinking about your Final Four picks, make sure you don't forget about that really good team from Spokane, Washington, that has been decimating the poor West Coast Conference week after week" column.

However, this year's team looks better than ever. And that's really saying something for:

• a program that started 29-0 before reaching the national championship just four years ago, and
• a team that had to replace four of its six leading scorers during a global pandemic.

The Bulldogs opened this season in Florida with convincing wins over Kansas and Auburn, averaging 96.0 points in those victories by double digits.

They proceeded to put up 87 points in a win over West Virginia in Indianapolis—in spite of a scary-looking, lower-leg injury suffered by star guard Jalen Suggs in the first half. (He later returned to the game, but it sure looked like a torn Achilles when it happened.)

Then, after a 17-day gap between games that included an eight-day COVID-19 pause, the Zags went to South Dakota and scored at will in a 99-88 victory over Iowa.

Per KenPom, that's three neutral-site victories over Top 10 teams. (Auburn also ranks in the Top 75, for what it's worth.)

To put that incredible start in context, here's the full list of teams who won multiple games away from home against KenPom Top 10 teams in the entire 2019-20 season: Kansas (at Baylor, at West Virginia, vs. Dayton in Maui) and Duke (at Michigan State, vs. Kansas in New York City).

Again, that was the entire season.

It only took Gonzaga four games to win three such contests.

And this coming Saturday, the Zags will get the chance to add another impressive pelt to their wall when they battle Virginia (currently No. 18 on KenPom) in Fort Worth, Texas.

If they can shift gears well enough to win that game, too, what a remarkable statement that would be.

Facing what is consistently one of the slowest-paced, defensive-minded teams in the nation just seven days after out-dueling one of the most uptempo, offensive-minded teams in the nation is quite the literal change of pace. The ability to excel in both games is about as challenging as winning the biathlon in the Winter Olympics: cross-country ski as fast as you can and then demonstrate the patience and precision to hit a small target with a rifle.

If anyone can pull it off, though, it's probably Gonzaga.

I maybe wouldn't have said that a week ago when the Bulldogs were just 16-of-55 (29.1 percent) from three-point range on the year, because since the start of the 2013-14 season, teams are 9-109 (7.6 winning percentage) when shooting 30.0 percent or worse from three against Virginia. But the 13-of-26 (50.0 percent) effort against the Hawkeyes was some serious regression to the mean for a team that shot at least 35.5 percent from distance in each of the last 23 seasons.

Sure, that hot shooting came against Iowa, which has been practicing social distancing on defense for the past half-decade. But it's not for nothing. The Zags moved the ball well, they shot it well and they did it all after more than two weeks between games.

Moreover, we expected this team to be better at three-point shooting than it displayed in those first three games.

Corey Kispert was a preseason first-team All-American in large part because of his sharpshooting over the previous three years. Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard both displayed capable perimeter range over the past two years. And Suggs was the highest-rated recruit Gonzaga has ever signed and a guy with a great-looking shooting stroke. 

The pieces were there. It just took a few games to come together. Plus, it's not like they needed to worry much about the deep ball while averaging better than 31 made two-pointers at a 65.3 percent clip for those first three games.

But if that perimeter shooting is for real and they can sink 10 treys against the Cavaliers' pack-line defense, they should win that game, and then the "Undefeated Season Watch" will officially begin.

It bears mentioning that when Gonzaga and Baylor had to postpone their game on Dec. 5, both sides seemed interested in rescheduling. At this point, though, the odds of that happening this season are unlikely. Before the Zags added this game against Virginia, this weekend looked like the only spot that could have worked in both teams' schedules.

Unless that game does get rescheduled, Gonzaga is going to be heavily favored in every remaining game.

Per KenPom, the Jan. 16 road game against Saint Mary's—which Gonzaga has an 80 percent chance of winning with a projected score of 77-68—is the only game beyond this weekend the Bulldogs aren't expected to win by at least 11 points.

By multiplying the remaining win probabilities together, there's currently a 24.3 percent chance they'll get to March with an undefeated record. That percentage improves to 33.7 if they defeat Virginia.

That still feels a little bit low given how dominant this team has been thus far, but the Bulldogs do usually let a game slip away against a WCC foe. It feels like they never lose in conference, but they have only run the table in league play once in the past seven years and just five times in the last 21 years under Mark Few. So who knows if they'll be able to keep a zero in the loss column until Selection Sunday?

But let me tell you right now: If Gonzaga does happen to become the first undefeated national champion since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, I better not hear anyone try to put a "Well, it was 2020, so it doesn't really count" asterisk on it. These Zags put together an extremely aggressive nonconference schedule with a mission of repeatedly proving they are the best team in the country.

Thus far, Gonzaga has done just that.

                      

Kerry Miller covers college football and men's college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.

The men's college basketball game between the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers will go on as scheduled Friday despite two Gonzaga players being in COVID-19 protocols.

According to Jim Meehan of the Spokesman-Review, two Gonzaga players were placed in COVID-19 protocols after the Zags scored a season-opening 102-90 win over the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday, although it doesn't necessarily mean they tested positive for COVID-19.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported that the two players who will miss Friday's game are "younger role players."

Gonzaga released the following statement on the matter, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports:

Gonzaga has released a statement regarding two players out for today's game against Auburn due to COVID-19 protocols. pic.twitter.com/JVAB5RsvaU

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 27, 2020

The Fort Myers Tip-Off game between Gonzaga and Auburn will occur Friday at 11 a.m. ET in Fort Myers, Florida.

Gonzaga was highly impressive in Thursday's win over Kansas, as three Zags players scored at least 20 points in the victory.

Sophomore forward Drew Timme led the way with 25 points, while freshman guard Jalen Suggs added 24 and senior forward Corey Kispert scored 23.

Entering the season, there were some questions about Gonzaga's status as the No. 1 team in the nation after it lost leading scorer Filip Petrusev and No. 3 scorer Killian Tillie from last year's team.

When the 2019-20 college basketball season was cut short and unable to be finished because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Zags were the No. 2 team in the nation and potentially in line to win the first national championship in school history.

That opportunity was taken away because of a situation outside of Gonzaga's control, but head coach Mark Few's squad has the look of a team ready to go the distance this season.

Friday's matchup with Auburn is an intriguing one since the Tigers got off to a 15-0 start last season and established themselves as a potential national title contender as well.

Auburn lost its top six scorers from last season, including Samir Doughty and Isaac Okoro, but head coach Bruce Pearl's team scored a 96-91 win over Saint Joseph's on Thursday.

Even without the two players who are out of Friday's game, Gonzaga is a heavy favorite against Auburn given its status as the No. 1 team in the country.

In an effort to increase the number of minority coaches and administrators within the league, the West Coast Conference announced the adoption of the "Russell Rule," named for Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell.

Similar to the "Rooney Rule" in the NFL, each school within the WCC will have to include "a member of a traditionally underrepresented community" in its final pool of candidates when hiring for key positions. This includes head coaches and assistant coaches as well as athletic director and senior administrator positions.

According to the release, this is the first conference-wide initiative to improve diversity hiring in Division I athletics.

"It is my hope the West Coast Conference initiative will encourage other leagues and schools to make similar commitments," Russell said. "We need to be intentional if we’re going to make real change for people of color in leadership positions in college athletics. I'm proud to assist the WCC and Commissioner Nevarez by endorsing this most important initiative."

Before winning 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, Russell starred at San Francisco, which is now in the WCC. The center won two NCAA titles with the Dons, averaging 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game in his three collegiate seasons.

He has continued to push for social justice following his playing career and has become a key part of the conference's "We Are Committed to Change" initiative.

In addition to the hiring commitment, the league also has antiracism educational webinars for all personnel as well as video campaigns and civic engagement.

It could help increase the number of minority coaches across sports, especially in college basketball. According to Rob Dauster of NBC Sports, 29.2 percent of Division I schools nationwide have Black head coaches, including just 13.8 percent in Power Five leagues.

This is despite Black players representing 53.6 percent of Division I as of 2017-18 and (as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out) almost 80 percent of scholarship athletes at major conferences, per Dauster.

The WCC will follow through on its commitment by handing out report cards for each member institution based on annual racial and gender hirings.

Former Purdue center Matt Haarms is transferring to BYU, he announced on Thursday, via 247 Sports' Evan Daniels. 

As a graduate transfer, the 7'3" big man will be eligible to play for the Cougars in 2020-21.

Haarms spent his first three years at Purdue, making 102 appearances for the Boilermakers. He averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as a junior in 2019-20.

He told ESPN's Jeff Borzello his decision to leave West Lafayette, Indiana, was made with an eye toward a possible pro career: "Just believe I needed a change of scenery to take my game to the next level; [I] don't have anything but positive things to say about Purdue, but I just felt like it was time to move on."

Between his imposing height and NCAA tournament experience (one Sweet 16 appearance and a trip to the Elite Eight), Haarms will have had plenty of options as he weighed his next step.

Evan Daniels of 247Sports reported he had narrowed his list of finalists to three programs: BYU, Kentucky and Texas Tech.

The Athletic's Dustin Dopirak explained some of what Haarms would bring to a new team:

"His shot-blocking can play at any level, and he could be especially valuable to a team that is just missing that piece. And wherever he goes, his new team will be able to trust that he’ll bring energy. In his early years at Purdue, he sometimes got overly excited and wore himself out early in games, but he found a rhythm and has mostly stuck to it since the latter half of his sophomore season, including during the Boilermakers' Elite Eight run. He won't expect to join a team and be its captain, but he'll most likely be a good locker room presence with the experience of two Sweet 16 runs."

The COVID-19 pandemic hit particularly hard for the Cougars because they were having their most successful season in years.

ESPN's Seth Walder ran a simulation that combined Joe Lunardi's projected bracket with the Basketball Power Index. In the exercise, BYU advanced to the national title game, where it lost to Wisconsin.

There's no guarantee the team will even get to the tournament in 2021. Seven players from this year's roster, including the top three scorers, were seniors.

Jeff Call of Deseret News wrote Wednesday that head coach Mark Pope and his assistants "have been aggressively pursuing graduate transfers" to ensure the team is once again a contender in the West Coast Conference.

Landing Haarms gives Pope a big piece in the paint.

A man who has tested positive for the coronavirus attended BYU's home game against Gonzaga last month, the school said in a statement Tuesday.

"BYU was contacted by the Utah County Health Department to notify the university that an individual diagnosed with COVID-19 attended a basketball game in the Marriott Center on Feb. 22, 2020," BYU said in a statement.

"According to the health department, the individual had mild symptoms on Feb. 22 and the risk of transmission to others at the game is low. As a precaution, those who were sitting within six feet of the individual are being contacted to let them know of the possible exposure."

Utah County Health Department spokeswoman Aislynn Tolman-Hill told the The Salt Lake Tribune that the man likely contracted the coronavirus on a cruise. He is currently under an isolation order and in recovery.

Tolman-Hill estimated about 10 individuals were in close enough proximity to the man, and they have been informed they could be at risk. Those who were not contacted are not believed to be at risk.

BYU said all "high-touch surfaces" at the Marriott Center are regularly disinfected, and there's no belief that there is an ongoing risk.

There have been 849 cases of the coronavirus in the United States and 28 deaths. 

The No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs could have been the No. 1 team in the country in the next Associated Press Top 25 poll after the No. 1 Baylor Bears and No. 4 San Diego State Aztecs—previously the nation's only undefeated team—both lost Saturday.

The No. 23 BYU Cougars missed the memo.

BYU ended Gonzaga's 19-game winning streak with a commanding 91-78 victory Saturday at Marriott Center, which sent its students streaming onto the court following the most notable win a team can achieve in the West Coast Conference.

STREAK SNAPPED 🚨

No. 23 BYU upsets No. 2 Gonzaga and ends the Zags’ regular season 40-game WCC win streak! #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/wlEzHyGMP1

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 23, 2020

It was quite the turnaround from the Bulldogs' 23-point win in the first matchup between the two teams in January.

The Cougars have won eight games in a row but are still looking up at Gonzaga with the rest of the conference. The Bulldogs are 27-2 overall and 13-1 in league play, while BYU is 23-7 overall and 12-3 in the league as the second-place team in the WCC.

Still, this is a win that will resonate for the Cougars come Selection Sunday. After all, Gonzaga's last loss was on Nov. 29 against the Michigan Wolverines.

The Bulldogs had no answer for Yoeli Childs, who was unstoppable throughout the game for the victors. He finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block and was the best player on the floor.

It was far from a one-man show, though, as Jake Toolson (17 points, six assists and four steals) and TJ Haws (16 points, eight assists and four rebounds) provided key support for a BYU team that shot a blistering 53.2 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three-point range.

That stood in stark contrast to a Gonzaga squad that was an ugly 5-of-25 (20 percent) from downtown.

Killian Tillie led the visitors with 18 points, but it was far from enough.

Gonzaga returns home Thursday to face the San Diego Toreros, while BYU finishes its regular season next Saturday at the Pepperdine Waves.

For the third time in four seasons, it's becoming increasingly difficult in the middle of February to come up with any reason not to pick Gonzaga to win the men's college basketball national championship. 

And with all due respect to San Diego State's Brian Dutcher, Penn State's Pat Chambers and Baylor's Scott Drew, Mark Few deserves to be the runaway favorite for 2019-20 Naismith College Coach of the Year for making this particular pack of Bulldogs one of the top title candidates.

After a 2018-19 campaign with 33 wins and almost the second trip to the Final Four in program history, Gonzaga lost nearly everyone. Starting point guard Josh Perkins and key reserves Geno Crandall and Jeremy Jones all graduated. Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke both left a year early and were selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Zach Norvell Jr. left two years early but went undrafted.

That sextet was responsible for 79.2 percent of the team's scoring, as well as better than 78 percent of its assists, steals and blocks.

It's one thing to plug a few holes. It's another to build a new boat from scratch, especially in Spokane, Washington.

That's par for the course for Duke and Kentucky, but most teams can't withstand that much attrition and keep on trucking because most teams aren't in a position to sign an entire starting lineup of 5-star standouts every doggone year.

Take North Carolina, Virginia, Texas Tech and Tennessee, for example.

Each of those major-conference teams also lost three players as early entrants to the 2019 NBA draft following an outstanding season, and look at how woefully they've fallen short of expectations. Those teams were Nos. 9, 11, 13 and "28," respectively, in the preseason AP Top 25, but the only one comfortably in projected brackets at this point is Texas Tech. And even the Red Raiders—a No. 8 seed, per Bracket Matrix—are a far cry from the Big 12 title contender we were promised.

But Gonzaga?

The Bulldogs didn't even skip a beat and might be a bigger threat to win it all than they were as a No. 1 seed one year ago.

Last season, Gonzaga led the nation at 87.6 points per game and had an average scoring margin of 22.7 points per game. The next-closest team in that latter category was Wofford at 16.7. Take it with a West Coast Conference grain of salt if you so choose, but it was still a ridiculous display of dominance on a nightly basis.

Now, lather, rinse and repeat.

Gonzaga is No. 1 in scoring at 88.5 points per game this year, and even undefeated San Diego State (plus-17.5 PPG) isn't a close first runner-up to the Zags' average scoring margin of 21.6 points.

Consider this: Gonzaga could lose its next game by 87 points, and it would still lead the nation in average scoring margin.

Saturday night's trip to Moraga to face Saint Mary's was supposed to be Gonzaga's stiffest competition since mid-December wins over Washington, Arizona and North Carolina. Instead, the Zags slaughtered the Gaels by 30 in a vivid reminder that this program has become a well-oiled juggernaut.

How has Few done it?

First of all, sophomore big man Filip Petrusev has become a star.

He was given a baptism by fire last year when forced into action as Killian Tillie missed the first two months of the season with an injury, but it wasn't until Clarke and Hachimura left this offseason that Petrusev became a prominent presence in the paint. Maybe that start to his freshman season helped or maybe he was always going to be a force once given the opportunity, but he is leading the Zags with 17.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Adding the right transfers to Petrusev's supporting cast was just as important.

Both Admon Gilder (Texas A&M) and Ryan Woolridge (North Texas) rank among the seven Bulldogs averaging better than 10 points per game, and they fit beautifully into a system in which everyone does a little bit of everything.

All seven—a list that also includes Tillie, Joel Ayayi, Drew Timme and Corey Kispert—snag three or more rebounds per game and average at least 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per 40 minutes. Petrusev and Timme rarely venture out to the perimeter, but the other five each shoot better than 35 percent from deep and make more than one triple per game. They also all value the ball and strive to defend without fouling, ranking among the nation's top 10 in both turnover percentage on offense and free-throw rate on defense, per KenPom.com.

Just in the past 14 games, each of those seven players has tallied 20 or more points at least once.

It's unfathomable that we're still talking about a team that lost roughly 80 percent of its production from last season, but it's also little wonder that this team is 25-1 and has scored at least 83 points in 16 of its last 17 games.

How the heck are you supposed to slow down an offense with that many options?

Aside from a couple of games against Oregon and Michigan in a dimly lit ballroom in the Bahamas during November, no one has been able to solve that riddle. You almost have to prepare for a game in the 80s—in part because Gonzaga is playing at a faster tempo than ever before under Few—and hope your offense can keep pace against a defense that has been good but not great.

Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona each reached 80 against Gonzaga. San Francisco got to 79 in the process of becoming the only team to put up a fight against the Zags in the past month. Even though the highly efficient offenses of BYU and Saint Mary's haven't come close thus far this season, it can clearly be done.

But like North Carolina in most years (not the current one, of course), it almost feels like Gonzaga is just baiting opponents into a trap: "Oh yeah, you can score against us. Let's run a track meet together. I'm sure it'll end well for you and that you totally won't commit more turnovers and take more rushed three-point attempts than usual."

Even better, the Zags will get to set that trap in their hometown for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

The games in the Spokane pod won't actually be home games for Gonzaga. Instead of at McCarthey Athletic Center—better known as The Kennel—games will be about two miles down the road at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. But with the exception of Oregon, no other team in the projected field is located within 575 miles of Spokane. So, yeah, there's going to be a geographical advantage here.

Thanks to Saturday's Top 16 reveal, we also now know that Gonzaga—not San Diego State—is in the driver's seat for the top spot in the West Region, which is equally huge.

While Spokane isn't exactly walking distance from Los Angeles, getting to play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games there would be a heck of a lot better than being shipped some 2,000 miles east to potentially go through No. 4 seed Villanova and No. 2 seed Duke in New York City just to reach the Final Four.

Does that necessarily mean Gonzaga is finally going to win a national championship in its 23rd consecutive season with at least 23 wins?

Of course not.

But if the Zags can maintain their grip on that No. 1 seed in the West, they should have the easiest path to the Final Four and arguably deserve to be the odds-on favorite to win it all.

              

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.

The NCAA has suspended BYU forward Yoeli Childs for nine games after he "did not submit appropriate paperwork and received impermissible expenses when he worked with an agent while testing his NBA draft prospects," according to ESPN.

Childs made the decision in May to return to BYU for his senior season.

"Amid the confusion of the NCAA allowing student athletes to sign with agents and still return to school, Yoeli was caught in the transition of a changing landscape," BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a statement.

More from BYU AD Tom Holmoe: “Yoeli was honest and forthright throughout the reinstatement process. He clearly communicated his desire to return to BYU to graduate and compete with his teammates. Yoeli Childs is an outstanding student athlete with a bright future.”

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) August 9, 2019

BYU appealed the suspension but was unable to get Childs' suspension overturned. 

"There was some confusion with this new process, and I made decisions that have caused an outcome that none of us like," Childs said Friday. "I just want everyone to know that my intent was never to do something wrong."

Yoeli Childs will travel to Italy and play w/ his teammates overseas; he said today that "I'm just grateful to be here. I'm excited to go to Italy and play in these games, to play in these preseason games...and I'm excited for when I get to get back, but these guys will be fine."

— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) August 9, 2019

Childs was BYU's best player in the 2018-19 season, leading the team in points (21.2 PPG) and rebounds (9.7). He also averaged a block and a steal per game and shot 70.8 from the charity stripe, 50.7 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three.

His suspension was stiff for what appears to have essentially been a clerical error; Childs signed with an agent before filing the required paperwork with the NCAA, and the severity of the punishment was met with surprise:

Wow. Sanctioned for choosing to come back to school. What purpose does this serve? None. Embarrassing. https://t.co/BRJrWLOZSy

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) August 10, 2019

NCAA suspends Yoeli Childs for first nine games of 2019-20 season

Yup. NCAA strikes again.

— Brad Rock (@therockmonster) August 9, 2019

The NCAA's decision to suspend BYU forward Yoeli Childs for nine games over what amounts to a paperwork snafu is the epitome of arbitrary and heavy handed. #BYU #BYUhoops

— John Coon (@johncoonsports) August 9, 2019

"Nine games wasn't a number any of us were expecting, but that's life,” Childs said, per Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune. "I am not going to say this hasn't been an extremely emotional process, because it has been. For the past day or so I have wrestled between being so mad and being accepting of what is happening."

Although Gonzaga will lose Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura to the 2019 NBA draft, the men's basketball team will reportedly get a big boost with the return of forward Killian Tillie.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported the news Tuesday with a breakdown of what it could mean for Tillie:

Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie is expected to return to school, source told @Stadium. HUGE news for the Zags. If he can stay healthy, could be a guy who moves into first-round lock conversation a year from now.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 28, 2019

Tillie missed much of last season due to a foot injury, appearing in only 15 games. When he was on the court, he took a backseat to Clarke and Hachimura and averaged 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.

The prior year, Tillie showed he can be an impact player.

The 6'10" forward averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, making a positive impact on both ends of the court. Perhaps most impressively, he has made 47 percent of his three-point attempts during his three years at Gonzaga.

His outside shooting ability combined with his height could make him an ideal stretch big man in the NBA. While he needs to improve his shot-blocking ability, Tillie can be a useful weapon in the meantime.

Unfortunately, he suffered a sprained ankle in workouts and missed the NBA Draft Combine, hurting his opportunity to potentially raise his stock in front of scouts.

Goodman previously reported Tillie's decision to return to school could "go either way," but it now seems as though he will play one more year with the Bulldogs.

Although Gonzaga will have to replace a lot of talent going into next season, Tillie, Filip Petrusev and Corey Kispert could form a quality frontcourt in 2019-20.