This is kind of what I’m talking about. There’s a community of people that feels compelled to defend Gonzaga at all costs as if the whole world is out to get them. The reality is obviously I’m the idiot that’s basically alone on an island saying that that Gonzaga may not deserve the benefit of the doubt they’re consistently given by the media and CBB fans/followers (note, I’m distinguishing between the media/fans and the committee). Very, very few people think Gonzaga is “overrated” any more (for the reasons you and others have pointed out, also because it’s heresy and illicits reactions like yours). Heck, I don’t even think they’re overrated generally (though this particular team is).
I honestly have a much bigger issue with Saint Mary’s (really the WCC overall) than Gonzaga. Gonzaga’s conference competition, impossible-to-compare resume, and obvious gaming of KenPom et al, all irk me, but they’re still objectively a very good program that deserves praise. SMC on the other hand, is a complete fraud. All 3 of those complaints apply to SMC as well (especially the analytical gaming), but unlike Gonzaga they have zero results to back it up. This is their worst team in years and they’re still allegedly as good as a healthy UNC team and better than the Miami team we played today, according to KenPom/Torvik (so is fellow WCC comrade, Santa Clara, who has a sub 300 loss and 4-5 T100 record). Usually SMC is top 15, despite never actually ever beating anyone. This year they are 0-3 vs top 50, 3-4 vs top 100, but because they are really good at blowing out teams 150-250, they’re allegedly a top 30 team.
We have to stop pretending that Gonzaga struggling to beat Pacific tonight at home isn’t notable just because they’re close to a “top 100 team.” They jumped 30 spots in the last month in Torvik. Why? 10 spots for beating #187 Portland at home by 23 and 13 spots for beating #269 Pepperdine by 33. If you legitimately think they’re the 107th best team in the country, then stop reading because you’re not going to listen to anything else I say.
Gonzaga simply need to be evaluated differently than other teams. And what that means is that a loss like the Portland loss, to a truly horrible team much worse than their ranking, in a game in which Gonzaga trailed for 39 minutes, should have a significant impact to their seeding/resume. Everyone (including the committee today by saying the Zags are a 3 seed as of today), is basically saying the Portland game doesn’t matter. Gonzaga was likely a weak 2-strong 3 seed before that loss and now they’re still a 3 seed and I bet we start seeing them on the 2 line soon enough if they keep racking up Q1 wins against Santa Clara and SMC. As a team directly competing against them for seeding, I’m sorry but it doesn’t sit well with me.