Upsets in the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament make for great drama and capture the imagination of a national audience with each underdog that overcomes their Goliath. Upsets in the later rounds only make for worse basketball games.
That is why it’s so important to note that with UAB beating Iowa State and UCLA beating SMU, with one guaranteed a spot in the Sweet 16 after they meet, the road for Gonzaga to arrive in the Elite Eight suddenly looks a bit less daunting than before.
This idea requires Gonzaga to get by North Dakota State and one of Davidson/Iowa, but that looks fairly likely–even though Gonzaga has been one the wrong side of upsets before.
Should that happen, Gonzaga would have a chance to return to the Elite Eight with, perhaps, Mark Few’s most talented group yet. Facing either UAB or UCLA is much more favorable than matching up with someone like Iowa State, who many had beating the Bulldogs in the Sweet 16 and advancing to the Final Four, eventually.
Not only does this road look friendly for Gonzaga fans, but national pundits and analysts who have been waiting to see Few’s team match up another one of college basketball’s heavyweights, like they did at Arizona earlier this year–Gonzaga lost, 66-63 in OT.
Advancing that far, and then running into someone like Duke, would give them a chance to show the country just how “for real” they actually are. Of course, falling short of that with the path they have would give ammunition to all their haters from coast to coast.
