Gonzaga Bulldogs ranked No. 7 in ESPN's way-too-early Top 25 rankings for 2023-24 season
There isn’t much of an offseason when it comes to college basketball, so it’s never too early to start looking ahead to how the 2023-24 regular season and NCAA Tournament will shape out for the Gonzaga Bulldogs nearly three months ahead of opening night.
Now in the post-Drew Timme era, the Zags reloaded through major acquisitions in the transfer portal this offseason. Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard looks to run the same offense his older brother Andrew did at Gonzaga just two years ago, while sharpshooter Steele Venters from Eastern Washington made the short move from Cheney to Spokane after winning the Big Sky Player of the Year award last season. Graham Ike, a near 20-point-per-game big man from Wyoming, is set to start at center coming off a leg injury that sidelined him for the 2022-23 season.
Returners Nolan Hickman, Anton Watson and Ben Gregg bring continuity and experience to a deep squad featuring Kansas transfer and four-star guard Marcus Adams Jr., four-star recruit Dusty Stromer, Jun Seok Yeo, Kaden Perry and Braden Huff.
On paper, Gonzaga is projected to be right back in the national championship mix. After finishing last season No. 9 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, ESPN’s way-too-early top 25 rankings have the Zags at No. 7, just behind the Houston Cougars and ahead of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Similarly, Bracketologist Joe Lunardi thinks highly of Gonzaga heading into the season. Lunardi’s recent Bracketology has the Zags earning the 3-seed in the South region, which would set them up with a first-round matchup on home turf in the Spokane Arena. The last time Spokane was chosen as a host city for the NCAA Tournament in 2020, it got canceled due to COVID-19.
Saint Mary’s, coming off a second-round appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, was slated as the No. 6 seed in the East region.
Purdue, which Gonzaga faces in the first round of the Maui Invitational, came in at No. 3 in ESPN’s way-too-early rankings after returning all five starters from last season’s Big Ten championship team. Zach Edey and the Boilermakers beat the Zags in the PK85 Legacy tournament last November.
ESPN has the reigning national champion UConn Huskies starting the season at No. 5. The Zags and Huskies square off at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Dec. 15 in a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight matchup. It’s also the start of a multi-year series between the two programs that’ll head to Madison Square Garden in 2024-25.
Last year’s runner-up San Diego State was ranked No. 12. The Zags host the Aztecs on Dec. 29 as part of a home-and-home series that’ll conclude next year in San Diego.
Gonzaga will also travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to face the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 17 in ESPN’s rankings. USC was slotted at No. 21, while the Gaels came in at No. 23. The Zags face the Trojans on Dec. 2 in Las Vegas.
Based on ESPN’s outlook, Gonzaga is headed for a difficult nonconference schedule that features six top-25 opponents, not including potential matchups against Tennessee (No. 8), Kansas (No. 1) and Marquette (No. 10) at the Maui Invitational.
Mark Few certainly likes to load up on as many ranked opponents as possible to prepare for the postseason down the road, and this season is no different.
