Gonzaga improves NCAA Tournament seed with win over USF Dons in WCC semifinals (photo gallery)

The Zags are projected as high as a No. 6 seed heading into the WCC Tournament championship game vs. Saint Mary's

Gonzaga Nation Staff | Mar 12, 2024

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LAS VEGAS - The Gonzaga men's basketball team will make its 30th appearance in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game after beating the San Francisco Dons 89-77 in Monday's late semifinal at Orleans Arena.

The Zags will face Saint Mary's in the title game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Gaels beat Santa Clara 79-65 in the other semifinal earlier Monday.

Gonzaga entered the game ranked No. 16 in the NET Rankings and slotted to be a No. 7 seed in most 2024 NCAA Tournament projections. The victory over the Dons moved the Zags up to a No. 6 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest ESPN Bracketology update.

Lunardi predicts No. 6 Gonzaga will face No. 11 Mississippi State in the first round in Omaha, Nebraska. No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 Toledo is the other projected first-round matchup opposite Gonzaga in the Omaha pod. A second-round matchup of Gonzaga vs. Baylor is intriguing on several fronts. It would be a rematch of a closed-door preseason scrimmage from October that Gonzaga won, 81-78.

If Gonzaga beats Saint Mary's in the WCC Tournament championship game, it's possible the Zags could jump as high as a No. 5 seed. A victory over the Gaels would move the Zags into the top 15 in the NET Rankings and give them their fourth Quad 1 victory of the season.

Would the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee place Gonzaga in the Spokane pod if the Zags win the WCC Tournament title? We will find out soon enough.