The Gonzaga Bulldogs have enjoyed the top spot in the rankings and have been projected to be a 1 seed in all of the Ncaa Tournament projections, but they may have suffered a setback in a 79-71 loss at home to BYU. They were one game shy of completing a perfect 30-0 regular season before entering their conference tournament this week. Obviously, the Bulldogs are focusing on bigger things ahead, so the letdown of an undefeated season won't last long. The loss does pose a question of how good Gonzaga really is and if they deserve one of the prestigious top seeds in the big dance.

Gonzaga feeds off a bad conference

People tend to dismiss the Bulldogs' record most years and there's good reason for that. It tends to be inflated due to the bad talent inside of the WCC. Take away Gonzaga and you have a conference that went a collective 1-37 against the AP Top 25. That one win was BYU's upset just last night. The Cougars finish at 12-6 in conference play with a 21-10 overall record.

The Bulldogs are doing the best they can. They continue to reel in the recruits and transfers and to their credit, they've never wavered in their dominance of the WCC. The last time they finished below second place was back in the 1996-97 season when they were fourth with a 15-12 overall record.

Gonzaga still has a plethora of talent

Since 1999, the Bulldogs haven't missed the NCAA Tournament. In that stretch they've had five Sweet 16 and two Elite 8 appearances. Out of all that success, many believe this is the year that could be their finest. Przemek Karnowski is a 7-foot-1 beast that's just as talented as other memorable big men in the program's history.

Only rare moments like Saturday night showed his vulnerability.

The rest of the most prominent players in the group have transferred from Power Five conferences. Nigel Williams-Goss moved over from Washington and leads the team with 16.3 points per game. He put up 23 points on the Huskies in a game they won by 27 points. Even the young talent, like freshman forward Zach Collins, will step into Karnowski's shoes after this season.

Unfortunately for Gonzaga, the talent they're up against matters. Losses are magnified and a defeat at home against BYU is deserving of a drop in the projections. However, they still have the conference title to bounce back in. If they play top-25 St. Mary's in the WCC finals, that could be enough to catapult them back to the top.
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