Gonzaga headed into Saturday night with a perfect and unblemished 29-0 record. The team entered the game as twenty point favorites and has been projected to be a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. It was hard to imagine that a team with such high margins of victory could lose to a more middling team like BYU. Gonzaga led by six at halftime, but BYU managed to keep it close until the last two minutes.
BYU gets the Victory.
With the game tied at 71, BYU nailed a jumper to take the lead. That possession was followed by two straight ugly turnovers from Josh Perkins, who dribbled the ball off his foot.
BYU made the free throws they needed to and knocked off unbeaten Gonzaga 79-71. This huge victory should have college basketball fans asking questions about both BYU and Gonzaga.
Does Gonzaga Lose Their One Seed?
Prior to this game, the tournament committee would have ranked Gonzaga as the fourth best one seed. This loss to BYU at home means that the Bulldogs would likely lose their one seed to another major conference powerhouse. But even if Gonzaga did lose their one seed, the team would be at worst a two seed in the NCAA tournament. It's fair to question if this is fair. Gonzaga has quality victories over a number of high quality opponents and shouldn't be seen as a lesser team just because they play in a weaker conference.
Is BYU a Tournament Team?
A win against Gonzaga on the road is a very high quality victory that would significantly bolster any team's resume. Unfortunately for BYU, the team didn't have much on its resume prior to Saturday night's game. Their next best victory is likely a win against Princeton and BYU has poor losses against Utah Valley, San Diego, and Santa Clara.
Despite the historically weak nature of the bubble, BYU should be barely considered a bubble team.
For BYU to get into the tournament, they will need to win the WCC tournament, a feat they proved they are capable of achieving tonight. Gonzaga and St. Mary's are already safely in. BYU still needs to do a little more to punch their ticket to the big dance.
