NCAA: Gonzaga Overrated? Not So Fast

Every year. Every stinking year we have to sit through the criticism of Gonzaga, and all mid-majors that have good years, and listen to the parade of unwarranted labels from fans and those increasingly “smart” observers of college basketball.

Every year. Every stinking year it continues to grow in popularity to “beat down,” if you will, teams that have success throughout the college basketball season, focusing solely on their past successes, or lack thereof, instead of relying on what’s in front of them.

Feb 19, 2015; Stockton, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Kevin Pangos (4) controls the ball against Pacific Tigers guard Dulani Robinson (5) during the second half at Spanos Center. The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Pacific Tigers 86-74. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Every year. Every stinking year and it’s always the same. Mostly because they’re continuously good, a national power, especially among mid-majors, Gonzaga is at the forefront of this criticism. It happens every year, but this year seems to be increasing with every win the Bulldogs pull off.

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Sitting with a 28-1 record and ranked second in the Associated Press poll (third in the coaches’ poll), Gonzaga is firmly on the No. 1–seed line for the 2015 NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs hold steady at No.8 in terms of RPI, which measures a number of things, including who teams have played, who their opponents have played among others.

Based on this, Gonzaga has had one of the best years in college basketball, but they’re still overrated to some.

What does being “overrated” even mean? Nobody knows, but it’s a buzz word many stand behind to make themselves sound smarter after a highly ranked, or ranked, team loses a game. In Gonzaga’s case, though, they didn’t even have to lose a game to be labeled as “overrated” again.

Being down by 17 at one point, playing inside the gymnasium Saint Mary’s calls home against a conference rival, Gonzaga came back to win by 10. Very few teams can pull it together like that to come back and pull off a win, but the Bulldogs did. But being down and not winning by 20 points on the road just means they’re not all that good, right?

Wichita State went through the same problems last year. Most of that criticism was due to the Shockers’ success being relatively new to those that had no idea they are a consistently successful program. Gonzaga, however, has been in the national spotlight for well over a decade now, but have yet to win over the masses.

Why is that? Why has Gonzaga, a team that’s been at the top of the mountain for so long, still struggling to gain overall respect?

Fans are fickle. It doesn’t matter what sports, activity or political party they associate themselves with. Anything outside of “their” team or “their” affiliation is considered sub-par. Take, for instance, this last weekend’s Oscar awards.

Indie movies have garnered more appreciation from the academy for different reasons, but have yet to win over the causal movie goer because it didn’t receive enough commercialization and didn’t dominate the box office.

Gonzaga, in this case, is Whiplash. Those that know about them appreciate their greatness and see beyond what J.K. Simmons and Mark Few have done in the past, seeing how they have transformed themselves to be something different, something great.

Many are just upset when that indie film, that mid-major, gets considered as great when it’s not Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s not Kentucky. While GotG and Kentucky are both great in their own right, there can be more than one great film, more than one great team, at a time.

One thing that gets lost on all this talk about Gonzaga being “overrated” is that most of it is based on their past. This is not the past, this is the present. What the Bulldogs have done before 2015 means absolutely nothing for what they are doing this year.

Gonzaga has one of the deepest teams it has ever had under Mark Few. Seven players average more than 20 minutes played per game, another one at just more than 16 minutes and another at 11 minutes per game.

The only other power team that can say they go nine deep and lose very little in rotations is Kentucky, which has eight players at 20 minutes per game or more and two more between 11 and 16 minutes per game.

The Bulldogs also have one of the most deadly offenses in the country, ranking 12th in the country is scoring at 76.7 points per game, 11th in assists at 16.8 per game and first in the nation in field goal percentage at 52.7 percent. It’s not like Gonzaga is waltzing through its schedule by having the best talent in the West Coast Conference.

Though they do have much better players than the rest of the WCC, they’re sharing the ball, getting easy shots and working hard to get the best production from their team as possible.

Saying a team is “overrated” has become too easy, too much of a scapegoat. It’s easy to say a team you believe is not on par with other teams is “overrated” rather than offering anything to the conversation. It’s also easy to highlight the past as a reason for teams such as Gonzaga being overrated.

College sports are not pro sports. The teams are constantly different from one year to another while pro teams can stay generally the same with a few minor changes here and there.

Take a look at Gonzaga’s roster from the last time they were a No. 1 seed, in 2013, and try to find an argument to say they’re “just as overrated as that team” without saying they have the same coach and the same school name as that team. You can’t, which makes the argument moot.

Every year. Every stinking year we have to go through this and it’s tiresome, overplayed and, quite frankly, lazy. Gonzaga is not overrated. The term “overrated” is overrated in itself. Stop using this buzz word to justify not liking a team.

Stop using history to say a team is “overrated” and try to come up with a cohesive, well thought out argument. If you can’t, then you probably shouldn’t be talking about the subject in the first place.

Every year. Every stinking year Gonzaga is good yet are still seen as “not as good as their record shows.” Open your eyes, close your mouth and let the game speak for itself. It’s too easy to come up with HOT TAKES. Let Gonzaga be Gonzaga and let the rest unfold as it does.

Next: Senior Spotlight: Saint Mary's Brad Waldow

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