Why Gonzaga Will Win March Madness

The recent history of No. 1 seeds in the March Madness college basketball tournament is a bit checkered, but since 2014, a No. 1 seed has been the team to emerge victorious and cut down the nets in the NCAA championship game every year but one. That’s why I think the Gonzaga Bulldogs will finally shake off the stigma of playing in the WCC conference and win their first national championship in program history.

This is the third NCAA tournament in a row where the Bulldogs were entering as the betting favorite among the 68-team field (sandwiched around the canceled 2020 tourney). Gonzaga’s first game is Thursday vs. 16-seed Georgia State in the West Regionm and the Bulldogs opened as 23.5-point favorites to move on to the second round. Make sure to check out the FTNBets Bracket Challenge for a chance to win up to $1,000.

Here are the latest odds for Gonzaga entering the March Madness tournament. I’ve also provided three reasons below why I think the Gonzaga will win six consecutive games and be 2022 NCAA College Basketball Champions:

Reason No. 1: Talent

 Although being a solid all-around team with upperclassmen can get you far in March Madness, teams still need high-end talent to get to the finish line. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are one of the few teams that can check both of those boxes entering the NCAA tournament.

Led by junior forward Drew Timme, the Bulldogs finished the 2021-2022 season as the top-scoring team in the nation, averaging 87.8 points per game. Timme, who was the preseason favorite for National Player of the Year, averaged 17.5 points per game for this campaign and provides a post presence that a lot of teams can’t match.

Then there’s freshman Chet Holmgren, who was the top-ranked recruit coming out of high school and is walking “basketball unicorn.” His 7-foot lanky stature gives Gonzaga elite rim protection as he averaged 3.6 blocks per game. On offense, he’s shown the ability to work in the post while also shooting from behind the arc (41% from 3PT). 

All five of the Bulldogs’ starters average double figures in points per game and if Gonzaga can get any production from its bench in the latter stages of the tourney, no team is stopping them from cutting down the nets.

Reason No. 2: Battle-Tested 

One of the main critiques of the Gonzaga basketball program is their lack of elite competition in the West Coast Conference. While that observation is warranted — only two other teams from the conference made the March Madness tourney — I’d be remiss if we glossed over Gonzaga’s out-of-conference schedule over the last two seasons. Head coach Mark Few has made it a point to schedule tougher teams in the earlier part of the season to ensure the team’s resume has some decent showings. 

Teams like Texas Tech, UCLA and Washington all fell victim to Gonzaga this season, while teams like Duke and Alabama were able to take the Bulldogs down a peg. Even last season, Gonzaga had a monstrous early schedule with wins over ranked teams like Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa and Auburn. A decent number of players on the roster are holdovers from last year’s squad, so being battle-tested and knowing the Zags can compete with any team should give you confidence in betting on Gonzaga to win it all.

Reason No. 3: Versatility

The final reason I think Gonzaga wins the 2022 March Madness tournament is their offensive versatility. Having an adaptive style is essential for winning six straight games in the NCAA tourney, which bodes well for the Bulldogs.

It’s not only that Gonzaga was the top-scoring team in the country, but it was how the Bulldogs scored their points. Gonzaga ranked first in NCAA in field-goal percentage at 52.7% and had an average of 49.1 of their points scored inside the arc. The latter stat is also first in the nation.

Another factor is rebounding, which is crucial for a successful March Madness tournament run. The Bulldogs are second in NCAA in total rebounds per game at 41.5 and also second in opponent field-goal percentage, which helps to boost those rebound numbers.

Having two forwards like Timme and Holmgren make all the difference for those phases of the game. Not to mention, having a starting backcourt where each player is averaging double-digit points and nearly 40% from behind the arc should give the big men plenty of room to operate in the post.