Gonzaga Bulldogs preseason: ESPN's Andy Katz ranks Zags at number 18

ESPN's Andy Katz is slowly counting down his top 25 teams in college basketball and placed the Gonzaga Bulldogs at number 18, he revealed on Tuesday.

Katz sites versatility and chemistry of the current Gonzaga squad, and makes the comparison to the 1999 team that started the Cinderella run to the Elite Eight. Since then, the Zags have been perennially in the national conversation but have struggled to match the March success they had over a decade ago. In the past 10 years, the Zags have made the NCAA tournament 10 times but have only made it to the Sweet 16 twice.

The Zags return four of five starters to the lineup and have incoming Polish big man Przemek Karnowski to do the dirty work down low. Katz cites Gonzaga's tough non-conference schedule, which is loaded with RPI increasing games, and says they have the talent to make a deep run into Atlanta.