The Gonzaga Bulldogs made it to the Round of 32, beating West Virginia in the first round before dropping to Ohio State in the second round. It was a solid season for the Bulldogs and yet another tournament appearance for Mark Few, as the WCC powerhouse continued to prove it was always a tournament fixture.
Gonzaga has only one player leaving (their starting center), and it could be a big loss, but the rest of the team will be sticking around and provides a young and promising nucleus that could help the Bulldogs go deeper into March and get beyond the second round once again.
Indeed, the Bulldogs are considered as one of the top 25 teams in the country going into next season. Andy Katz of ESPN explains his reasoning in this article, which you can view a snippet of after the jump.
The Bulldogs lose Robert Sacre, but if Elias Harris returns -- and he should -- the Bulldogs once again will be the preseason favorite in the WCC and one of the best teams in the West. Gary Bell Jr., Kevin Pangos and David Stockton form one of the top perimeters in the region. Sam Dower will only get better as a possible difference-maker. Gonzaga had a poor matchup with Ohio State, but was still within a few possessions to knock off the eventual Final Four team. The Zags will contine to roll on.
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