Depth, sharpshooting have No. 3 Zags in line for a top seed in March

It’s an annual tradition – as the attention shifts from football to the oncoming March Madness, casual college basketball fans look up, find Gonzaga’s name in the national polls and prepare accordingly for the Zags’ run into the postseason.

Usually Gonzaga is right in the middle of the Top 25, but every so often the Zags will state a pretty convincing case for a No. 1 seed in the tournament – a rare feat for a mid-major team like itself.

This year is very much one of those convincing cases.

At 24-1, Gonzaga is second in the USA Today poll and third in the AP rankings, looking like the team that can finally break through the glass ceiling and give the school its first Final Four after 16 straight tournament appearances.

The Zags have six regular season games and the West Coast Conference tournament to get through before the NCAA Tournament, but it’s looking more and more likely they’ll be in line for a No. 1 seed in March. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve claimed a top seed – they did so in 2013, though it turned out to be more of a burden than a benefit. Gonzaga narrowly avoided becoming the first No. 1 to lose to a 16 in the first round, then were knocked off in the next game by No. 9 Wichita State. There’s no question longtime coach Mark Few and company want to erase that bitter memory, and this year’s team looks built to do just that.

So, how has Gonzaga become one of the most dangerous teams in the nation and a candidate to be called the best squad in program history? Here’s a look.

Scoring depth

First and foremost, this is a Zags team that can reach deep into its bench without losing much firepower. Seven players play over 17 minutes a game and six are averaging more than 8 points. If one of the Bulldogs’ more reliable players are having an off game, there’s somebody to pick up the slack – something that always goes a long way in the postseason. Junior forward Kyle Wiltjer (16.4 points per game) is the usual primary option, but senior guard Kevin Pangos (12.1 ppg) is no stranger to 20-plus point games, and senior guards Byron Wesley and Gary Bell, junior center Przemek Karnowski and freshman forward Domantas Sabonis have all each scored at least 18 points in a contest this season.

Sharpshooters

If you’re wondering how all that scoring depth adds up, it’s because there’s no better shooting team in the nation than the Zags, who make 53.2 percent of their attempts from the floor, 1.7 percent better than second-ranked Notre Dame. That shooting ability extends past the 3-point line, too, where they hit at 40.3 percent, tied for 11th in the country. The 1-2 punch of Pangos and Wiltjer has been especially lethal, hitting 45.8 and 44.3 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, respectively. With numbers like that, it’s no surprise Gonzaga is scoring at a clip of 80.7 per game, eighth in the NCAA.

Key additions

Perhaps the most remarkable part of Gonzaga’s success is how much credit belongs to players new to the program. Wiltjer has the been the go-to scorer despite being in his debut year with the team – the Portland native is a transfer from Kentucky, which just happens to be the undefeated top-ranked team in the country (the potential March Madness plot thickens). Wesley is in a similar situation, immediately making an impact in the starting lineup even though he didn’t arrive on campus until 2014, after three seasons at USC. And then there’s Sabonis, a 6-foot-10 phenom from Lithuania best known for being the son of former NBA center Arvydas Sabonis. The freshman is one of the best sixth men in the country, averaging 9.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds, and is second in the entire NCAA with a stellar 70.4 field goal percentage.

The mainstays

Of course there are a few people the Bulldogs have built themselves around, providing a solid foundation so that the new players can flourish in the Kennel. Four-year starter Pangos has been a star since the day he showed up in Spokane, having averaged double-digit points since his freshman season. The Canadian-born point guard has been gracious in allowing Wiltjer and others to shoulder more of the scoring responsibility this season, taking a hit in his own scoring (he scored 14.4 points per game in 2013-14) while boosting his assist total (4.8 this season compared to 3.6 a year ago). There’s also Karnowski, the 7-1, 288-pound Polish center who has grown from a plodding freshman to a matchup nightmare for opponents, and Gary Bell, the Kent native who maybe isn’t having his best season but certainly is a vital piece of the puzzle for Gonzaga thanks to his experience in the backcourt. And you can’t talk about mainstays without mentioning Few, the man behind the efficient offense and unparalleled international recruiting that has turned the Zags into a perennial power.

The record

The one weak spot on Gonzaga’s résumé is its schedule, as it has only played two ranked teams all season. But the Zags at least made those two games count – No. 25 SMU barely put up a fight, falling 72-56 on Nov. 17 in Spokane, and No. 7 Arizona needed a furious comeback to eke out a 66-63 overtime win over Gonzaga in Tucson on Dec. 6. Since then the Bulldogs have reeled off 17 straight wins, and there are some notable names in that run, including Memphis and Pac-12 teams UCLA and Washington State. As for conference play, the WCC has a few tough teams, and the best it has to offer – Saint Mary’s (18-5), Pepperdine (15-9) and the nation’s highest-scoring team, BYU (18-8) – have all fallen to the Zags.