Can't figure out Gonzaga. For years, agreed with the narrative that Gonzaga wasn't as good as their ranking and that they played in a crap conference and got exposed in the NCAAT every year. As stated above, Gonzaga now consistently recruits above everyone else except for Duke and Ky. They prove how good they are in OOC games. This year, Gonzaga crushed UCLA by 20 in December. It's no longer a talent issue. Gonzaga has had 4 1st round picks since the 2019 draft and Holmgren will be #5. The only thing that I can come up with is that Few's system is based on transition scoring, and in the early-season OOC and in their crappy conference, Gonzaga can get away with playing transition and out-scoring teams. By the time the tourney rolls around, Power Conference teams are honed and know how to slow tempo and play grind it out basketball. Except for St. Mary's, Gonzaga hasn't had to play that type of game, and so, they crack when they can't play into the 90s. It's happened 4 tourney's in a row against strong athletic defensive oriented teams that controlled tempo (FSU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Arkansas). I guess that Gonzaga just isn't used to that type of ball after playing Pepperdine, San Diego and Portland for the last two months.
Would love to see Arkansas beat Duke. Will be rooting for the Razorbacks, but Duke may have 6 guys that will be in the NBA next year. That may be more than the collective sum of the other teams still alive in the tournament.