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USA TODAY Sports Bracketology: Assessing why 29-0 Gonzaga's barely a No. 1 seed

Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

Destroyed. Annihilated. Steamrolled. Obliterated. 

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Nigel Williams-Goss (5) brings the ball up court during the first half against the San Diego Toreros at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Pick your verb. They're all fitting for what the Gonzaga Bulldogs did to lowly San Diego team with a 58-point beatdown on Thursday night to advance to 29-0 and inch one game away from a perfect regular season.  

Will the NCAA tournament selection committee notice the score? Probably. Will it matter in determining the 'Zags' seeding? Nope. 

What matters more is North Carolina's convincing win against projected No. 2 seed Louisville on Wednesday because it gave the Tar Heels another top-10 win to an already stellar résumé. That outcome helped UNC leapfrog Gonzaga to become the third projected No. 1 seed behind Kansas and Villanova. That's right, a five-loss team in the ACC, a three-loss team in the Big East, and a three-loss team in the Big 12 are graded higher than the country's only unbeaten team that's been ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll for the past four weeks

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For much of the season, Gonzaga's undefeated record (29-0, 17-0) has been asterisked by the fact that a majority of those wins are coming against teams outside the top-100 in the weaker-than-usual West Coast Conference. And while the 'Zags own a top-10 RPI and challenged themselves in non-conference play — with marquee wins against Arizona, Florida and Iowa State, the criticism is that they didn't play enough decent teams there, either.

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This message was sent when the committee picked the top 16 seeds a month out from Selection Sunday. Gonzaga was the fourth No. 1 seed, falling behind Villanova, Kansas and Baylor. There's even a chance that now No. 2 seed Baylor or a Pac-12 heavyweight like Oregon or Arizona could jump ahead of the 'Zags — still with a likely unblemished record then — for a No. 1 seed in the tourney.

Wichita State, another mid-major that was in quest of a perfect season, was in a similar situation in 2014 and ended up getting put in a ridiculously stacked side of the bracket that saw eventual Final Four finisher Kentucky narrowly upset the Shockers for their first (and only) loss of the season. Gonzaga, which lost in the second round as a No. 1 seed in 2013 (to Wichita State), could very well find itself in a similar situation. Sure, there's room for skepticism, considering the Bulldogs have famously underachieved in the NCAAs despite going there a record 18 (going on 19) times in a row. They were one game away from the Final Four last season, only to fall to Syracuse. But if they want to prove they're the best team in the nation, they'll have to do so in March Madness. Because the committee certainly won't be adorning them with a not-impressive-enough résumé. 

► No. 1 seeds: Villanova, Kansas, Gonzaga, North Carolina

► Last four in: Vanderbilt, Wichita State, Providence, California

► First four out: Clemson, Illinois, Tennessee, TCU

Moving in: CSU Bakersfield

Moving out: New Mexico State

► Others considered for at-large bids (in no particular order): Wake Forest, Georgia, Kansas State, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh

► On life support: Rhode Island, Houston, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Georgetown, Indiana

► No longer considered for at-large: UConn, Texas, Charleston, New Mexico, Boise State, LaSalle, Davidson, Chattanooga, Saint Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, BYU, Oklahoma, Charleston, Nebraska, Temple, North Carolina State, Stanford, Nevada, Texas A&M, Memphis, Utah, Iowa, Auburn, Texas Tech

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► Multi-bid conferences: ACC (9), Big Ten (7), Big East (7), Big 12 (5) Pac-12 (5), SEC (5), A-10 (2), AAC (2), MVC (2), WCC (2).

Conference Leaders

► Or highest RPI from projected one-bid conferences - (23 total): Vermont (America East), Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun), North Dakota (Big Sky), UNC-Asheville (Big South), UC Irvine (Big West), UNC-Wilmington (CAA), Middle Tennessee State (Conference USA), Valparaiso (Horizon), Yale (Ivy League), Monmouth (MAAC), Akron (MAC), N.C. Central (MEAC), Illinois State (Missouri Valley), Nevada (Mountain West), Mount Saint Mary's (Northeast), Belmont (Ohio Valley), Bucknell (Patriot), East Tennessee State (Southern), New Orleans (Southland), Texas Southern (SWAC), North Dakota State (Summit), Texas-Arlington (Sun Belt), CSU Bakersfield (WAC).

  • Banned from participating: Hawaii, Southern Mississippi, Alcorn State, Savannah State, Northern Colorado
  • Transition Schools, ineligible for the tourney: Abilene Christian (Southland), Grand Canyon (WAC), Incarnate Word (Southland), Massachusetts-Lowell (American East)    

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Note: All RPI and statistical data is used from WarrenNolan.com.

About our bracketologist: Shelby Mast has been projecting the field since 2005 and has finished as one of the top 5 national bracketologists for his website, Bracket W.A.G. He’s predicted for The Indianapolis Star, collegeinsider.com and is an inaugural member of the Super 10 Selection Committee. Follow him on Twitter @BracketWag.

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