Why does Gonzaga’s ranking from the preseason matter?

 Why does Gonzaga’s ranking from the preseason matter?

Less than nine weeks remain before the 2024–25 college basketball season opens, which means the Associated Press’s first preseason Top 25 poll will also be released soon. According to “way-too-early” power rankings from major media agencies, the Gonzaga Bulldogs might place in the top 10 in the Associated Press’s opening poll of the season. Should that be the case, the Zags would have appeared in the preseason top 10 six times since the 2015–16 season.

In the 2022–23 preseason survey, Gonzaga was ranked No. 2, but after suffering its third straight loss to Baylor on a neutral floor, it fell to No. 18 by the fifth week of play. Despite this, Drew Timme and his team made it to the Elite Eight during his senior year of college.

The 2020–21 and 2021–22 teams managed to begin and end the season as No. 1 in the AP poll, led by two future NBA players. Nonetheless, Gonzaga had never been ranked first in the AP preseason poll before Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren. But as history would demonstrate, Mark Few’s program hasn’t benefited greatly over the years from rankings in August and September polls.

Given that the Zags were ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll, there weren’t many outside expectations for the 2016–17 campaign. Gonzaga didn’t receive a vote until the team had a 22-0 start to the season. After that, it maintained its top spot until the following week, when it lost to BYU at home on senior night. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs made it to the inaugural Final Four and national championship game of the program.

On the other hand, the Zags team from the previous year began the 2015–16 season ranked ninth in the initial poll. However, Pzremek Karnowski’s back ailment prevented him from playing most of his senior year. Gonzaga left without the Polish Hammer of the AP Top 25 by mid-December. Ranked or not, the Bulldogs still went to the Sweet 16 with Domantas Sabonis and Kyle Wiltjer leading the way.

Gonzaga lost to Santa Clara in January of last season, which caused them to fall out of the top 25. Soon after, major experts began to exclude the Bulldogs from their anticipated 68-team NCAA Tournament brackets. For some fans and commentators, a Few-led squad with a 17-8 record seemed disastrous.

Once more, Gonzaga was unaffected by their mid-season ranking. The Zags advanced to the Sweet 16 for the tenth consecutive postseason thanks to a few crucial road back in Spokane for a deep postseason run, which  led many national media outlets to rank the Zags near the top of their respective “way-too-early” power rankings. But does it matter?

How, in the name of God, can we sit here at this moment and predict which American team will be the top, second, or third team? play-by-play commentator Greg Heister of Gonzaga shot back. “This is all about chemistry and developing a team, especially at Gonzaga. We are aware of their exceptional talent, but as the majority of Gonzaga supporters are aware, what matters most is how well they mesh as a team. In a recent Gonzaga Nation broadcast, Heister discussed his opinions on preseason rankings and gave a preview of Gonzaga’s 2024–25 campaign with former All-American Dan Dickau.