SPOKANE, Wash. – If Gonzaga men’s basketball making the NCAA Tournament for the 28th-straight time is a no-brainer, and the Gonzaga women’s team joining them was a bit tighter odds, both Idaho teams getting the plus-one tickets to March Madness was quite the shock.
Not to the Vandals.
Idaho women continue a record-breaking season, 17 conference wins and 29 total (and counting) make a statement of their own as the V’s scorched through the Big Sky. Former WSU Coug Kyra Gardner won Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and helped lead the No. 1-seeded Vandals to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2026. Idaho is projected as a No. 14 seed.
The men’s side is somehow even less probable, as they return to the big dance for the first time since 1990, shattering the 36-year drought with a Big Sky title of their own, all as the No. 7 seed. Big Sky Freshman of the Year Jackson Rasmussen and Top Reserve Isaiah Brickner to five-straight wins, including twice over rivals Eastern Washington. The Vandals are likely a No. 15 or 16 seed, the potential lowest among their five tournament appearances all-time.
The NCAA Tournament has existed for 165 seasons, including men’s and women’s each, and Idaho basketball attended only 10 of them. The 2026 field is the first-ever with both Idaho men’s and women’s.
Gonzaga women’s needed a conference title win, too. They blew past the No. 3-seeded Santa Clara Broncos and then overcame the defending tournament champs, No. 4-seed Oregon State.
The freshman tandem of WCC Player of the Year Lauren Whittaker and WCC Sixth Woman of the Year Jaiden Haile creates a menacing presence in the paint, and a team that’s modeled consistency both this season and in their WCC tenure. All this comes with an extremely young team: Whittaker is the longest-tenured Zag with her years as a redshirt.
As a likely No. 12 seed, possible Zags opponents include No. 5 seed North Carolina (ESPN) or No. 5 seed Kentucky (The IX). It’s overwhelmingly likely these Zags play against a major-conference team.
Gonzaga men’s basketball needs no introduction. Missing the NCAA Tournament isn’t a question, and usually a high seed. This year follows suit, as most projections have them as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
The Zags have the No. 6 NET ranking (NCAA Evaluation Tool) and 11th in Kenpom (top computer rankings), but the Strength of Schedule ranking doesn’t help, as teams like Maryland, Oregon, and Creighton greatly underperformed expectations. Gonzaga averages a 3.18 seed across all 116 major brackets. For reference, Saint Mary’s is projected as a No. 7 seed, and Santa Clara a No. 10 seed.
The majority of brackets have Gonzaga facing a team like potential WAC champions Utah Valley or potential Big West champions UC Irvine.
So we’ll close with a rooting guide. Who does Gonzaga either need or want to lose?
Alabama is one. The Crimson Tide has a better schedule and more big wins, but lost the head-to-head and has a worse NET ranking. SEC No. 15 Ole Miss did the Zags a big favor last night by knocking off Alabama, likely eliminating the chance for the Tide to hop GU.
Another team is the Kansas Jayhawks. They earned a spot in the Big 12 semifinals yesterday, but the No. 2-seeded Houston Cougars crushed the Jayhawks, limiting their shot at hopping the Zags, too.
The last team to touch on is the Virginia Cavaliers. The Cavs are the only dangerous team alive, and they face the top ACC seed, Duke, in the conference title game today. UVA is a projected No. 4 seed, but knocking off the potential No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament team would do wonders for their resume.
Interesting note: Gonzaga could be the first top-8 NET team since 2018 (the year the NET rankings began) to not be a No. 2 seed or better despite 28+ wins, a conference regular+postseason title, and multiple Quad 1 wins.
The men’s selection show begins tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., and the women’s is right after at 5:00 p.m.
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