WCC Power Rankings, January 13th
By Josh Horton
Jan 4, 2014; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Drew Barham (43) celebrates a basket and with his teammate against the Pacific Tigers during the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
1. Gonzaga
Ranking Before Conf. Play Began: 1
Record: 14-3 (4-1)
RPI: 22
KenPom: 26
Place in Conf. Standings: 1
The Gonzaga Bulldogs were playing some of their best basketball of the season before Thursday. Teams were cycling in and out of the Kennel with aspirations of knocking off the first place Bulldogs, but to no avail. But then the Bulldogs were forced to travel outside of Spokane and things quickly went sour.
Gonzaga was flat-out dominated by Portland, losing to the Pilots by a score of 82-73. The final doesn’t properly represent the beat down that the Pilots gave the Zags.
Gonzaga – one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country – only shot 25.7 percent from behind the arc, while Portland knocked down 57.1 percent of its three-point attempts.
However, the Bulldogs have a few excuses they can make regarding their loss. A flu-bug has been floating around the Gonzaga campus, and as a result several Bulldogs have gotten sick. More specifically, it hit center Przemek Karnowski who missed two practices during in the week of preparation for the Portland game. Karnowski is an integral part of this Gonzaga team, especially on the defensive floor. He looked well, like he was sick and did not play like himself.
Excuses aside, the Portland loss brought up a lot of questions regarding the Bulldogs, such as: ‘is Gonzaga team tough enough?’, ‘can the Bulldogs win away from home?’ and ‘do the Zags have what it takes to win the WCC?’ Time will tell, but for right now, the Zags sit comfortably atop the power rankings.