ZAGS TRACKER with STEVE CAMERON: Let's get this Madness party started

It’s that time again.

Win a national championship, Gonzaga, and please understand that anything less will be considered heartbreaking.

It’s SO unfair, but …

That’s the crazy situation, the absurd expectation, that hovers over the top-ranked Zags as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament heads into full swing.

The Zags are the top seed in the West Region (and No. 1 seed overall), and will be hoping to zoom through this first weekend in Portland, do the business a week later in San Francisco, then survive without defeat at the Final Four in New Orleans.

No problem, right?

The Zags open what could be another six-game battle — they lost to Baylor in the title game last year after winning 31 straight — this afternoon against 16th-seeded Georgia State (18-10).

This first game is likely to be a warm-up exercise for tougher tests to come, although it’s probably worth noting that Georgia State enters the Big Dance on a 10-game winning streak — including a surprise victory in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

The Panthers, though, were thrashed by most of the bigger schools they faced (Mississippi State, Rhode Island, George Tech, and so on).

IF WE go with the assumption that the Zags win on cruise control today, and it would be an upset of almost biblical proportions if they don’t, Mark Few’s gang will have an interesting date on Saturday — facing either Mountain West champ Boise State or glamour program Memphis — in an attempt to notch their seventh straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Boise State would represent the first of what might be two remarkable reunions, since the Broncos (27-7) are coached by former Few assistant Leon Rice.

The Broncos also feature former Mt. Spokane High star Tyson Degenhart, the two-time Spokane region player of the year.

Wait …

Did we say TWO coaching reunions a moment ago?

Yes, well, Gonzaga eventually could also square off against Arizona and first-year coach Tommy Lloyd, Few’s top lieutenant for two decades.

Lloyd’s Wildcats are the No. 2 overall seed, the top pick in the South Region.

This would almost be too good for a movie, but given their brackets, Few and Lloyd only have a chance to meet in the national championship game — and brother, that would be more than a lot of heartbeats than Zag Nation could handle.

A LOT of things would have to happen for Gonzaga to make a return appearance in the title game (and second in the past four tournaments, having lost in the infamous “Officials Gag” game against North Carolina in 2017).

Plenty of national pundits have finally begun to notice that Gonzaga is good every year, and this time around, there’s a lot of noise about winning it all.

“We’re better than last year,” said Drew Timme, Zags All-American (and smiling spokesman for Northern Quest Casino).

“Think about it,” Timme said, laughing at his own lack of athleticism. “Last season, I was the rim protector.

“Now we’ve got Chet around.”

Drew was referring, of course, to star 7-foot freshman Chet Holmgren, who already has 104 blocks (3.6 per game), to Timme’s 25.

The gifted Holmgren plays various positions on offense – he shoots 41 percent from 3-point range – but hangs around the paint on defense.

“I don’t know how many official blocks (Holmgren) has,” said Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek, “but for every one of those, he alters three or four more shots.”

SO FAR, no one particular way to beat the Zags has proven to be THE method.

Duke did it early in the year by using extreme pressure on the Gonzaga guards, but that group has grown tremendously since then.

Alabama upset the Zags in Seattle with a barrage of 3-pointers, a plan that sounds great — except that Gonzaga has hit 37.9 percent of its shots behind the arc for the season (18th best in Division I), while holding opponents to 30.7 percent (42nd WORST).

The Zags’ guards — plus the ever-present Holmgren — have learned to make life tough around the 3-point line, and cat-quick freshman defenders Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman have had a lot to do with that.

On the offensive end, opponents naturally want to deny Timme (17.5 points per game) the ball in the post, and teams like Texas Tech have basically collapsed into the paint — only to have the Zags bury them with 3-point daggers.

Rasir Bolton (46.7 percent) is almost automatic, and when he has true open looks … forget it.

Julian Strawther is sharp at 39.6 percent, and Andrew Nembhard, when he isn’t busy running the offense or driving to the hoop, has gotten hot in the last month to reach 36.5 percent from deep.

DESPITE the Zags’ elite numbers – they lead country in scoring (87.8 points per game), they’re third in assists (18.2) and fourth in total rebounds (41.5) — there are still naysayers who point to what they perceive as the “weak” WCC, and of course …

There is the undeniable fact that Gonzaga has not yet won a national title.

It’s the one thing left to do.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, perhaps the most knowledgeable analyst in the sport, has picked the Zags to cut the nets this time.

“Obviously, taking one team against the field – in a year with so much balance – is not the right way to look at it,” Bilas said. “But if you had to pick a team, it’s Gonzaga. They’re really legit.

“All this stuff about the WCC is nonsense. Gonzaga has been to six straight Sweet Sixteens, most of any school, and they’ve played in two of the last four championship games.”

(There was no tournament because of COVID in 2020, but the Zags were 30-2 and destined for another No. 1 seed that year, as well.)

“This year, they’ve got Chet. But most of the team is old, and they’ve Nembhard and a great group of guards. “That’s everything you’d want, going into this thing.”

Thank you, Jay.

Now let’s get this party started.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”