THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Houston fans not happy with Zags' seeding either

Hey there, boys and girls. 

How’s your week going so far? 

Still involved in an argument about the Zags’ No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament? 

Fun fact: Gonzaga hasn’t landed as low as an eighth seed since 2016 — which, coincidentally, was the year Mark Few’s lads started this amazing streak of nine consecutive advances to the Sweet Sixteen or further. 

You know, of course, that the NCAA committee which under seeded the Zags this time around made the task of extending that streak to 10 straight very, VERY difficult. 

Gonzaga would need to knock off a pretty salty Georgia team in its opener on Thursday, and then somehow escape Houston on Saturday. 

I’ve listened to some Houston podcasts the past day or two, and the funny thing that a lot of those Coug boosters — the folks who pour money into the school’s collective — are also steamed about the Zags’ seedings. 

They’ve seen the NET rankings, the Torvik numbers, the KenPom and so forth just like we have, and come to a unanimous conclusion. 

“Gonzaga?” shouted one gentleman. “How do we have to play Gonzaga in the second round. 

“We get a No. 1 seed (for the third straight year), and they hand us a team that can knock us out almost immediately. 

“Who decided Gonzaga should be an 8-seed?” 

WE KNOW the answer to that question, don’t we? 

And more important, we know why the committee knocked the Zags down a couple of seed lines. 

All those metric rankings love Gonzaga because of a big-boy nonconference schedule, the fact that all those games against roughhouse teams went right to the buzzer — and all the numbers make it appear that the Zags can play tough with anybody. 

Yep, they can. 

The problem, and there’s no question this came up in the committee suite, is that the Zags LOST all those thrillers. 

Were they strange? 

Sure. 

As Few said, he’s never seen a season when so many teams banked in 3-pointers against his team. 

That’s true, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. 

Gonzaga was an atrocious 3-point shooting team in its own right, especially down the stretch in close games. 

I’ll concede that it’s weird. 

A team that shoots 80.1% from the foul line (with Khalif Battle leading the nation individually at 92.9% on 117 of 126 attempts) should shoot well from outside. 

Coaches scouting the Zags would tell their players: “Don’t believe those 3-point numbers. That’s a team that can go off and kill you in five minutes.” 

Well, yeah, it seems like Gonzaga can get deadly hot, with Nolan Hickman, Ryan Nembhard and Battle all capable of doing microwave impressions. 

The thing is, though, if I were that other coach, I’d tell my guys not to panic — to let the Zags have their little streaks, because they’re GOING to cool off with the game on the line. 

Three overtime losses, and five more by six points or less, tell you that Gonzaga hasn’t proven it can take down a big-time team in the final few minutes. 

SO, DOES that mean the Zags are facing hopeless tasks against Georgia, then (gulp) Houston and beyond? 

No. 

In fact, Gonzaga has played really well as an underdog in previous NCAA tournaments. 

What’s more, these dogs have some bite that we haven’t seen lately. 

They can score in the paint against anybody. 

Few threw 6-10 soph Braden Huff into the lineup alongside 6-9 leading scorer Graham Ike in the WCC tournament finale against Saint Mary’s. They’re a load. 

NCAA matchups usually come down to guards dictating games (Houston is awesome defensively), and the Zags have some seriously strong defenders in Battle, Michael Ajayi and Emmanuel Innocenti. 

Few can manipulate plenty of talented guys for specific tasks, assuming he gets it right. 

It’s a fair argument that the Zags couldn’t win those eight close games. 

They didn’t execute. 

They didn’t hit critical shots. 

They screwed up defensive assignments. 

They gave up offensive rebounds. 

But it’s well to remember that the Zags were right there against all those good teams, and that Few made some terrific adjustments late in the year. 

Look, I’m not going to predict that they’ll just wallop Georgia and then Houston. 

I WILL say, though, that the Zags have proven they can compete, bucket by bucket, with anybody. 

But. 

Win? 

Let’s see, eh?

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

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