[CollegeOverUnder]

The Zags open up the 2010-2011 season with a Plethora of Talent and great leadership. Mark Few made this a chance to be one of the most magical years ever. Now the Zags received 423 votes in the preseason rankings to place them at the #12 spot in the top 25 rankings. Just 1 point behind Florida and 1 Point ahead of Syracuse. Lets see if we can break down the preseason main stream opponents shall we?


First up there first Challenge is

San Diego State @ HOME --- SDSU is and should be a preaseason top 25 but fell off at the 26 spot. This is a make or break game for both programs IMO. More so SDSU though because Gonzagas schedule is so tough they can still stay a ranked team as long as they get the job done against their other opponents.

The ZAGS then travel to one of the most hostile environments for the 2010-2011 season. That being KANSAS STATE the #3 team in the country and the team predicted to win the Big 12. So a Battle of TITANS it will be. If the ZAGS pull a win off here they easily break into the top 10. And Build the RPI HARD for the post season.

Then another ranked opponent comes to the ZAGS floor and that being my Pre Season Giant Sleepers in the Fighting Illinois. This Illinois team is possibly the deepest team in the country and might even have a deeper bench then last years Murray State team. Illinois is ranked 16th in the preseason rankings so yet another ranked opponent.


http://www.battleinseattle.com/ ( Commercial)



Washington State isnt gonna roll over for this is the year Klay Thompson is gonna make a march towards march. This should be a Gonzaga victory though.

Notre Dame is gonna be a tougher match then most people expect. And its at ND this is gonna be an extremly tough game and I have ND in my preseason top 25. A team thats not getting any love right now ND has my attention and have an extremley talented team back. 50/50 IMO could go either way but the edge goes to ND @ home


Then the ZAGS travel to BAYLOR to take on the BEARS who dismantled fellow WCC opponent St.Marys last year in the NCAAs. Baylors ranked 14th in the polls and will be a true battle. Most of the sports better are gonna be on Baylor in this game though. Ill be rooting for Gonzaga but if I place a bet the money is going on Baylor. I can see this being a Baylor -6 if Gonzaga has lost atleast 2 games already. Or a Baylor -2 if Gonzaga hasnt lost yet. Depends on what the teams records are


Then the Xavier Musketeers come in to fight the Bulldogs. A battle of the Mid Major powers. Xavier only got 8 points in the preseason rankings though as Temple got all the love. This Xavier team is back and loaded to fight the A-10 title. Gonzaga wins this but the spread won be -2.5 or -3 IMO


Oklahoma State travels to the ZAGS in a tight one. Im not really sure what to expect from OK.STATE this year currently. I cant remember there roster and im to lazy to look it up .


And then the ZAGS finish up the out of conference schedule with a road game @ WAKE FOREST. This DEACON team has a new coach but a **** load of talented freshmen. I might have to go with WAKE in this spot. Because Wakes freshmen are ******* good. But Few is the better coach and will work things to his advantage. If it becomes a chess match this goes to the ZAGS.

[EasyHustlin]

That is a monster non-conference schedule. I like the Zags to win all of those with the exception of maybe SDSU and Illinois. It should be noted that their game against Illinois is not at home, it's a neutral site in Seattle (there will be plenty of orange there trust me). I think Gonzaga will surprise a lot of people by beating K State on the road. Len Elmore picked them to win the national title, we'll see how they handle a high ranking.

[CollegeOverUnder]

The game in Seattle is a Neutral Site but its still going to be a home game

[bu08usc11]

The game against Baylor is in Dallas (although still basically a home game). The outcomes for Baylor early are heavily dependent on when Lace rejoins the team.

[EasyHustlin]

The game in Seattle is a Neutral Site but its still going to be a home game

That's what everyone said last year when these two teams met in Chicago...yet somehow the stands were filled with Illinois and Gonzaga fans. There is a flock of UI alumni in the Seattle area, and those that aren't still travel well. I can promise you it will be nothing like a home game for them, other than the fact it's closer to their campus.

[CollegeOverUnder]

Gonzaga fans in stands 80%

Illinois fans in the stands 20%

[ShootingCorner3s]

Thats a great (and very tough) out of conference schedule! I am curious how the other WCC schools are scheduling

[CollegeOverUnder]

Thats a great (and very tough) out of conference schedule! I am curious how the other WCC schools are scheduling

I looked at St.Marys schedule its garbage as usual
I think Gonzaga has one of the top 5 hardest out of conference schedules though in the country. If not the hardest