How far will WSU and Gonzaga go? Tips for filling out March Madness bracket

SEATTLE — If there’s one thing we can guarantee as you go to fill out your bracket, it’s to expect the unexpected.

Every year there’s some sort of upset or Cinderella team that emerges from seemingly out of nowhere to make a run. (Look at Florida Atlantic in 2023, and for that matter, the highest seed of the 2023 Final Four being fourth-seeded Connecticut, the eventual national champion.)

So before you pick with your heart and have a Cougs vs. Zags national championship matchup, let’s break down both teams and their road ahead.

Washington State University

For the first time in 16 years, the Cougars are back in the NCAA Tournament. In that last appearance, they went all the way to the Sweet 16. Might another run be in the making?

Well, that would require a potential upset, but before we get to the matchups, let’s talk about WSU.

The Cougs ended their drought by exceeding expectations in every way possible. A team that was picked in the preseason to be at the bottom of the Pac-12 showed why preseason polls are pointless.

They got here with gutsy play, the kind of thing you love to see in a team in March. Myles Rice is the heart of the team with an inspirational story of recovering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which caused him to miss last season. It’s that sort of courage and perseverance that you love to see in a team leader.

Rice’s story and leadership have vaulted this team so far.

On the floor, there’s a balance with four players averaging double figures, including leading scorer Isaac Jones. What’s more, there’s several people that have the ability to pop for a big game like Seattle native Isaiah Watts.

So, in a nutshell, that’s why the Cougs are here.

How far it will carry them in the NCAA Tournament is another question.

WSU is the No. 7 seed taking on 10th-seeded Drake. The Bulldogs are an interesting draw — they haven't lost a game since Feb. 24 and have only lost twice since February. Tucker Devries is the leading scorer at 21 points per game, but that’s only part of the story. He’s capable of much larger efforts, like the 39 he dropped against Illinois-Chicago in a triple-overtime win.

While we were hoping WSU would land in the games being played in Spokane, it landed in Omaha, which is actually quite the opposite of a favorable draw. Omaha is just a two-hour drive from Drake’s campus, despite the Bulldogs being the lower seed.

That’s something of a concern and perhaps why WSU is only a 1.5-point favorite.

After all, Drake beat presumptive Missouri Valley Conference champ Indiana State, which ended up missing the NCAA Tournament because of it.

The first-round matchup is an interesting one, made even more intriguing by the intangibles.

If WSU gets past Drake, it would play another virtual road game, potentially. If second-seeded Iowa State can get past No. 15 South Dakota State, it’d be another game against an Iowa-based school in Omaha — a city that, while in Nebraska, borders Iowa.

If there’s one thing we know about March Madness, it’s to expect the unexpected, and the Cougs would appear poised to handle that sort of thing.

Gonzaga

Here’s the thing with the Zags: it doesn’t matter the year, the stars, the opponent, the number by their name; Gonzaga is always a threat.

So, sure, the Zags are the No. 5 seed taking on McNeese and face another blue blood program potentially with fourth-seeded Kansas in round two, and it may sound daunting.

But there’s no such thing for Gonzaga.

Gonzaga is reminiscent of Michigan State, a program that, no matter what, always seems to find a way to make noise in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, I mentioned the draw seems daunting, but let’s take a deeper look. Never mind the usual 5-12 upset and trying to avoid the most common disappointment in the NCAA Tournament. Should the Zags meet Kansas, the Jayhawks are batting injuries and something of a “down” year by their standards.

Of course, as mentioned, the numbers don’t matter. That matchup — if it happens — is just a heavyweight fight we’d love to see.

Should they avoid the upset from a No. 16 seed this time around, Purdue could be a potential Sweet 16 opponent. It could be a difficult road, but it could be one the Zags are uniquely fit to handle.

The Zags know the road. Mark Few’s program has been to Final Fours and is tailormade for March.

Let’s see if it serves them well this time around.