In the coming weeks Gonzaga’s The highly anticipated matchup with Baylor heralds the 2024-25 college basketball season, and perhaps the most popular website for all sports-related advanced metrics and efficiency rankings has released its first predictions for the new season.

KenPom.com He had Mark Few and the Bulldogs ranked No. 9 in the country to start the season. The site, run by Ken Pomeroy and trusted by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, ranked Houston No. 1, followed by Duke, Auburn, Alabama and UConn in the top five. Three Big 12 schools — No. 6 Kansas, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 8 Arizona — were ahead of the Zags. Purdue was ranked in the top 10.

Gonzaga came in at the top of KenPom’s predicted finish in the West Coast Conference standings, as the Bulldogs were the computer’s current favorite to win the league’s regular-season title. KenPom projects the Zags to finish 16-2 in conference play. Saint Mary’s followed with a score of 14-4, followed by San Francisco and Santa Clara in third place with a score of 11-7. WCC newcomer Washington State was projected to finish 10-8 in the school’s first year, meaning five teams would enter the conference tournament with at least 10 wins in league play. This has only happened twice since 1997 (2015 and 2017).

Nationally, the Gaels started the season in 34th place after finishing the 2023-24 season in 20th place. The Dons were ranked 85th in the pre-season rankings, while the Broncos broke into the top 100 at 95th. Three other WCC schools ranked in the top 150: WSU (No. 111), Loyola Marymount (No. 131) and Oregon State (No. 144). The WCC as a whole ranked ninth out of 31 Division-I conferences in the country.

The Zags will enter season 2 with adjusted offensive efficiency at 116.1, a rating based on points scored per 100 possessions. Gonzaga has ranked in the top five nationally in this category in each of the last six seasons. Only Alabama (117.2) has a higher offensive efficiency rating heading into the 2024-25 season.

On the other hand, the Zags are projected to be a slightly better unit defensively than they were last season, when they finished 51st in the nation in defensive efficiency. Gonzaga, which added some key pieces in the offseason, ranks 45th in that category heading into 2024-25.

According to KenPom’s preseason prediction, the Bulldogs will face at least five top-50 teams during non-conference play (with the potential to see two more teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis event). Following the season opener against the Bears (No. 11), the Zags also play at No. 48 San Diego State (Nov. 18), a neutral-site game against No. 42 Kentucky (Dec. 7) and a road game against No. 42 Kentucky. owner. another against back-to-back champion UConn (Dec. 14), seeded No. 5, to begin the quest for a three-peat. Gonzaga concludes non-conference action against No. 26 UCLA on Dec. 28 at the Intuit Dome.

No. 39 Indiana could be the Bulldogs’ opponent on the second day of the Bahamas tournament. Depending on how the bracket goes, Gonzaga could be primed for a top-10 KenPom matchup with No. 8 Arizona for the Atlantis championship.

The SEC boasts six teams in KenPom’s preseason top 25, slightly surpassing the Big 12 as the nation’s No. 1 conference heading into 2024-25. WCC was ranked as the fourth best league in the mid-major league.