After blowout win, Gonzaga makes big jump in college basketball rankings

Posted by author February 17, 2025 Basketball

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The Gonzaga Bulldogs were as close to perfect as it gets in their 107-55 win over Pepperdine on Saturday.

Mark Few’s team shot 57% from the field, 46.2% from the 3-point line and set a program record for the most assists in a single game with 33. On the defensive end, the Zags held Pepperdine to 29.2% shooting, racked up 9 steals and outrebounded the Waves 52 to 31.

It all added up to an incredibly impressive performance — and a much higher national ranking.

Gonzaga (20-7, 11-3) jumped from No. 14 to No. 10 in the NCAA NET Rankings with the win. The NET Rankings continue to be the only rankings that really matter, since the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses them as the primary sorting tool for selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament.

How the NET Rankings work

The NET, which stands for the NCAA Evaluation Tool, has been used by the selection committee since 2018. It replaced the simplistic RPI formula and takes into account “game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.”

Another critical component of the NET is that game date and order are not included. The NET treats Gonzaga’s first game of the season the same as its 27th. And it’s important to remember that the Zags opened their 2024-25 campaign with one of the most impressive performances of the season — a 101-63 victory over Baylor.

The Zags have also played a much tougher schedule than last season, when they finished No. 17 in the NET. To date, Gonzaga has played 11 reams ranked in the top 65 of the NET:

The West Coast Conference is deeper this season as well. The additions of Oregon State and Washington State have given the WCC six teams inside the top 100 of the NET.

It has all added up to a top-10 ranking for Gonzaga. And if the Zags win out, they could climb even higher.