Gonzaguh-oh

I unleashed a flurry of harsh words toward Jeremy Pargo a couple games ago, calling him out for a number of things. I forgot to mention his lack of commitment, which was incredibly evident in the thumping the Zags took in their own backyard against the Memphis Tigers. But to be fair to Pargo, he wasn't alone in looking futile during Gonzaga's worst home loss in nearly two decades, but I'll address this later.

I have now had roughly 26 hours to digest the 68-50, not-as-close-as-the-score-let-on shellacking that took place at the Arena and I'm still furious at just about every player and coach that represents what is quickly becoming the most overrated college basketball program in the country.

On paper, Gonzaga was a chic pick to play during the season's last weekend. With a highly-successful coach, long, strong guards, versatile big guys and a deep bench, the Bulldogs had nearly all the elements to make a deep run in the tournament. Nothing changed during the early part of the schedule, as Gonzaga did what needed to be done: win. Even in a hostile environment against Arizona, and even in a loss, the Zags looked like a good team.

However, since dropping a heartbreaker to the now-#1 ranked Connecticut Huskies, Gonzaga has looked like a team that doesn't even want to win. That feeling culminated Saturday night when they fell behind by as much as 26 and had College Gameday off topic over the better part of the second half. They dropped a gimme to Portland State and a winnable game against Utah along the way and, barring an injury to the WCC's best player, Patty Mills, would be sitting with six losses and at second place in the conference with a tourney bid far from locked up.

As it stands, Gonzaga is a bubble team which, if not for their "perfect" conference record, would be on the outside, looking in. They'll avoid Patty Mills when they travel to Moraga, but should the teams meet up in Vegas to determine the WCC Champion, the Gaels will be at full strength. And unless the head coach and nearly every player decide they want, really want, to start performing to their full potential, the season is going to end like several before this: a first-round playoff exit.

That brings me back to the total lack of individual effort displayed versus Memphis. As poorly as Mark Few coached that game (not preparing for or adapting to in-game situations or watching any game tape of any game Memphis has played since John Calipari took over, or playing a 7'5" center when his team is getting outrebounded on every possession and opposing guards are slashing the lanes for layups) he did something great when he benched Pargo, Matt Bouldin, Austin Daye and Josh Heytvelt for extended minutes and leaving them benched when Demetri Goodson and Micah Downs cut the lead in half with a few minutes to play. If Few has a backbone, he will send out a starting five of Goodson, Ira Brown, Downs, Will Foster and Steven Gray when the Zags take on St. Mary's on Thursday.

I hope the four starters got the message. There's no going back to Saturday and erasing the humiliating defeat handed to them, but the season isn't over yet.

But unless they snap out of it and play like they're capable of playing, first-round NCAA exits are going to look good by comparison.