I've watched the Zags regularly for over ten years now, and early on you could tell this team was different. They had some big wins early in the year, have really only been beat on the court once all season, and have been blowing teams from the West Coast Conference out of the water on a regular basis. It's not that they've won a lot of games, although the Zags have already passed their record for wins in a season, but it's how they've won their games. It's been fun to watch them progress.
No matter what happens they've already made history. However, to make it a truly memorable season the Zags will have to perform in the tournament too. If the Zags can win their two conference tournament games this weekend, they'll probably be given a number one seed. Although the Zags have made it to the Elite 8 before, they did it as a Cinderella team. This season will probably be as easy of a road to the Elite 8 as they've ever had.
With success comes pressure, but this Zags team should have enough to make a run deep into this tournament. My personal opinion, looking at the projected bracket with the Zags as a number one seed, is that they should make the Elite 8. A loss in the Sweet 16 would be a slight disappointment and a trip to the Final Four not surprising but definitely not expected either. Assuming the top seeds advance, the Zags would face teams like Robert Morris (64), then San Diego State (32), then Ohio State (16), then Michigan (8). A lot depends on who they end up facing in the Sweet 16, because there are some four and five seeds (instead of Ohio State) that are barely or not even in the Top 25.
So, all that to say I think they could make it very far but I personally won't judge the success of this season by how far they get without taking in consideration who they play. That's what makes the tournament so exciting...almost any team on any given day can win. The best team doesn't always win. It should be exciting and nerve racking at the same time.
