Don't You Dare Freak Out About Gonzaga's National Title Hopes Because Of This

So this came out last night. Killian Tillie, one of the best players on Gonzaga’s top-5 team is going to miss at least 8 weeks due to injury. He has to get surgery on his ankle thanks to a stress fracture which was re-aggravated after falling during practice.

But, here’s the thing. Gonzaga is going to lose nonconference games now. The Bulldogs head to the Maui Invitational where they have Illinois in the first round. Then they play Iowa State/Arizona. Both of those teams are top-40 teams in the country. Oh, on the other side of the bracket? Duke, Auburn, Xavier and San Diego State. Not exactly a walk in the park, especially without Tillie. So if they lose a game there, don’t freak out. Gonzaga will be okay.

Tillie is a 6’11” junior that completely changes how Gonzaga looks on the offensive side of the ball. He’s an awesome shooter, shooting 48% from three last year while also averaging over 12 per game. He was expected to be one of the go-to options this year for Gonzaga along with Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell.

Ultimately, Gonzaga just needs to get to the NCAA Tournament healthy. If they can get there, as a top-4/5 seed, they’ll still be a favorite. Obviously they have some benefit of the doubt because people will look at Tillie being injured. So if you put some cash down on a Gonzaga future or want to, don’t be afraid. They’ll be just fine. We’ll see Gonzaga turn to Brandon Clarke (San Jose State transfer) and Filip Petrusev, which will only add to the depth of the team.