The Bulldogs are the best team in the country. They won their only buy game against UMass Lowell by 59 points and average around 1.2 PPP on offense this season. Zaga is lethal and fully loaded after returning 76 percent of their 2023-24 team and adding a couple of top-tier transfers, Khalif Battle (14.8 PPG at Arkansas) and Michael Ajayi (17.2 PPG and 9.9 RPG at Pepperdine).

Long Beach State stands no chance. It is 1-3 this season, beating only a non-D1 team. San Francisco beat them by 30. With a completely new roster (top ten scorers are all in their first year with the Beach), they will be overmatched against the experienced Zags.