"They will choke in the first round": Fans go wild after Gonzaga takes down Saint Mary's to punch NCAA Tournament ticket

The No. 2 seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after beating the top seed Saint Mary's Gaels 58-51 in the West Coast Tournament final at Orleans Arena on Tuesday. However, fans on social media were divided over how Mark Few's Gonzaga would fare in March Madness.

Some felt Gonzaga won't make it past the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

"They will choke in the first round," one tweeted.

"There goes an auto bid," another wrote.

"Gonzaga is inevitable," a third commented.

Meanwhile, others felt Gonzaga could be a dark horse in March Madness after causing an upset to win the conference tournament.

"Think this team is gonna go pretty far," one added.

"Going to be a dangerous 7 or 8 seed," a user wrote.

"Masterful game. Great rivalry here in the WCC. Has to be one of the best in country," another commented.

Braden Huff led the scoring for Gonzaga (25-8, 14-4 WCC) with 18 points, along with four rebounds and two assists. His teammates Khalif Battle and Graham Ike scored 14 and 11 points each, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Saxen scored a game-high 20 points for Saint Mary's (28-5, 17-1 WCC). However, he didn't get much support from his teammates except for Augustas Marčiulionis, who recorded 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Gonzaga Bulldogs HC Mark Few heaps praise on team's defense in WCC Tournament final

NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga Bulldogs HC Mark Few - Source: Imagn

Gonzaga coach Mark Few waxed lyrical on his team's defense, which allowed just 51 points in the WCC Tournament final, while also showing respect to Saint Mary's.

"That was a great, great college basketball game," Few said. "Two teams just competing at the highest level, incredibly physical; and again, like I said out there on the court, I just want to tip my hat to Saint Mary's. I mean, they brought the best out in us over the years, and again, that was the case tonight.

"I mean, they made us dig deeper, and I think we played the most physical game we've played all year. I think we made a jump with just being nastier and maybe dictating some things with our defense, and to turn that team over 18 times was huge. To win a grinder like that, I think, says a lot about these guys."

It will be interesting to see which seed the Bulldogs get for the NCAA Tournament. However, Gonzaga will carry some momentum into March Madness after winning the conference tournament.