It was billed as Gonzaga's final real challenge of the regular season.

But it wasn't really a challenge at all.

The Zags led by double digits not even six minutes after tip-off, by as many as 15 points in the first half and were never seriously threatened in the second half en route to a 74-64 victory at St. Mary's on Saturday. So Mark Few's top-ranked team is now 26-0 with 23 double-digit wins.

Here are three takeaways from the Zags' impressive performance:

1. Gonzaga won despite adversity

What if I told you before tip-off that Nigel Williams-Goss would miss 10-plus minutes of the first half because of foul trouble and that Przemek Karnowski would leave temporarily with an ankle issue? You would've probably thought Saint Mary's would've been in a good spot, right? If so, you would've been wrong. Because despite both of those things happening, Gonzaga was up 40-31 at the half. And that was the best sign that the Zags were going to remain undefeated. They were fine at SMC with two key players watching.

2. Here's a fact you probably didn't realize

One of the interesting things about Gonzaga's team is that four of the top five scorers didn't play a single minute for the Zags last season, and the other, Karnowski, only played in five games. And yet they don't look at all like a group of guys playing together for the first time. They're sharp offensively and defensively. They're the only team in the nation with a top-five adjusted offensive efficiency rating and a top-five adjusted defensive efficiency rating. Karnowski, by the way, finished with a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds. Johnathan Williams, a transfer from Missouri, got 17 points and nine rebounds. Williams-Goss, a transfer from Washington, added 14 points. So you get the point.

3. Gonzaga will be a No. 1 seed whether you like it or not

It's over now, I assume. The Zags are 4-0 against top-25 RPI teams, 7-0 against top-50 RPI teams and ranked No. 1 by KenPom, which now gives them a 95.5 percent chance to finish the regular season undefeated.

So they're going to finish the regular season undefeated.

Then they're going to win the West Coast Conference tournament.

Which means, barring a surprise, they're going to be 33-0 on Selection Sunday and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, at which point folks from one coast to the other will debate whether Gonzaga really is that good.

My opinion: Gonzaga really is that good.

None of this will guarantee a first trip to the Final Four, of course. Nothing guarantees that for anybody. But if the question is whether the Zags are good enough to get to a Final Four the answer is ... yes. Anybody suggesting otherwise isn't paying attention.