“Don’t try to come back,” Anton Watson says in response to criticism of the Gonzaga Bulldogs for the 2023–24 season.

SPOKANE, Washington — Even though the Gonzaga Bulldogs aren’t where they usually are in the national rankings, one of its best players isn’t losing faith in the team.

The Bulldogs’ detractors don’t seem to bother forward Anton Watson, who was eliminated from the AP Poll for the first time in eight years.

Watson remarked, “folks who are tweeting and commenting on us are usually folks who have never touched a basketball and don’t understand the work we put into it and everything that goes on in a game.” “I’m not concerned about it. I just hope they stay on that side and when we start winning, they don’t try to come back. I know people will talk back and hop on the train.”

On Thursday, Watson and the 13-5 Zags aim to defeat USF for the third time in a row. The Zags and Dons will tip off from the McCarthey Athletic Center at 6 p.m.