Few leads Zags to edge of history
A victory over the Bears would cap first undefeated champ since 1976
Gonzaga long ago dropped the Cinderella tag, back when casual basketball fans didn’t know if the middle syllable was pronounced “zag” or “zog” (it’s the former) during the Zags’ early runs in the NCAA Tournament.
Twenty-two years into the remarkable Mark Few era, Gonzaga (31-0) will try and become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana (32-0) in 1976 on Monday night against Baylor (27-2) .
“It’s been an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys,” Few said of the Bob Knight-led Hoosiers of 45 years ago, whom he recalled intently watching.
Few quickly added, however, that the Zags’ longtime rallying cry has never been to simply be undefeated in 2020-21 — a regularseason setback would not have been a big deal — the ambition has been something bigger in his mind.
“We’ve just been trying to win the next game, and quite frankly, our goal all along is to win this tournament,” Few said. “Now we’re one game away.”
The Zags nearly became the third No. 1 seed of the tournament to fall short of the 2021 championship game, escaping 11th-seeded UCLA on Saturday night 9390 in overtime. Guard Jalen Suggs’ marvelous bank-in at the buzzer shoved the Zags into the title-game showdown with the Bears.
“Stuff like this is something you dream up as a kid and you practice on a mini hoop,” an elated Suggs said afterward. “It was a great shot, a crazy shot. It was special.”
So is the anticipated matchup within the matchup on Monday: Bears defender extraordinaire Davion Mitchell on the freshman Suggs, a projected top five selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.
“He’s really fast and really quick,” said Mitchell, the consensus national defensive player of the year. “I just have to know when I can pick my spot, when I can pressure him and when not to pressure him. My job is just to stay in front of him and make it hard for him.”
Gonzaga played in the national title game in 2017, a 71-65 loss to North Carolina. Baylor also has played in a national championship game – a 58-42 loss to Kentucky in 1948.
Few took over a Gonzaga program which had made a Cinderella run in the 1999 NCAA Tournament under then-coach Dan Monson, and Few has consistently since worked wonders with the otherwise-overlooked university, at least when it comes to major sports. Few considers what close friend Scott Drew has done at Baylor since 2003 a miracle,
however.
Drew took over a scandal-soaked program reeling from the June 2003 murder of player Patrick Dennehy by teammate Carlton Dotson, and multiple NCAA violations under then-coach Dave Bliss. Few figures he’s had it easy by comparison.
“Our (program development) was a lot smoother, it
didn’t come from a dark place,” Few said. “Where (Baylor) was, it’s unbelievable what he’s been able to do. … He’s a phenomenal basketball coach, just watch his teams play.
“They’re a legitimate powerhouse now in college basketball.”
So is Gonzaga, what makes Monday’s seemingly inevitable showdown between the nation’s top two programs this season that much more intriguing.
“We’ve always had Baylor … in the backseat, knowing that if we were going to win this thing, we were probably going to have to play them,” Few said of Gonzaga’s journey to the title game in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “Because I’ve always thought we were the two best teams.”