Gonzaga, Xavier try to take one final step to Final Four
san jose, calif.» Gonzaga coach Mark Few did not like the question but answered it anyway.
His Bulldogs had just held off West Virginia to reach the Elite Eight, and he was asked if he felt like the monkey was off his back.
Few gave a long answer about no one believing there was a monkey there in the first place. Not him, his players, his wife, fishing buddies — not even the people of Spokane, Wash.
At the end of his rant, Few shifted the focus to his players with this zinger: “It’s not about me and my monkeys and my dogs and my cats. It’s about them.”
The Elite Eight isn’t new territory for Gonzaga nor its opponent Saturday: Xavier. Both have gone this deep twice before.
The next step is the big one: to the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
“It’s a credit to Gonzaga, it’s a credit to the guys up here and the guys in the locker room and the ones before them at Xavier, that both of these programs are in the position that we’re in,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said.
Few built one of college basketball’s most successful programs from scratch.
With limited resources and even less exposure, Few built the small Catholic school in Spokane into a national powerhouse by recruiting high-character players who fit into his system — principles he still sticks to.
That has turned Gonzaga into one of the nation’s most consistent programs. The Bulldogs have been to NCAA Tournament in 19 consecutive seasons, fourth-longest in the nation, and have reached the Sweet 16 eight times. And this may be the best group of Few’s 18 seasons in Spokane.
“As far as going to a Final Four, I desperately want it for this group of guys,” Few said. “I desperately want it for everybody who has played at Gonzaga, the players who have been such a huge part of that.
Mack’s rise also came from humble beginnings.
He played his final two seasons at Xavier and returned to Cincinnati to coach girls junior varsity basketball because it was the only job he could find after a professional career overseas was cut short by injuries.
After six years coaching high school basketball, he joined Skip Prosser’s staff at Xavier and followed him to Wake Forest. Mack returned to work on Sean Miller’s staff at Xavier and was named head coach when Miller left for Arizona in 2009.
Xavier has made it to the NCAA Tournament seven times in Mack’s eight seasons and reached the Elite Eight four times.
No. 11 Xavier (24-13) vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (35-1)
Championship game, San Jose, Calif., 4:09 p.m., TBS Bottom line: Teams once considered midmajors are on the cusp of their first Final Four berth. Gonzaga has played in the NCAA Tournament 19 consecutive seasons, the fourthlongest streak in the nation. The Bulldogs have been to the Elite Eight twice before and enter Saturday’s game with 27 NCAA Tournament wins. The Cincinnati-based Musketeers also are making their third Elite Eight appearance and match Gonzaga in all-time victories. Xavier has already knocked off No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 2 Arizona, the Pac-12 champion, in this year’s bracket. More from Williams-Goss: Gonzaga won its Sweet 16 game against West Virginia despite an off night from point guard Nigel WilliamsGoss. The West Coast Conference player of the year had several shots blocked and finished with 10 points, 2-of-10 shooting and five turnovers. The Bulldogs of Spokane, Wash., will need him to play well to hold off Xavier. Did you know? Gonzaga and Xavier are Jesuit schools that have met four times previously. The Bulldogs have won three straight in the series, including a 72-65 victory in 2011. Xavier won the lone NCAA Tournament meeting, beating Gonzaga 79-75 in 2006’s first round.