Unlikely Sweet 16 team
Mark Few rallies Gonzaga to second NCAA weekend again
Mark Few has several significant achievements as Gonzaga’s men’s basketball coach.
He has turned the small Jesuit school in Spokane, Washington, into a national brand that is consistently dominating the West Coast Conference and competing for a national basketball title.
But what he’s done this season might be his most impressive feat yet.
Less than a month ago, there were questions about whether Gonzaga’s streak of 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances would come to an end with what was mostly a lackluster resume. Flash-forward to now: Not only did the Bulldogs comfortably make the tournament with a late-season run, but they’re headed for the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in a row after an 89-68 defeat Saturday of Kansas, a testament to what Few has been able to consistently achieve in Spokane.
After the victory, Few wouldn’t take credit for building this foundation of success.
“Nine straight Sweet 16s for this program. That’s a testament to all the players that have came through here. They’ve been such awesome players and awesome people. That’s something,” Few said on the CBS broadcast.
But postgame, Gonzaga’s starters made sure to give their coach his flowers for what the program has achieved under his reign.
“Knowing how long he’s done it for, knowing that he’s one of the greats ever to coach this game,” said guard Ryan Nembhard. “We just love playing basketball, playing for Gonzaga, and we love getting wins and moving on.”
It sounds confusing to call a constantly successful team like this season’s Gonzaga team an underdog, but it’s a squad far from what college basketball fans have gotten used to seeing.
There are no NBA draft lottery picks such as Chet Holmgren or Jalen Suggs.
The Bulldogs lack a veteran leader like Drew Timme, and there isn’t much star power.
The Bulldogs were expected to have somewhat of a down season, but instead the team is doing what Gonzaga teams have been doing since 2009.
Gonzaga was a popular pick to be upset in the first round at the hands of 30-win McNeese State, but the Cowboys stood no chance in a complete domination by the Bulldogs.
Then on Saturday, Gonzaga ripped apart Kansas in the second half. The Bulldogs trailed by one at halftime and ended up winning by 21 points.
The turnaround for the team can be pinpointed to the game at Kentucky on Feb. 10. Heading into the matchup, Gonzaga was 0-5 against Quad 1 opponents and didn’t have anything worthy to be considered a likely NCAA Tournament team.
Few even admitted during the early part of the season that it didn’t look like his team could reach this point.
“About mid-December, or actually late December, it was looking like hey, maybe it wasn’t gonna happen,” he said. “We got to figure this thing out.”
But the Bulldogs stepped up to the occasion to beat the Wildcats that Saturday. The coach thought the big win would help ignite a run, and it did just that as Gonzaga ended the regular season on an eight-game winning streak while picking up two more Quad 1 wins in the process.
The Bulldogs did lose to Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference tournament final, but the hot run to end the regular season was more than enough to ensure its place in the NCAA field of 68 as a No. 5 seed.
“We knew we had to finish strong. We did that,” Few said. “We’ve just always impressed upon them if we get in this thing, we know how to win in this thing.
“This is not a new thing for our program, for the staff and for the players that are in here. And I think they really bought into that and believed that.”
With each Sweet 16 appearance, Few said it gets harder and harder to keep it going and he doesn’t take it for granted.
But no matter what, Few continuously puts out talented teams. It’s one thing to always be in the NCAA Tournament, but it’s another thing to pretty much be a lock to be one of the last 16 teams standing. Few should definitely be a Hall of Famer in no time, but with the resume he has, he’s put himself in discussion for one of the best to do it.
“He’s a GOAT. That’s a non-discussion,” said guard Nolan Hickman.