Gonzaga put their name all over the history books with an incredible regular season. The top-ranked Bulldogs are the only remaining undefeated team in Division I after No. 2 Baylor lost at Kansas, this weekend.
With March Madness approaching, Gonzaga will get a break before the West Coast Conference tournament begins. It’s a tournament the Bulldogs are expected to win.
The WCC has been Gonzaga’s playground for a long time. They’ve spent the better part of the last 20 years as the hunted.
But it’s an entirely different thing to be the hunted and still take every opponent’s best shot – for the last 20 years – and remain dominant.
So, give Gonzaga their credit.
- 21 straight games won by double-digits as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25. That topped the record set by the 1971-72 UCLA team’s 20-game streak.
- Gonzaga has won 28 straight games dating to last season. They’re the first team to finish unbeaten since Kentucky in 2014-15.
- This weekend, with their 86-69 win over Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga won their 51st straight home game to set a school record.
They accomplished all of this with COVID-19 disrupting game schedules and game times. Yes indeed, give them their credit for an amazing season.
An undefeated regular season is a great achievement. However, no one needs to tell this team there’s still work for them to do.
It’s cool to take some of this time off they’re about to get, before the conference tournament, and admire what they’ve accomplished. But then it’s time to get back to work.
Because despite all their winning in the regular season, including going wire-to-wire as the nation’s top-ranked team, the critics are ready to pounce.
They’ll point towards Gonzaga having inferior competition in their conference. And there’s the NCAA Tournament.
In 21 seasons under head coach Mark Few, the team has only made the Final Four once, during the 2017 season.
Years ago, many of us fell in love with Gonzaga’s Cinderella story. They’re no longer the team with the glass slipper. They’re now, however, the hunted.
Their undefeated regular season, in the most adverse of situations, should be applauded. But the streets are watching, and they’re talking.
Baylor, despite losing to Kansas, will have a say. And does anyone want to play Michigan, led by head coach Juwan Howard, right now?
Can this Gonzaga team finish the job? We’ll find out when the Madness begins.
