March Madness: Gonzaga finally gets monkey off their back, reaches Final Four

Mar 25, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few and his players celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Xavier Musketeers in the finals of the West Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

The Gonzaga Bulldogs took care of Xavier to win Madness Madness’ West Region and clinch its first-ever Final Four berth.

At some point, it had to happen. The Gonzaga Bulldogs were bound for the Final Four. They’d accomplished a lot with Mark Few as head coach, including 19 straight appearances in the Big Dance, but have never reached the coveted Final Four.

The Bulldogs finally got that job done on Saturday evening in San Jose as they defeated Xavier, 83-59, in the West Regional Final.

Gonzaga led by 10 points at halftime and put their foot on the pedal from there to ensure that they wouldn’t face disappointment again. Nigel Williams-Goss led the way for the Bulldogs with 23 points.

The Bulldogs have made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in every season since 1999. Going into 2016-17, they had only made the Elite Eight twice, including ’99. Both times resulted in disappointment for Gonzaga. In ’99, they were a 10-seed as they lost, 67-62, to UConn, the eventual National Champions. They were the second seed in 2015 when they lost to the eventual national champions, the Duke Blue Devils.

The road was a rough one for Gonzaga during some years. They had the No. 1 seed in 2013 when they lost in the second round to Wichita State. They also had a tough Sweet 16 loss last year to Syracuse. And they also lost in the Sweet 16 to North Carolina and UCLA.

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Gonzaga came into the tournament with just one loss. The West Region seemed suited for them to make a run. There was no better time to do it than this year. It’s a big deal, especially for the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga is the third WCC team to reach the Final Four. The WCC has a team in the Final Four for the first time since San Francisco did it in 1957. Santa Clara made the Final Four in 1952. The Oregon Ducks will join Gonzaga in the Final Four. Oregon defeated Kansas in the Midwest Regional Final.

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