NCAA Basketball: North Carolina the worst preseason No. 1 team of all time
By Joey Loose
24. 2021-22 Gonzaga
The rise of Gonzaga from Cinderella to power program has been one of the college basketball stories of this century, especially with the work that Mark Few has done in Spokane. The prior season saw the Bulldogs spend the entire year ranked #1 in the nation, eventually falling in the national title game to Baylor. Expectations were just as high the following season, even with a few different pieces in the lineup.
While Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert were gone, the Bulldogs added top prospect Chet Holmgren, a 7-0 center who had an impressive freshman season at Gonzaga. Fellow frontcourt partner Drew Timme had another fantastic season as a junior, while the Bulldogs’ trio of starting guards (Rasir Bolton, Andrew Nembhard, and Julian Strawher) all averaged at least 11 points per game.
Gonzaga did lose in the regular season this time, though all three losses came away from home against ranked teams. After winning another WCC Tournament title and avenging a loss to Saint Mary’s, the Bulldogs earned another top-seed in the NCAA Tournament but didn’t come close to matching the previous year’s success. After eliminating 16-seed Georgia State, they had a tough time before beating 9-seed Memphis by just four points.
Their journey ended in the Sweet Sixteen, falling to 4-seed Arkansas as the Razorbacks made their second consecutive Elite Eight. It was still an impressive season, producing several future NBA players, but it ended far too early for Few and company to be satisfied.