Every year, go ahead and pencil in the top two teams in the West Coast Conference to make the tournament. One of them is going to win the league tournament, and the other is going to get an at-large bid. That is what happens when two teams flat-out dominate a league for the better part of the last 20 years. The Gonzaga Bulldogs beat the other powerhouse West Coast Conference team, the Saint Mary’s Gaels, for auto bid number 11 into the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga is making their 27th NCAA tournament appearance. It is the 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bulldogs, and even when it appears they are having a down season, they are still good enough to win the WCC and earn the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. It was the first time that Gonzaga had beaten Saint Mary’s this season, after losing to them the previous two times this season. The Bulldogs will likely get an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga and head coach Mark Few are a team that no one wants to see on their side of the bracket. The Bulldogs are excellent come tournament time and are always a threat to make the Final Four. Gonzaga has accomplished everything that you ask for as a team, except for winning the National Championship. The Bulldogs don’t appear to be a National Championship-type team this year but never count them out. They will win a game and here are the reasons why that will happen
Experience
The Bulldogs have a ton of program guys who have been with Coach Few for multiple years. Every contributor except Khalif Battle and Michael Ajayi has made the NCAA tournament, and some of them have made it multiple years. There is something to be said about teams who bring a lot of guys back especially in the NIL era. Gonzaga and their players know what it takes to win in the NCAA tournament and they are going to do what it takes to win in the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga has not lost a first-round game in 15 years, and that isn’t going to change this year. They will win and advance.
9 straight Sweet 16 appearances
Read this again, the Bulldogs have made 9 straight second weekend appearances. It doesn’t matter the seed, and it doesn’t matter the opponents; for the last 9 NCAA Tournaments, the Bulldogs have been in the NCAA tournament. That is the longest streak of any team in the country. It shows that coach Few knows how to win in the NCAA Tournament, and the Bulldogs have made the right plays and done enough to win a lot in March. This Gonzaga team isn’t supposed to make the Sweet 16; they have been shaky at best at times this season. Even with the shakiness, they have been good enough to right the ship and do the right things when they need to. That is what experience and culture do. It is hard to win games in March and teams that know how to win in the event are always going to have an advantage. Especially those teams who have a large portion of their previous team returning.
Powerful Offense
This is something we talk about with Gonzaga every single year. Coach Few coaches one of the best offenses in the country every year. Gonzaga runs 5 out and has five guys who can handle the ball, and all of them can shoot. That brings the big men out of the paint and allows the Bulldogs to roll to the basket and get easy looks at the basket. It is a typical Gonzaga team. They shoot 50% from the floor which is good for third overall in the country. That number was achieved by shooting 58% from inside the arc, and 34% from deep. This Bulldogs team is one of the deadliest free throw shooting teams in the country at 80% as a team. They will win close games late because of their ability from the free throw line, and they are always going to be in a game because of their efficiency.
Gonzaga is a sure thing to win a game. Don’t overthink it; we know they are not an overrated program. They win, they have experience, and know how to win in March. Could this finally be the Bulldogs team that gets the coveted National Title?