It is time for the annual post again of Gonzaga making the second weekend of the tournament for a record 9th year in a row. Okay, that record ties both North Carolina and Duke who also have 9 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. This was supposed to be the year that Gonzaga missed the second weekend right? They had no real impact big men, their best player was a wing who was a defensive specialist who didn’t score much, they had question marks on the wings, and their depth was young and inexperienced. At least that is what everyone led you to believe.
This is still Gonzaga and they are still one of the premier programs in the sport. Once they got into the tournament there was no doubt they were going to make the Sweet 16 and potentially further given the way they are playing currently. Coach Mark Few always always has his team ready to play when it matters and they have become a sure bet in the NCAA tournament.
It wouldn’t be an NCAA tournament though if the Gonzaga haters did not come out of the woodwork to diminish the accomplishments of the Bulldogs every year.
Gonzaga didn’t have their normal non-conference season and didn’t get their signature win until February 10th against Kentucky. Since then the Bulldogs have been rolling and playing like one of the best teams in the country. Gonzaga has had zero resistance in their first two games of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs have also had one of the toughest paths to the Sweet 16 so far beating a 30-win McNeese team that had a ton of athletes and were fantastic on the defensive end.
Then they got a Kansas team that was short-handed but was still Kansas and still had a ton of talent. The Bulldogs outscored them by 22 in the second half to cruise to an easy victory. Gonzaga is going to be one of the final 16 teams playing in March but there are other takeaways to take from this game as well.