Why Not Gonzaga?

Welcome to the annual exercise that needlessly occupies a lot of people's time, creates frivolous rivalries, and makes otherwise calm individuals start raving lunatics.

Yup, it's Gonzaga-bashing time.

The once perennially-loved Cinderella of the March Madness phenomena has now become a pariah. 

Can't win the big one.  Doesn't play anyone.  Overrated.   In 2013 when Gonzaga received the school's first ever #1 seed in the Big Dance, they were the fashionable pick to be the first #1 seed to lose in the first round.  They fed those naysayers by only beating #16 Southern by 6.

The #1 seed road is littered with near misses.  Those games involved weak teams in much smaller conferences like Purdue, Illinois, Oklahoma, Georgetown (when the Hoyas had Alonzo Mourning) and Michigan State (overtime).  (And yes, that was my tongue planted firmly in my cheek).  The one no one seems to remember or care about was 2006 when the little known UConn Huskies trailed Albany by 12 with 11:30 left in the game before succumbing to an onslaught that resulted in a 13-point differential in the end.

But I digress...this wasn't meant to be a #1 vs #16 diatribe.  It's about Gonzaga.

The reputation the school has built over the past 18 years has, much like Butler, brought the school to basketball prominence.  It's not the rarified air that encompasses the likes of North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky.  But they have become THAT school with seven Sweet 16 appearances in the past and two of those years, Gonzaga ended up a step from the Final Four.

I would argue that this isn't Gonzaga's "monkey" to get off their back.  It is more indicative of how hard it is to actually run the table with six consecutive wins, regardless of your regular season.  When you are in a "one and done" tournament like March Madness, anything can happen.  Much like the Super Bowl, the NCAA tournament is a byproduct of man and moment.  You might have the players but it might not be the moment (see: Kentucky v Wisconsin three years ago).  You might have the moment but not necessarily the players (see: Butler's run to a second consecutive championship game as a #8 seed).  In the latter example, keep in mind that this was when Butler so-called "didn't play anyone" as they were in the Horizon League against the likes of Milwaukee, Cleveland State, and Valpo.

Kansas has four final four appearances in those 18 years and only one title (the famous Memphis free throw meltdown in 2008), losing to a double-digit seed four times as well.  If you strip out Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, and UConn, there were only a handful of teams who won the whole tournament during the Zags 18-year run.

The point of all this (and there is a point) is that if you really want to have some edgy, well-balanced, thoughtful basketball take, stop picking on an easy mark like Gonzaga.  It's cliché.  Odds are definitely in your favor that they will lose before the Final Four.  That's not a cutting edge take.  That's more like predicting there will be traffic accident in Minnesota today.  Or tomorrow.

We get it.  The big schools are the shiny toys you want and want to tell everyone you own.  The small schools are the upset-minded, feel good stories that don't last long.  But these small schools are the heart and soul of March Madness.  If it was just Kentucky/Duke/North Carolina/Kansas every year, no one would watch.

I leave you with this.  This year, you can't even use the argument that Gonzaga didn't play anyone, or beat anyone, this year.  They had their best record against the top 25 this year (5-0) and while three of those wins were thrashings of St. Mary's, two of those wins were Arizona and Iowa State.

The champs of the Pac-12 and Big 12, respectively.

Peace,
Reg