Since the turn of the century, the Gonzaga men’s basketball team has lost 101 games, which works out to an average of 6.7 losses a season — an extraordinary metric by any means.
For perspective, Loyola Marymount, a West Coast Conference foe, has lost more games since 2010 (116) than Gonzaga has since Mark Few took over as coach in 1999 (110).
In recent years, Gonzaga has become a staple in the NCAA Tournament, a team whose presence is all but expected in March. It also is one that, until last season, had begun to draw criticism for its inability to advance past the first weekend of play.
This season the Bulldogs are doing their best Cinderella impression since the teams of the early 2000s. But they also might be making the case that they should be considered more than a role player ever year.
The 11th-seeded Bulldogs (28-7) will take the floor at the United Center in Chicago against No. 10 Syracuse (21-13) on Friday for its first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearance since 2001. This also is the lowest-seeded Gonzaga team to advance past the opening weekend of March Madness in more than a decade.
The Bulldogs haven’t made the Sweet 16 as an 11th seed or lower since 2001, when they were seeded 12th and drew a tough matchup against No. 1 seed Michigan State in Atlanta.
Unlike last year’s No. 2-seeded Elite Eight squad, or the fourth-seeded Sweet 16 team in 2009, “It was a blessing just to get in the tournament,” guard Eric McClellan said.
“From where we were in December, even February, to where we are now, from the media saying the guards weren’t good enough, we weren’t producing, to where we are now, I’m just extremely proud of our guys.”
But, also unlike last year’s team that entered the tournament with a proverbial monkey on its back, these Bulldogs have fully embraced the underdog role and are thriving under the weightlessness that comes with lessened expectations.
“You’ve got to remember, last year, coming into (its second NCAA Tournament) game, we had lost it a lot of years in a row,” Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd said. “Last year’s team, we won our first game, but the second game was the one our guys really wanted.”
Of course, the Bulldogs won that one, against No. 7 seed Iowa, and the trip to the Sweet 16. They defeated No. 11 UCLA to reach the Elite Eight, which helped combat the perception that they can’t make deep runs in the tournament.
This year, the monkey has been vanquished and, after a shaky regular season, there are no expectations
“A lot of people counted us out, and that’s been the theme all year, just not worrying about the media, not worrying about what people say, and just kinda getting better throughout the year,” senior forward Kyle Wiltjer said.
As a result, there’s a different atmosphere in the locker room in comparison with the same time last year, the Bulldogs say.
“It’s a lot different. Right now, we’re just riding our momentum. We’re playing our best basketball,” Wiltjer said. “Last year, we were playing really good, but we were kinda expected. People chose us to go to the Final Four.
“Now, nobody really thought we would make the tourney, so for us just playing the underdog role with a chip on our shoulder, it’s huge. It kinda rubs off on us mentally, we’re diving on the floor, making loose-ball plays. It’s huge.”
The Bulldogs are playing like they have nothing to lose, because, as senior guard Kyle Dranginis points out, “We were not supposed to be here.”
This doesn’t mean they’re content to just be in the Sweet 16, however. As the Bulldogs showed in blowout wins against No. 6 Seton Hall and No. 3 Utah in the first two rounds last week, this team is peaking at the perfect time.
Sophomore forward Domantas Sabonis has blossomed over the past month, and he averaged 20 points and 12.5 rebounds in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Sabonis and Wiltjer are playing in sync, and between Sabonis’ post moves, rebounding poise and mid-range shooting touch and Wiltjer’s improved defense and long-range game, they’re difficult to corral.
“We kinda complement each other,” Wiltjer said. “I’m feeding him the basketball; if you play him one on one he’s probably going to score on you. If you double him, he’ll just kick it out to me. I think we play really well on each other, and we can give it up if we get doubled. That’s where our team’s grown, just moving the ball. A couple of times we passed it out, and we just swung it all the way around.”
The Bulldogs guards have also come of age. McClellan led Gonzaga with 22 points against Utah, and Josh Perkins has scored in double digits in the past four games.
“The biggest thing with those guards is that they needed experience and needed to make mistakes and learn from their own mistakes,” Lloyd said.
Those seven regular-season losses — the most Gonzaga has had going into the WCC tournament since 2010 — were part of that learning process.
“I think those low points and those losses made us what we are right now,” Dranginis said. “I think if we had cruised through those victories earlier in the year and had an easier year, I don’t know if we would be here.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and you can see that with us.”
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