Gonzaga fell short of history, but Bulldogs will be back

By Ken Davis

While the nation celebrated an incredible Final Four moment and Gonzaga fans in Spokane practiced jumping on tables the way Jalen Suggs did after his remarkable 37-foot bank-shot buzzer-beater against UCLA, coach Mark Few seemed to realize there could be trouble ahead for the undefeated Bulldogs.

The process of putting that elation behind them and quickly regrouping for a much-anticipated national championship game against Baylor would not be easy. The casual fan may not view it that way.

But coaches know

Coaches know.

Few, one of the best in the business,  has been in these rare situations before. It was on his mind.

During his off-day press conference on Sunday, Few spoke about coming down quickly from that victory and “the task” ahead for his team. He said the challenge would be both mental and physical.

“There was a tremendous amount of energy expanded by our guys,” Few said, “and at the same time, obviously the emotions. I don’t think you could get a more emotional roller-coaster over the course of two hours or two and half hours. It’s not just that. You get back and all your family and friends are reaching out to you. and you can’t sleep. We’ve got start putting it aside and we’ve got one more game to gear up for together. We’ve got to give everything we’ve got.”

Perfection may be the most unattainable goal in sports. Gonzaga had its chance at the unblemished season. The last NCAA men’s basketball team to accomplish that was Indiana in 1975-76. And now Gonzaga’s season will forever go in the books  reflecting a 31-1 season.

 

Gonzaga fell short.

It is unusual when the preseason No. 1 and No. 2 make it to the national championship game. Everyone wanted this game. Few did. Baylor coach Scott Drew did. The players from both of these outstanding teams had obviously been thinking about it.

They had been scheduled to play on Dec. 5. But the irregular -regular season forced that game to be cancelled. When you think back on all the COVID issues that presented themselves since November, it was a miracle college basketball made it to the finish line.

Monday night, the anticipation melted away quickly. When Suggs picked up his second foul early, Baylor was ahead 9-0 and there was no turning back.

Don’t blame the Suggs shot against UCLA. Don’t blame that celebration on Easter Sunday. Give credit to Baylor, which finished its incredible season 28-2. The Bears had crushed Houston in the semifinals, barely breaking a sweat. They didn’t have any of those mental and physical challenges that Gonzaga faced.

But Baylor has a fine coach in Drew, who has done the heavy lifting of rebuilding the Bears and kept his promise of a national championship. It took time and it took a magnificent collection of guards. They all had their shining moments Monday night.

Jared Butler had 22 points. MaCio Teague had 19 and Davion Mitchell chipped in 15.  Adam Flagler came off the bench for 13 in 22 minutes and Mark Vital was a monster on the boards. Baylor shot 44.8 percent and made 16 of 18 free throws. The Bears’ defense recorded eight steals.It was a great all-around performance.

And Gonzaga’s game was downright disjointed, unlike any other time in the season.

Few’s team averaged 91.6 points this season, but couldn’t get clear looks Gonzaga’s defense was hopeless against Baylor’s 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs had 14 turnovers and 16 assists.

After the game, Gonzaga’s emotions were raw. There were tears and there was hugging. Only one team was doing to depart the Indiana bubble happy. It wasn’t Gonzaga.

“You really do forget what it’s like to lose,” said Gonzaga All-American Corey Kispert, who scored 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting. “And every time it happens, it doesn’t feel good. And thankfully I’ve had not very many of them over my career, whether it’s in the regular season or in the tournament.

“But I mean, when you come up against a team like that who is just firing on all cylinders for 40 minutes, it’s really hard to compete with. So, yeah, you kind of forget and it doesn’t feel good. I’m going to remember this for a long time.”

The Bulldogs will remember the same way UNLV remembers that 1991 national semifinal loss to Duke that ended the Rebels’ season after a 34-0 start. And they will remember just like Kentucky recalls the 2015 national semifinal loss to Wisconsin after the Wildcats started 38-1.

Why is the quest for perfection so hard? Quite simply, there is always another great team waiting to stop the streak.

Duke’s Thomas Hill said he knew during pre-game introductions that the Blue Devils would beat that dominating UNLV team in 1991.

“We got these dudes because they are taking us lightly,” Hill told Brian Davis. “They don’t think we can beat them.”

After Kentucky lost, several Wildcats walked off the court without shaking hands with the Wisconsin players.

“I’ve had some tough losses and some unbelievable wins at the buzzer,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said that night “My concern is that these guys keep it in perspective. They just had an historic year. If you want to blame anyone, blame me.”

There was none of that blame game Monday night. Gonzaga simply accepted the truth, as hard as that was for everyone involved.

“It’s a really, really tough one to end a storybook season on,” Few said. “But, listen, Baylor just beat us. They beat us in every facet of the game tonight and deserve all the credit.

“And obviously we’re all disappointed in here, but, you know, as I told the guys, like, you make it this far and you’re 31-0 going into the last one, the last 40 minutes of the season, there’s absolutely nothing you should ever feel bad. And they’ll look back on this season as time passes as something just amazing and incredible. But hats off to Baylor. They dominated us on both sides of the ball.”

In 2017, Gonzaga entered the national championship game 37-1 and led North Carolina with two minutes left, only to lose to Roy Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels 71-65.

The NCAA tournament is harsh, especially for those who come so close and can’t climb over the final hump.

Gonzaga will be back. Count on it. There’s a good chance the Bulldogs will be the preseason No. 1 heading into 2021-22.

Look back to 1999, when the Zags were considered something of a fluke, just a small college program trying to keep up with the big boys. They were a No. 10 seed and took eventual national champion UConn to the brink before losing in a regional final.

Since then, Gonzaga has evolved and Few has built the program into a national monster that is respected by all.

“Coach Few is a Hall of Fame coach and an unbelievable guy,” Drew said Monday night. “A better person than he is coach. And you hate when friends aren’t feeling good.

“But a plan was, on December 5th, when the game got canceled, we said, hey, if we could make it April 5th, as I told them before the game, if we’re going to lose, losing to you is who I want to lose to. So much respect for them and what they’ve accomplished.”