LAS VEGAS — Once upon a time, the UConn men were hurtling toward the Final Four and Gonzaga stood in the way.
OK, make that twice upon a time. The Huskies, who had to get by Gonzaga, 67-62, to make the program’s first Final Four in 1999, have to play the Bulldogs from Spokane, Wash., again in the West Regional final on Saturday night at 8:49 p.m.
“That was like 77 dog years ago or something when you do this coaching stuff,” said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, who was an assistant coach on that team, before taking over the program in July of ’99. “Maybe 125 dog years or something.”
That long span indicates the durability of the Gonzaga program. It was no one-year wonder and has been in 25 of the last 28 NCAA Tournaments. The Bulldogs were beaten twice in the championship games of 2017 and 21, and have been stopped six times in the Elite Eight.
Since UConn’s victory on March 20, 1999, the schools have split four games, the most recent a Gonzaga win in the Bahamas in 2015.
If there is any vulnerability in this year’s Gonzaga, it has rarely showed itself. The Bulldogs (31-5) lost to Texas, Purdue, Baylor, Loyola Marymount and St. Mary’s during the season, but came back to beat St. Mary’s twice later on to capture another West Coast Conference championship.
“They have three things,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said before losing to Gonzaga in a Sweet 16 thriller following UConn’s win on Thursday night. “Coaching, plus, plus; Drew Timme; and shooting. How is that for you? And not just shooting from one guy. They’ve got multiple shooters, a great, great go-to player that has over 100 assists, very rare for a big guy.”
Timme, the 6-foot-10, 235-pound center, will be a lot for even UConn, with its post combo of Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan, to contain. Timme is averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists, the pivotal player in Few’s inside-outside offensive style. He led the charge as Gonzaga came back from 13 to beat UCLA, scoring 36 points with 13 rebounds.
Julian Strawther, who hit the crucial 3-pointer to beat UCLA, is hitting 42.1% from that range. Anton Watson, Rasir Bolton and Nolan Hickman are the other starters, as Few has used the same starting lineup in 35 of 36 games. That consistency is a big part of the reason Gonzaga, like UConn, is gelled and playing its best basketball right now.
The ‘Zags have been outrebounding opponents by a large clip, including UCLA, 50-26.Gonzaga, on a 12-game winning streak, entered the West as the No. 3 seed and beat Grand Canyon by 12, then survived close games: three-point wins over TCU and UCLA, as UConn has won its three games by an average margin of 21 points.
“I think they’re playing probably better than anybody in the tournament right now,” Few said. “I’ve got to see them several times. They’ve just done a fabulous job of roster building. The pieces they have fit really, really well. They’ve got multiple big (men). They’ve got big wings. They’ve got guards that can shoot threes and run some good stuff. And that’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us.
“UConn’s a hard one-day prep, man. We’ll have to play extremely good to be able to beat a team as good as UConn, the way they’re playing.”
