Keidel: Gonzaga Has Finally Arrived On College Basketball's Biggest Stage

By Jason Keidel
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It has taken 19 trips to March Madness, 19 failures and ridicule and taunts of paper champions and the lamentations that the ever-dreaded "mid-major" conferences can't hang with the blue bloods.

But Gonzaga has snapped a lid on all that this year, trip No. 20. With five straight wins, including their win over the sizzling South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four on Saturday, the 37-1 Zags have finally reached the high orbit of the aristocracy. Gonzaga is better than Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, UCLA or any of the historical big boys of college basketball.

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And if the Bulldogs can play 40 more minutes like the last 40 minutes, they will be better than everyone. Many teams would have folded after blowing a 14-point lead in the second half. Not the Zags, who held the game Gamecocks to a tournament-low 38 percent shooting from the field. Despite being outscored 15-0 off turnovers. Despite being outscored 12-0 in fast-break points.

Sure, it's silly to brand a 37-1 club a Cinderella, but Gonzaga has long teetered on that line between pretender and contender. Cynics may see this run as a microcosm of their season, getting fat on soft teams, beating no higher than a No. 4 seed (West Virginia) to get here, including a No. 11 seed (Xavier) and No. 7 seed (South Carolina) over their last two games.

But seeds in March Madness are often a formality, more a reflection of their deeds in December and January than February. Gonzaga's overall body of work is impressive in any conference, and any year. The Zags lead the nation in defensive efficiency, opponent shooting percentage and average scoring margin. Not since the 2000 Duke behemoth has a team averaged a higher winning margin than Gonzaga (21.8) entering Monday night's national championship game. The Bulldogs are also the only team in America to land in the top five in defensive and offensive efficiency (No.1 and No. 5, respectively).

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Every year we roll out the red carpet for the handful of iconic coaches who are here to add the last strokes on their Hall of Fame resumes, to tolerate the media and for announcers to tell endless anecdotes about their collective brilliance. It's the stuff reserved for the guys who not just reach the Final Four, but who have plowed through the final 80 minutes of madness.

But we are one game from adding Mark Few to the club. Maybe he doesn't have the requisite 800 wins or the Liberace set of championship rings, but the Gonzaga coach is one of those who's hovered just under the aristocracy. Consider his 18-year career at Gonzaga, which includes 503 wins, all 18 seasons with at least 23 wins, averaging an astonishing 27.8 victories per season.

And in a sport increasingly defined by one-and-done prodigies who use college as little more than a chalkboard funnel for their first sneaker deal, it's refreshing that both teams playing Monday night have starting lineups made up solely of juniors and seniors.

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Maybe North Carolina wins the national championship. But it's hardly a fait accompli. Not even Las Vegas knows, making the Tar Heels a 1.5-point favorite. Less than a single basket. It means that Gonzaga has not only arrived, but also belongs.

For his part, Few isn't just racking up wins and West Coast Conference titles. He's also The Associated Press Coach of the Year. All nice designations in a sublime season. One of the better memories from this tournament is seeing Few stick that handstand in the locker room Saturday night. You wonder what he has in mind if he can add one more handle to his bio: national champion.

Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel