Gonzaga has produced the quietest undefined NCAA Division I basketball season in our lifetimes, and is true both literally and physically. The Zags have played all of their games in arenas that were either devoid of spectators, or quite close to it. Cacophony was often absent due to restrictions related to COVID-19, often presenting its greatest obstacle to perfection in confidence play.
The Zags became the fifth team to enter the NCAA tournament with a perfect record as Indiana compiled the last undefined championship season in 1976, and their attempt to match the Huskers’ achievement would define the 2021 edition of March Madness.
It will get louder now, with limited presence in these games. The 2021 tournament will be played entirely in the state of Indiana, it is in almost all of Indianapolis City, and it is almost as if Quinn Buckner, Scott May, is a curse of the Hoosers at work to protect the legacy of Kent Benson. And all the others.
NCAA BRACKET PICKS: DeCourcy (Gonzaga) | Alcoholic (Illinois) | Fagan (Gonzaga)
Three more coaches, Bob Knight, were at the core of the Indiana squad that completed the 1975–76 season with an 86–68 win over Big Ten rival Michigan. It was the Hoziers’ 32nd win of the season. Were not defeated. And, it seems, they are still beating everyone who tries to match that feat.
UNLV brought their heavy contingent to Indianapolis and the Hoosier Dome for the Final Four, and there Shap ended the rune Rebels to perfection with some help from the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals. A quarter-century later, Kentucky arrived at Lucas Oil Stadium and the final four with nine future NBA players and 38 consecutive wins. This time it was the Wisconsin Badgers who were blessed with the jackpot and swept the Wildcats into the semi.
If the Zags move through that bracket, they may find it somewhat more difficult than the two exceptional college basketball teams.
After rallying from a double-digit deficit in the second half of the West Coast Conference title game against BYU, the Jags won the last of their 26 matches before the tournament. If it seems that non-pandemic schedule teams have not played much in recent decades, keep in mind that more than half of the previous 19 teams entered the NCAA Tournament without a loss that was many games or fewer. Played
Now the trick for the Zags is to convince themselves 0–0, that being undefeated was not the goal at the start of the season. The NCAA Championship is what they wanted. It is the only thing, now, that Gonzaga basketball has yet to materialize. He is placed at number 1. He has reached 21 consecutive NCAA tournaments. They have been number 1 seed four times. They have gone to the Final Four in 2017 and the National Championship game. A championship is the final frontier.
There is a significant talent gap annually between the Zags and most other teams in the West Coast Conference. He has recorded five unbeaten league seasons under coach Mark Few and has won 91 percent of his WCC games.
So they have already come close to reaching NCAAS, which is the most special in 2017, when they entered the final day of the regular season 29-0 before BYU fell at home.
In a normal year, however, Gonzaga’s visits to WCC opponents such as Santa Clara, San Francisco or Pepperdine, or St. Mary’s in particular, as an opportunity to pack gyms to get a glimpse of a great team on the home team’s campus Are seen. And try to reduce it, if only for one night. Absent those road games with an audience participation element, the Zags won an average of 19 points and never fell short of a double-digit margin.
This was a significant problem for UNLV in 1991, when the Rebels were 34–0 entering the final four and had only one game, a one-point win in Arkansas. When Duke challenged Rebels in the final minutes, he did not know how to react. This was a situation they were not prepared for, and they cleared away a short, late lead slip.
Bracket Tips: KenPom | Play the odds. Idiot guide
When he was tested in the WCC title game, both All-American wing Corey Kispert and head coach Mark Few expressed a sense of relief that he was finally challenged by someone, someone, and found a way to prevail. And, to be absolutely right.
“We haven’t talked about it before, BYU,” some told CBS Sports. “We just dialed in and won the ‘next game’.”
“I know we have a mindset with the NCAA tournament. We are talking about victory and advance, winning and progressing and keep doing what we are doing throughout the year. But I think it was important, in the post-BYU game time, to tell people and to accept that this is an incredible achievement capable of being undefined. When you look at the teams that were undefeated in the NCAA tournament, it is quite a group. And in my estimation, it is an honor to join all those teams. “
It is an honor, however, to be associated with 1967 UCLA or 1957 North Carolina or 1956 San Francisco compared to 2014 Wichita State or 1979 Indiana State.
Is it strange that every undefeated team since Indiana’s Hosiers played at least some part of their schedule in Indiana, and that no one could remain perfect all the way to the end? Wichita State visited both Indiana State and Evansville. Larry Bird’s Sycamores played all of their home games at Terrere Haute.
Or that this “curse” thing is too hard?
When someone is behaving in a supernatural way, it is difficult to know what kind of powers are in the work.
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