Gonzaga University men’s basketball has enjoyed a historic run of consistency under head coach Mark Few, which includes 26 consecutive tournament appearances and nine straight Sweet 16s.
But it wasn’t always this way. Before the perennial Sweet 16s and the national title appearances, the Zags had to build themselves from the ground up. Here are five defining moments in GU’s rise from rags to riches.
1. “The Slipper Still Fits”
Long before GU ever dreamed of becoming a national power, it had to get its foot in the door in 1999. Led by Dan Monson, the Zags won the West Coast Conference Tournament to make their second NCAA tournament appearance in program history, earning a No. 10 seed.
First, the Zags rolled past Minnesota. No. 2 Stanford was a daunting opponent, but the team was no match for the Zags’ third-ranked 3-point offense, which buried 11 triples en route to an 82-74 win.
That win led to one of the most fateful games in GU history — a matchup with No. 3 Florida, with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. The Gators and Zags went back and forth, but GU came out on top thanks to a Casey Calvary tip-in with five seconds remaining. Florida’s game-winning attempt fell short, and GU’s bench stormed the court.
“It’s over!” a giddy Gus Johnson exclaimed. “Gonzaga! The slipper still fits!”
GU’s run ended against Connecticut, the eventual national champions, but the Zags had officially arrived — and they weren’t going away anytime soon.
2. Perkins’ Block, Mathews’ three and the Birth of a Contender
Of the incredible teams that the Zags fielded in the past decade or so, the 37-2 2017 squad has an excellent case as the best of the bunch.
However, that team came oh-so-close to an upset loss in the Sweet 16. Against No. 4 West Virginia, GU gave up back-to-back threes to the Mountaineers, leading to the following sequence with the Zags down 58-57.
After grabbing a rebound with around a minute left, Nigel Williams-Goss was stripped from behind by Jevon Carter. The ball ended up in the hands of Mountaineers center Nathan Adrian, who rose up for a dunk — only to get blocked from behind by GU point guard Josh Perkins.
Then, Williams-Goss sped upcourt and found Jordan Mathews, who stepped into a transition 3-pointer and buried it.
Timeout West Virginia. Two-point GU lead. Pandemonium in the SAP Center.
GU hung on for a 61-58 win, sending the team to the Elite Eight and, eventually, the title game. Thanks in part to that 2017 team’s run, the Zags are a nationally recognized brand with legitimate recruiting pull and championship aspirations. None of it happens without this game-saving sequence.
3. Perfect Season, Preserved
Few rivalries in sports deliver as consistently as UCLA-Gonzaga. Whether it’s the infamous 2006 Sweet 16 clash, which left Adam Morrison sobbing on the court after a heartbreaking GU loss, or the two squads’ nail-biting 2024 matchup, the Bruins and Zags have a knack for magical moments.
However, their greatest battle came in the 2021 Final Four. The two programs’ paths to that point couldn’t have been more different — GU was undefeated and in pursuit of the first perfect season since 1976, while the No. 11 Bruins clawed their way out to the First Four, embarking on a Cinderella run.
You wouldn’t know that by watching this matchup. The Bruins pushed the Zags further than ever before, forcing overtime in an evenly matched dogfight.
UCLA's Johnny Juzang tied the game at 90 with around three seconds left — just enough time for the Zags to get a shot off. Freshman guard Jalen Suggs took one dribble past halfcourt and threw up a desperation heave, banking it in for a walk-off, perfect, season-preserving three.
But the image of Suggs standing on the scorers’ table and celebrating his miracle shot in front of cardboard cutouts left GU fans with one question: could you imagine if this happened with a live crowd?
4. Strawther’s Bullseye
They’d get their answer when the Bruins and Zags met again in the Sweet 16 two years later. With the COVID-19 pandemic no longer preventing large gatherings, a packed house in Las Vegas was on hand to watch an apparent rerun of the Adam Morrison Game.
After coming back from a 13-point deficit, the Zags watched their nine-point lead evaporate in the final minute, capped off by a go-ahead Amari Bailey 3 with 17 seconds left on the heels of two Drew Timme bricks at the free throw line.
That’s when Few flipped the script with a daring playcall, drawing up a dribble handoff for Julian Strawther just past midcourt. Strawther caught the ball and let a three fly without hesitation, burying it from 35 feet out to restore a two-point lead for the Zags.
Just two years apart, Strawther and Suggs combined to deliver two iconic symbols for the most successful era of GU basketball.
Now, GU enters March with its Sweet 16 streak in more peril than ever, facing a daunting second-round matchup with No. 1 Houston.
But who knows? Few is no stranger to the Cinderella role. Perhaps, after all these years, the slipper will still fit — and another signature March moment could be in store.
