And they were called San Francisco.

Some will and in the past have tried to compare the Zags to UNLV under Tark but the accurate comparison is to San Francisco, who from the 1950's till their self-imposed death penalty in the 80's fit their current profile.

Not that national announcers will pay that any mind.

Great Observation!

The Dons have three national titles and were good over several decades. I would argue the Zags haven't achieved to their level yet.

(03-13-2013 11:11 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  The Dons have three national titles and were good over several decades. I would argue the Zags haven't achieved to their level yet.

Yeah but comparable...and also it was easier to win a NCAA title back then. Easier to cheat, only 8-16 teams in the Tourney, and the NIT Champ some years was probably better.

No. Gonzaga is unique.

Gonazga is the first Jesuit school to be ranked #1 and get a Pope at the same time.

(03-13-2013 11:21 PM)TexanMark Wrote:  

(03-13-2013 11:11 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  The Dons have three national titles and were good over several decades. I would argue the Zags haven't achieved to their level yet.

Yeah but comparable...and also it was easier to win a NCAA title back then. Easier to cheat, only 8-16 teams in the Tourney, and the NIT Champ some years was probably better.

The NCAA postseason was more or less equivalent to college football and its bowls until at least the 1960's. The NIT or NCAA champion could be better than the other and it was possible neither would reign at the top of the polls. Sometimes, such as was the case with CCNY in 1950, the NIT and NCAA champion were the same.

(03-13-2013 11:11 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  The Dons have three national titles and were good over several decades. I would argue the Zags haven't achieved to their level yet.

That's like saying Houston and San Francisco aren't both formerly great programs that have fallen on hard times because San Fran won two championship while Houston didn't.

I like Gonzaga and they're a nice mid major story, but they are way overrated.

They dominate their league every year and get to the tournament. They captured national attention when they got to the Elite 8 back in 1999, but they've never gotten that far again. They followed that run with back-to-back Sweet 16's, solidifying their reputation as a legit contender. But in the 11 years since then (2002-12), they've gotten as far as the Sweet 16 only twice more. Normally they're out of the tournament in the 2nd round (9 times in the past 11 years).

Maybe this year will be different, but they're going to have to prove it on the court with wins, not just with votes in a poll. As gaudy as their record is and even with their 5 wins over Big XII, they haven't accomplished enough to be #1 or even to deserve a 1-seed IMO.

Gonzaga deserves tremendous credit for their consistency and for doing as much as they have as a mid major in a remote location. Mark Few is a great coach, one of the best, and a classy guy. But ultimately they are a great mid major story, not a national power.

I'll be rooting for Gonzaga to win just about every game they play in this tournament. I'd be delighted if this is the year they break through to a Final Four and get a shot to win it all.

The thing is though, Gonzaga would have been or was an at-large team every year of their 15 year run except 2001 and possibly 2007 (they were a 10 seed but may have slipped out of field with a WCC title game loss). So while they have an easy league to beat up on (not so much though with SMC's rise and the addition of BYU), they also have a smaller margin for error because of the potential for bad losses and still to this day have fewer resources than the Big Boys.

As for this year, everyone keeps choking away their chances to be #1 (you know how the polls go, if you keep winning, you rise if you keep losing, you fall) and no major conference team has fewer than 4 losses while most have at least 5 plus the Zags have no bad losses and one came on the road at Butler on buzzer beater. You can't play that "they play nobody" card forever if other teams keep blowing their chances.

But I do agree that they will have to start advancing deeper more often if they want to be considered a legit national power.

It just seems odd to me for a catholic school to be in eastern Washington. I dont know why. Seems like mormon country.

(03-14-2013 08:20 AM)NBPirate Wrote:  It just seems odd to me for a catholic school to be in eastern Washington. I dont know why. Seems like mormon country.

They've been there a long time. Bing Crosby was an alum back in the 1920's. maybe the Irish who helped build the railroads stayed when they got that far west. There are also a fair number of Dutch out ther. Note the tulip farms. For a long time I don't think that Mormons were welcome in too many places outside Utah.

(03-14-2013 08:20 AM)NBPirate Wrote:  It just seems odd to me for a catholic school to be in eastern Washington. I dont know why. Seems like mormon country.

Mormons are only common in Utah and Southern Idaho. The southern half of Idaho has a significant Mormon population, but the northern half has very little. Mostly catholic in that area. Idaho has a significant Irish heritage...which should come at no surprise. Idaho is known for potatoes afterall. Many Irish left Ireland and settled in Idaho after the potato famine.

(03-13-2013 11:11 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  The Dons have three national titles and were good over several decades. I would argue the Zags haven't achieved to their level yet.

They can thank an unknown player that went on to great success for that. His name was Bill Russell...

(03-14-2013 08:50 AM)Niner National Wrote:  

(03-14-2013 08:20 AM)NBPirate Wrote:  It just seems odd to me for a catholic school to be in eastern Washington. I dont know why. Seems like mormon country.

Mormons are only common in Utah and Southern Idaho. The southern half of Idaho has a significant Mormon population, but the northern half has very little. Mostly catholic in that area. Idaho has a significant Irish heritage...which should come at no surprise. Idaho is known for potatoes afterall. Many Irish left Ireland and settled in Idaho after the potato famine.

I always wondered what would've happened if Mormons weren't exiled from the eastern United States. Joseph Smith spent some time in Ohio, as well as my home state of Missouri in what would be suburban Kansas City (Independence). There'd probably be a BYU in Blue Springs for all I know.