Gonzaga finishes its WCC run in style

LAS VEGAS — There was only one proper and logical way for this to end, and that was to be the last team standing, cutting down the nets.

With Gonzaga’s time in the West Coast Conference coming to an end, the Bulldogs did what they’ve been doing for decades, being on the floor in the conference tournament championship game. But instead of dealing with Saint Mary’s, the Zags’ biggest rivals, it was upstart Santa Clara, which had knocked off the Gaels in Monday’s semifinals.

No matter. Gonzaga was in this position 29 straight years, which is a crazy stat when you think about it. So Mark Few’s team knew what it had to do. They finished their time in the WCC in style with a 79-68 win Tuesday night over the Broncos in front of thousands of their fans at the Orleans Arena to celebrate the 23rd title as they’ll take a 30-3 record into the NCAA Tournament next week.

“It’s a special feeling to go out the right way, on top,” said senior center Graham Ike, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Gonzaga is headed to the reconstituted Pac-12 come July. It stopped playing football decades ago. But this is about embracing the basketball brand Few has built, and before him, Dan Monson, Jay Hillock and Dan Fitzgerald. The Zags are college basketball royalty so it was a no-brainer for the Pac-12 to bring them into the fold along with five Mountain West schools — San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State, Colorado State and Boise State.

Yeah, it cost the school some money to leave the WCC. There’s some sort of exit fee Gonzaga will pay, the exact amount, no one is saying. And they may leave behind some of those NCAA basketball tournament units, each worth $2 million, that they’ve accrued as well. But the price of freedom and to expand the brand is worth more long-term. And if you think Few and his team are going to miss a beat competing in the Pac-12, guess again. Gonzaga figures to be the dominant team in the revived league come November.

“Our guys never took their eyes off the prize,” Few said. “This was not easy. We had two fight through a lot of adversity.

“Part of my greatest weaknesses is I don’t spend a whole lot of time looking back on things. I probably will eventually. In this profession, you just kinda focus on the present.”

Tuesday was about cementing its legacy. Gonzaga was already in this year’s NCAA Tournament. It was looking to complete the WCC Daily Double, winning both the regular season title and the conference tourney, something it has done 21 times during the Few Era. It was about reminding everyone that it is still the big Bulldog on the block, even if that Bulldog is about to be moving to a new home.

Almost as impressive has been the run by Gonzaga’s women’s team. Lisa Fortier has a .796 winning percentage in her 12 years coaching the Lady Zags and has won 10 of the 11 WCC women’s tourney titles here in Las Vegas. Tuesday, as a No. 2 seed, they defeated fourth-seeded Oregon State in the championship game, 76-66.

“I have a lot of good memories,” she said of her time in the WCC. “The gratitude we have for our place in the WCC and we’re very grateful for what we’ve been able to accomplish during our time (in the WCC).”

Whether it wants to admit it or not, the WCC will miss Gonzaga, especially this time of the year. The Zags brought the most fans to Vegas and it’s going to be a challenge for the conference to fill those seats in the Orleans Arena next spring that the Gonzaga fans are vacating. Commissioner Stu Jackson admitted as much during his remarks Monday.

Does that mean we’ve seen the end of Gonzaga here in Las Vegas? Not at all. The Pac-12 will probably bring its conference basketball tournament here, most likely at T-Mobile Arena, though it hasn’t been announced yet. And there’s the likelihood of playing in an early-season event such as The Players Era, which Gonzaga participated in this season, losing to Michigan in the championship game.

But the big trip to Vegas, the one Few and the Gonzaga fans are looking forward most to hopefully making, comes in 2028 when they play the Final Four at Allegiant Stadium. Gonzaga has been to the big stage twice — in 2017 and again in 2021 — losing both times in the championship game.

There’s a lot that has to happen for that to take place. But never underestimate Few. Even in these crazy times in college athletics, he’s finding ways to maintain Gonzaga’s high standard of excellence that he has spent decades developing the culture of success.

In other words, don’t bet against him.