Mar 10, 2021
5:56:06am
5:56:06am
In the past eight hours there have been numerous posts about how Gonzaga always is over-rated or why they "always struggle in the tournament". I've linked one thread and another is linked at the end of this post. I know that a lot of this is just sour grapes and people trying to burn off some anger over a tough loss. But this is just plain ignorant nonsense. Here are some facts:
1. Gonzaga has the best tournament winning percentage in the past 25 years, in the past 10 years, and in the past 5 years.
2. Gonzaga has made it to the Round of 32 11 tournaments in a row. This is the longest active streak by a long ways. But this isn't just a flash in the pan, because during their 21-year tournament run, they have made it to the Round of 32 all but three times (2002, 2007, and 2008).
3. Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 five tournaments in a row. That is fifth most of all time, behind UNC (81-93), UCLA (67-77), Duke (98-06), and Duke (86-92). In addition to these last five Sweet 16s, Gonzaga also made it to the Sweet 16 five times before (2009, 2006, and 99-01).
4. Gonzaga has made it to the Elite 8 in 3 of the last 5 seasons and also in 1999. BYU has been to the Elite 8 once in our entire history. Gonzaga has been three times in the last five years.
5. During this 21 year run, Gonzaga has exceeded their seed seven times (meaning they made it farther than one would expect given their seed). They are a remarkable 11-12 as a lower seed, with 9 of those losses coming as a sub-6 seed to a 1 or a 2 seed.
I will concede that they have "struggled" as a 1 or a 2 seed. In 2004 they lost in the 2nd round as a 2-seed. The biggest failure was in 2013, as a 1-seed they lost to 9-seeded Wichita St. They made it to the championship game in 2017 as a 1-seed. They lost in 2019 to 3-seeded Texas Tech in the Elite Eight as a 1-seed. But even this isn't some abject failure unique to Gonzaga. Historically, 31% of the 1- and 2-seeds have made the Final Four and Gonzaga has gone 25% of their time as a 1- or 2-seed.
1. Gonzaga has the best tournament winning percentage in the past 25 years, in the past 10 years, and in the past 5 years.
2. Gonzaga has made it to the Round of 32 11 tournaments in a row. This is the longest active streak by a long ways. But this isn't just a flash in the pan, because during their 21-year tournament run, they have made it to the Round of 32 all but three times (2002, 2007, and 2008).
3. Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 five tournaments in a row. That is fifth most of all time, behind UNC (81-93), UCLA (67-77), Duke (98-06), and Duke (86-92). In addition to these last five Sweet 16s, Gonzaga also made it to the Sweet 16 five times before (2009, 2006, and 99-01).
4. Gonzaga has made it to the Elite 8 in 3 of the last 5 seasons and also in 1999. BYU has been to the Elite 8 once in our entire history. Gonzaga has been three times in the last five years.
5. During this 21 year run, Gonzaga has exceeded their seed seven times (meaning they made it farther than one would expect given their seed). They are a remarkable 11-12 as a lower seed, with 9 of those losses coming as a sub-6 seed to a 1 or a 2 seed.
I will concede that they have "struggled" as a 1 or a 2 seed. In 2004 they lost in the 2nd round as a 2-seed. The biggest failure was in 2013, as a 1-seed they lost to 9-seeded Wichita St. They made it to the championship game in 2017 as a 1-seed. They lost in 2019 to 3-seeded Texas Tech in the Elite Eight as a 1-seed. But even this isn't some abject failure unique to Gonzaga. Historically, 31% of the 1- and 2-seeds have made the Final Four and Gonzaga has gone 25% of their time as a 1- or 2-seed.
Originally posted on Mar 10, 2021 at 5:56:06am
Message modified by BerkeleyCoug on Mar 10, 2021 at 6:08:58am
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