Mark Few: Gonzaga 'can't have a bad night' in the NCAA Tournament

The Bulldogs can't suffer an off-night if they're to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Between the professional and college ranks, there aren't many coaches in the basketball world more versed at navigating single-elimination tournaments than Mark Few has become during his time at the helm of the Gonzaga men's basketball team.

Consider that Few is the only coach in NCAA history to guide their program to the NCAA Tournament in each of their first 25 seasons at the helm. The future hall-of-famer hasn't cut down the nets as a national champion yet, though he's helped his team reach the Final Four twice and the Sweet 16 round a whopping nine times in a row, which is tied for the longest such streak of its kind since the field expanded in 1985.

Under Few, the Zags have been a No. 1 seed five times, including both trips to the national championship game in 2017 and 2021, as well as when they made it to the Elite Eight in 2019 and the Sweet 16 in 2022. They've also endured an upset in the second round as a No. 1 seed, only to make it to the Sweet 16 as a double-digit seed the following year. Few's made it deep into the tournament with rosters that were riddled with NBA talent; others, not so much.

The 2024-25 Bulldogs certainly don't have a Chet Holmgren, Jalen Suggs or Drew Timme to lean on when they desperately need a score in a tight game, nor do they head into the 2025 NCAA Tournament in a favorable position as the 8-seed in the Midwest Region — but as far as their coach is concerned, the formula to staying alive for March has remained the same over all these years.

"You can't have a bad night," Few said of what's required from the Bulldogs to go far in the NCAA Tournament. "I shared that with the [Team] USA guys [this summer] because the Olympic tournaments like that too — it's not a seven-game series. You can't have a bad night."

"Maybe you don't shoot it good, but you can't have a bad effort night," Few said. "You can't have a bad mental night. You just have to be dialed and [have a] 'next play' mentality and great attention to detail."

The Bulldogs were one of the most potent offenses in the country once again this season, ranking top 10 in adjusted efficiency while putting up 86.6 points per game, the second-most in the nation behind Alabama. Outside of putting points up in a hurry, though, Gonzaga has shown it can win ugly if need be, as evidenced by the West Coast Conference championship game against Saint Mary's.

The Zags secured the WCC's automatic bid in a 58-51 victory over the Gaels from Las Vegas — despite the fact they went 1-for-15 from 3-point range and shot 41.3% from the field overall. That might not be the most traditional strategy when trying to beat a stingy defense, though Gonzaga's ability to grind out a win over a hard-nosed squad like Saint Mary's should give the Bulldogs some momentum as they prepare to take on another good rebounding team in Georgia.

"I think we made a jump with just being nastier and maybe dictating some things with our defense," Few said of his team after the WCC championship. "To win a grinder like that I think says a lot about these guys."

Prior to the WCC tournament finale, the Bulldogs hadn't won many "grinders" during the regular season. In fact, their eight losses came by an average margin of 5.1 points. Three of those defeats came in overtime.

It seemed like for some in Spokane, the sky was falling in mid-January after the Zags let up 103 points to Santa Clara at home, just two nights removed from an overtime loss at Oregon State in which they yielded 97 points on the road. Since those back-to-back losses, though, the Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 13 games and knocked off their conference rival in the WCC title game to secure yet another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't ever do the 'more special' — all the teams are the same to me, pretty much," Few said. "I would just say this: I hope for our fans, people that follow the program and stuff, that they understand after a year like this, nothing's given to you. You earn your way into this tournament."

"It was well-earned and hopefully it kind of rattles everybody back into reality. That's the reality that I operate in and make sure the team does too."

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