What made Gonzaga’s shocking loss to Portland so unprecedented

There are unexpected losses in college basketball, and then there's what happened to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Wednesday night in Portland.

Gonzaga went into the Chiles Center for the final time as members of the West Coast Conference and left with what might just be the most surprising loss of the entire college basketball season - and the worst loss of coach Mark Few's career in Spokane.

The Zags rode a 15 game winning streak into Wednesday's tilt, the fourth longest in college basketball, having not lost since the 40 point debacle at the hands of Michigan in the Players Era Championship on Nov. 26. There had been close calls to be sure, like the two point win over San Francisco back on Jan. 24 and the overtime win over Seattle on Jan. 2, but nothing could have prepared for a loss to a team like the Pilots, who had very little historical success against the Zags and didn't exactly look like top tier competition coming into the contest.

In 49 previous meetings against Portland, coach Few had a ridiculous 47-2 overall record. He first lost to UP back on Feb. 19, 2003, at the old kennel, by a score of 72-68. The Zags rattled off 20 straight over the Pilots before losing again, this time at the Chiles Center on Jan. 9, 2014, by a score of 82-73.

The cycle repeated itself in 2026, with Gonzaga once again winning 20 straight over Portland before falling on Wednesday. While neither of Gonzaga's previous losses to Portland was good, this one was the least expected.

Using KenPom's historical data, we can look at where both Gonzaga and Portland were ranked in the country. In 2003, the Pilots were No. 207 when they beat No. 33 Gonzaga, while in 2014 UP was up at No. 111 compared to No. 24 for the Zags.

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | James Snook-Imagn Images

This year, not only was Gonzaga higher than both previous games, sitting at No. 11, but the Pilots were down at No. 216 coming into Wednesday's game.

Gonzaga almost never loses to teams even outside the top 100 at KenPom - only having done so once since that 2013-14 season, when they fell at home to LMU in January of 2023. Before Wednesday, the last time Gonzaga lost to a team outside the top 200 was January of 2010, when they were beaten in overtime, 81-77, by San Francisco. That team went 27-7 and finished No. 44 at KenPom.

This game was historically significant for Portland as well, with the Pilots picking up their first-ever win over an AP Top 10 team and quite arguably the biggest regular-season victory in school history. If this truly is the last time Gonzaga plays at the Chiles Center - and after Wednesday, they'd all like it to be - then it was quite a way for the Pilots to go out.

Gonzaga has two days to course correct before heading south to take on the Beavers of Oregon State on Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip is slated for 3:00 PM, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS