I'm writing this right around the time the national championship game is going to start. Unimaginative (and pervasive) sports media writers have simplistically put this game between Gonzaga and North Carolina as the "Little Guy vs the Blue Blood." This is, of course, based solely on college basketball history. The team with one Final Four appearance (which is as many as Jacksonville, George Mason and St. Bonaventure have), Gonzaga, vs. perhaps the greatest college basketball program of all-time in North Carolina. And, in terms of history, this is a valid comparison. By April 3, 2017, it's completely ridiculous. Here's why:
One very common thing I've noticed in sports media is that the sports media doesn't exactly know how to take Gonzaga. Are they the "Little Engine that Could" or are they a legitimate bad ass contender for national championships? I've seen multiple articles with multiple perspectives. Some say they're the little engine that could, a small conference program that has to greatly overachieve to be competitive against the "Big Boys." Others see them as a small conference Goliath on par with the top programs in college basketball. Before their Final Four breakthrough, most saw them as a team and program under Mark Few that really didn't need to make a Final Four. That wasn't the point. How such a small program became so good was their point. All real college basketball fans knew the truth: These guys had a LOT to prove in the postseason. Many media people want to have it both ways. They say the Zags are one of the best programs in basketball BUT they don't need to go to Final Fours to prove it. Uh, no. Now I'll go to my experience.
I was born in Louisville and have been a Cardinals fan since I was 12 in 1985. We've been in several different conferences but there was always at least some top NCAA competition where we went, whether the Metro or Conference USA or the Big East and now the ACC. Like all passionate fans, I suffer when my team suffers. As we're one of the top programs in college ball, that means I suffer a lot. We usually win but that makes the losses that much more hard to take. As we all know, Gonzaga plays in the WCC. For those not enlightened, that's the West Coast Conference. Teams currently in the WCC have had some pretty impressive moment in college basketball history. San Francisco was led by guys named Russell and Jones in late 50s, early 60s. Loyola Marymount was an absolute blast in the late 80s, early 90s when they had NBA talent and routinely put 125+ scoring outings with their near constant barrage of shots. That said, those eras are long past. It's now Gonzaga and everyone else. That includes an excellent St. Mary's program that was beaten three times by the Zags this year. Therein lies the problem.
While fans with teams in the major conferences suffer with their teams nearly all year, Gonzaga's teams get an emotional joyride. Wichita St. has been like that a bit, too, especially in their undefeated regular season in 2014, and all fans of teams in major conferences noticed. While we were trying to get over punishing losses that would effect our tournament seedings (if we were good enough to make the tournament that year), we saw the players and fans in programs like the Zags laugh and dance and have fun. While we were losing on the road to North Carolina, they were storming through Pepperdine and Portland and every other cupcake they played. We were playing real teams and suffering. They were playing nobody and dancing. And guess what? Gonzaga isn't a little guy. They're A BULLY. Yes, they bully the much lesser programs in their conference unmercifully. They're not a little guy standing up to the bullying big boys. They're a bully bullying lesser teams and programs.
Admittedly, these are terrific Gonzaga teams but the fact can't be ignored that they have four or five quality wins ALL YEAR and, because they don't lose to anyone else, they get 1 seeds and easier matchups early on. They've strangely become the exception to the college basketball rule that it's about teams that perform the best against the toughest schedule. Gonzaga doesn't play even remotely play the toughest schedule yet are often in 1 seed territory. While other small conference teams are getting nailed for only a few quality wins and are firmly on the bubble, not only is Gonzaga not in that discussion but they're up for ONE seeds. THAT is a big reason why a Gonzaga national championship is bad for college basketball because it shows you can play four or five tough games all year, coast in your conference and still get 1 seeds and favorable draws because they're always seeded out West and that's almost always the easiest region. In 2014, my Cardinals went through a moderately tough AAC (we stomped eventual national champion UConn THREE times.) Our reward? A 4 seed. A FOUR SEED! We had more quality wins than Gonzaga has this year, played in a tougher conference yet the Zags get one seeds. This is unfair, it's an unfair elevation of "the little guy," even though, like I said, Gonzaga is not a little guy anymore.
The only solution is for the Zags to move up into a tougher conference. Programs like Butler did it and WSU is on the way, too. That said, a 2017 national championship win by Gonzaga is bad for the sport, not good for it. It shows you can have four or five quality wins and somehow get a one seed because the committee and sports media feel they need to protect Gonzaga for some reason. I have an oft used term that I won't say because I don't want to get heat but there it is. Are they a little guy? Are they a Goliath? Because they can't be both. If they're a national championship contender and stay in that conference, it's proof that you can have the easiest route and still play for national championships. That's a slap in the face to the programs and fans that live an die with nearly every game in their conference season and that is BAD for college basketball. If I were some of these power conference contenders, I would try to leave for a small conference, play four or five tough games all year, and beat up on a terrible conference. We'd get 1 seeds, right?! Why not?
Pardon all typos in this article. I did it very quickly.
