Gonzaga: Respect history, BUT don’t care either

[gonzagafan62]

So if you tell me 10 years ago that we have to beat Illinois, Arizona and Duke to win a championship at Maui, I’d be surprised if we won any of those games.

We lost 5 of 6 to Illinois, were 0-3 vs Duke, and I think maybe we won twice vs Arizona. None of those are good records.

We also had the talking heads saying we couldn’t beat ACC teams even though we knew we’ve done it before. Check my math but I do believe the last ACC team we’ve beaten was Clemson back in 2012 back at Old Spice tournament. Now let’s not get crazy because we have had our chances especially in the tournament Duke, Syracuse, UNC, and FSU. We are 0-4 the last 4 NCAA Tournaments vs ACC opponents. That’s not ripping Gonzaga either. We were just as good as any of those teams, but for some reason couldn’t find the win column. We just lost. I don’t use excuses.

We’ve been through a lot Zag fans. A lot of heartache, a lot of surprises and great great wins. Nothing felt better than shutting up the Final 4 haters, nothing in the regular season felt better than yesterday regular season wise.

Now it’s time to finish out this regular season by continuing to prove ourselves. We got big games coming up. You all know them. Vs Tennessee, @UNC, Washington, @creighton.... more opportunities to prove we belong.

Next we got Tillie coming back. It’s like having a transfer come in midseason but you already know what he’s capabale of. Then we got SMC and BYU and the rest of the WCC coming with a target on our backs ... history has proven those games will be dogfights too. And we better come prepared there too because they are hungry as well.

Then we right the ship in the NCAA Tournament.

I believe y’all. I believe. Let’s get it done!!! Vengeance is coming to CBK

[kdaleb]

So if you tell me 10 years ago that we have to beat Illinois, Arizona and Duke to win a championship at Maui, I’d be surprised if we won any of those games.

Great note. I continue to be amazed at the levels GU basketball continues to climb. There will inevitably be down years when things don’t go our way... it was just 3 years ago that we had to win the WCC tourney to make the NCAA tournament since we weren’t getting in as an at-large. But wow, what an amazing last few years it’s been. We no longer have to take pride in being able to go toe-to-toe with the big dogs - because we are now the big dogs everyone else is measuring themselves against.

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

Great OP!

Sometimes with a huge win and lofty ranking I get worried the team will naturally lose their edge and start feeling a bit content and pleased with themselves rather than remaining humble and honest enough to know they cannot just show up and expect to win....they have to play w same kind of intensity and determination they did vs Duke.

I believe the championship game win over Duke will only instill this team w more confidence and more determination. Performing under pressure is a huge confidence booster, and the fact Duke nonetheless seems to have dominated the story line despite losing will hopefully keep this team hungry.

Zags still have lots of room for improvement and plenty reason to play w a chip on their shoulder and prove all the program's doubters wrong. LOVE that they have a killer schedule coming up to challenge them after such a great showing in Maui.

Let's go Zags...keep riding this Maui wave performance that gave you a taste of what great basketball looks and feels like for this team. Crandall, Petrusev and Jones all growing in confidence..this team is only going to get better.