"The Bulldogs have qualified for 27 consecutive men's NCAA basketball tournaments. They have made the national championship game twice in the past decade but have yet to get over the hump. The question this story presupposes is: What if 2026 is the year that Zag Fever finally results in a championship?"
"In 2021, Gonzaga was the clear best team in the country and took an undefeated record into the 67th and final game of March Madness. Things also looked good in 2022, when I promised that Gonzaga's time had come. In 2023, the Zags were not a front-line favorite but still seemed to have a real chance. In 2024, the shine had come off a bit, but the case was still strong. Once again, it didn't happen."
"By 2025, my heart wasn't really in it, but who was I to doubt a program that seemed to have the best draw of any of the No. 8 seeds in the 68-team tournament? Alas, the Zags went down in the second round, losing by a mere 5 points to a Houston team that came up 3 points short of the national title."
Gonzaga's men's basketball program has maintained an extraordinary streak of 27 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances while reaching the national championship game twice in the past decade, yet remains without a title. Despite multiple opportunities—including an undefeated 2021 season, strong 2022 and 2023 teams, and competitive 2024 and 2025 squads—the Bulldogs have consistently fallen short. A writer has repeatedly predicted Gonzaga's championship breakthrough over several years, experiencing mounting frustration as the program continues to underperform in March Madness despite appearing to have legitimate chances. The pattern of near-misses, including a five-point loss to Houston in 2025 when Houston itself came close to winning the title, exemplifies Gonzaga's recurring tournament struggles.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]