The Gonzaga basketball program has accomplished some amazing things under head coach Mark Few. Gonzaga accomplished another great feat on Saturday, when they defeated UCLA in Seattle.
“The dominant effort from Gonzaga's frontcourt helped create another first for the Zags, snapping the program's four-game losing streak in Seattle while securing its first win in Climate Pledge Arena, a venue that the Bulldogs had left empty-handed in their previous three trips to Seattle's state-of-the-art facility,” Sports Illustrated reported.
Gonzaga basketball was paced in their 82-72 victory by veteran Graham Ike. The big man poured in 25 points for the Bulldogs, who are now 10-1 on the year. Ike also collected five rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes.
The Gonzaga-UCLA game has turned into one of the best West Coast college basketball rivalries.
“It's a tough game. You're not like jumping over joy when you're getting ready for them, I tell you that much. But it's great for college basketball,” Few said afterward. “I think it's great for both programs. There's the two of us and Arizona out west. And the games have been great, and they've helped both our programs. Fortunately, we've been lucky enough to come out on top.”
Following the loss, UCLA is now 7-3 on the campaign.
Gonzaga basketball hopes to reach the NCAA Tournament yet again
The Bulldogs don't play in a power 4 conference, but they have remained one of the best teams in college basketball for years. Few has taken Gonzaga to March Madness an astounding 25 times.
The Gonzaga coach says testing his team by competing against good teams in non conference play is something he loves doing.
“That's a very, very good team we beat tonight. I mean, that's a high, high level team. It's well coached, tough. It's got great length inside, obviously, great skill with Bilodeau and Clark. We get a lot out of that. We'll get a lot out of it the rest of the year,” Few added.
Gonzaga next plays Campbell on Wednesday night.
