It's game day in Anaheim, and once again the Gonzaga Bulldogs meet the Florida State Seminoles in the Sweet Sixteen, but the Zags hope to bring more weapons to the table than they had in last year's loss.
Last year, it seemed almost hard to believe Gonzaga was making their fourth-straight Sweet Sixteen appearance in Los Angeles. Now, fifth-year senior Josh Perkins has a chance to go every year that he's been a Bulldog, while it would be a first time experience for guys like Brandon Clarke and Geno Crandall.
Ten days after their loss to Saint Mary's the Zags had all the motivation they needed to dominate Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA tournament, posting the largest deficit victory in Gonzaga program history, a 38-point separation.
It was over before it started. Eight minutes in to their matchup with 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, not even 48 hours removed from their First Four game, Gonzaga was already up 15 points.
Before last year, no 16th-seeded team had ever beated a one-seed in the NCAA tournament. UMBC wrote themselves into history after throttling the number one overall-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, changing the way 16 and one seeds look at their first matchup forever.
The Zags have had 8 days to get past the loss to Saint Mary's. As they finish up their first practice in Salt Lake City, they know another loss means the end to their season.
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few was elated after his No. 2 Zags pulled away from BYU in the season finale in the Kennel to remain undefeated at home in 2018-19.
Geno Crandall, a transfer from the University of North Dakota, signed a financial aid agreement to attend Gonzaga University and will join the men's basketball team for the 2018-19 season.
