By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
 
The elusive notion of perfection finally is a tangible goal for the top-ranked Gonzaga basketball team. At last, after the Zags’ 88-78 victory over BYU in the championship game of the University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament on Tuesday night, it’s OK to talk about it.
 
“We finally acknowledged, look, this is a big deal,” coach Mark Few said of his team’s 26-0 record, making it just the fifth team in the past 45 seasons to enter the NCAA Tournament with an unblemished record.
 
“It puts us in some incredible company, quite frankly. That (2015) Kentucky team. It’s a heck of an accomplishment in lieu of these atmospheres that have been so stale and sterile.”
 
Freshman point guard Jalen Suggs, who delivered a 23-point, five-rebound, five-assist performance, said he’s been dreaming about this his whole young life.
 
“It’s hard not to think about but I think we’ve all done a good job of staying focused,” he said. “At some point you’ve kind of got to acknowledge the special ride we’re on right now.”
 
The Zags have become just the second WCC team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a perfect ledger. It hadn’t happened since Bill Russell and USF did it back in 1956 on the way to a second straight national title.
 
BYU (20-6) played a near-perfect first half, making 67 percent of its shots, including 9 for 13 from the 3-point arc, to forge a stunning 53-41 lead at the break. It was the biggest halftime deficit the Zags have faced all season, and Few said afterward it was the best thing that could have happened to his team.
 
No wire-to-wire runaway in this one. “We needed a game like that. We hit some adversity and got punched in the face and we got together at halftime,” Few said. “Our guys came out and played fantastic defense in the second half. Our offense got going because of our defense.”
 
The Zags will be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAAs and will find out Sunday who they play first. All 68 entries will convene in Indianapolis for a unique COVID-era tournament experience.
 
Named Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Suggs, the sure one-and-done point guard, said he rehearsed nights like this as a toddler playing on his Little Tykes hoop. On Tuesday night it happened for real.
 
“I kept screaming, `It’s March, it’s March.’ I’ve been waiting to play in these moments and in March my entire life. Tonight, it was surreal,” he said. “The best part about it is we’re all excited about it, all ready to keep it going. But we’re all ready to get back to work and get ready for Indy.”
 
Gonzaga held BYU to 28-percent shooting in the second half, and allowed them to make just 2 of 15 shots from deep. 
 
“They shot the lights out, senior Corey Kispert said of the Cougars’ performance in the first half. “We had to make sure we got in their space and disrupted their rhythm. Hopefully those shots would fall off the rim in the second half if we did that, and they did.”
 
The defense fueled the offense and the Zags got their transition game in gear. Kispert almost single-handled closed the margin himself early in the second half, hitting a trio of 3-point shots in a span of barely 90 seconds to quickly pull Gonzaga within 55-52.
 
They took charge with a 13-0 run that included baskets by four different players before Suggs scored eight points in the final 4 minutes to deny BYU any hope of a comeback.
 
“He’s a terrific, terrific player,” BYU coach Mark Pope said.
 
Suggs gave credit to all his teammates, and five Zags scored in double figures: Joel Ayayi had 18 points and nine rebounds, WCC Player of the Year Kispert scored 17, forward Drew Timme had 14 and guard Andrew Nembhard contributed 13.
 
Suggs assured Few late in the game that the outcome was in good hands.  “With about 6 or 7 minutes left, I told coach, `We’re not walking out of here without the championship. I’m going to get it done.’ “
 
FAST COMPANY: Since the 1975-76 Indiana team completed an unbeaten championship season, only four teams have reached the doorstep of the NCAA tournament without a defeat. Gonzaga became the fifth.
 
The other four, all tripped up before they could complete the job: Larry Bird’s 1979 Indiana State team, UNLV in 1991, Wichita State in 2014 and the 2015 Kentucky team.
 
BRILLIANT FOR A HALF: BYU played loose and confident for 20 minutes Tuesday night and seemed intent on spoiling Gonzaga’s championship goals. 
 
“I thought we started out great. We knew if any team’s going to beat them we were the team,” said senior guard Alex Barcello, who scored 15 points. “Guys were really focused, we were together.”
 
Pope called the loss “super-disappointing,” but had nothing but positive words for his team. The difference in the second half?
 
“Credit to Gonzaga for putting some pressure on us,” he said. “I felt like we were trying to manage a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of running out of gas. It’s a combination of those two things.
 
“Our guys executed really well. We just couldn’t get the ball to fall — some terrific looks from inches away and from 3. Sometimes the game treats you like that and it certainly did today.”
 
BYU’S BENCH: While Gonzaga’s starters scored 85 of the team’s 88 points, the Cougars got 28 from their reserves in the latest example of their growing depth.
 
Guard Trevin Knell scored a career-best 20 points, including five 3-pointers.  “Like everybody on our team, he can step up and make big plays for us,” Pope said, “and he did tonight.”
 
STAT OF THE GAME: BYU, which missed just 10 shot attempts the entire first half, made only 2 of its final 10 tries to close out the game.
 
QUOTE OF THE GAME: “We think we’re the best team in the country for a reason. Our defense is legit and our offense is even better. If we just stick to what we have been doing the last 26 games, I think we’ll be just fine.” — Corey Kispert on the road ahead
 
2021 UCU WCC Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Alex Barcello, BYU
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Colbey Ross, Pepperdine
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga – Most Outstanding Player
Drew Timme, Gonzaga