By Jeff Faraudo
#WCChoops columnist | ARCHIVES
 
The list of historic milestones standing directly in front of unbeaten Gonzaga at the Final Four is daunting: 
 
— The Zags (30-0) are two victories from becoming the first team since Indiana (32-0) in 1976 to complete an unbeaten NCAA championship season
 
— They could join the Bill Russell-led 1956 USF team (29-0) as the only West Coast Conference squads to achieve season-long perfection. The Dons were the first to do it, and only six others over the past 65 years have equaled the performance 
 
— Gonzaga has won 27 straight games by double-digit margins, already an NCAA record, and their winning edge of 24.0 points in four tournament games is wider than the seven unbeaten teams that won it all
 
— Adding to the pressure is the fact that almost everyone, including Las Vegas, expects the Zags to complete the deal. They are 14-point favorites to beat UCLA in Saturday’s semifinal game — the largest spread in a Final Four semifinal game in at least 25 years
 
And yet, from coach Mark Few down through his roster, the Zags not only appear unaffected by the distractions setting up shop around them, but they seem entirely unconcerned.
 
“I'm just telling you, we're not hung up on the undefeated thing at all. We've got to go undefeated from here on out,” Few said earlier this week before his team thoroughly took apart USC 83-65 in the Elite Eight. “Nobody's talking about the overall undefeated thing at all.”
 
Certainly not sophomore big man Drew Timme, who has enjoyed a back-and-forth with media — and his mother — about his growing facial hair, which has become known as the “Drew Manchu” and seems likely to have its own Instagram page before the Zags pull up stakes in Indianapolis.
 
“It’s something that can’t really be tamed. I can’t even control it, so just something we have to go with.” Timme said. “My teammates like it and all that, so it’s great, and I’m just glad everyone’s having fun with it. That was the whole point of it, to bring some comedic scene to here.”
 
Timme merely scored 23 points against the Trojans and their 7-foot freshman Evan Mobley, projected as a top-3 NBA pick this summer.
 
Also seemingly immune to the pressures of college basketball’s biggest stage is freshman point guard Jalen Suggs. He had 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists against the Trojans, earning non-stop praise from the TBS broadcast crew and solidifying his own place among the top-3 NBA draft prospects.
 
Suggs, who was a freshman in high school when the Zags made their only previous trip to the Final Four in 2017, was all smiles after the win over USC. “I love every part of this tourney,” he said, “and I know we’re not done yet.”
 
Here’s a look at the three teams standing between the Zags and history:
 
— UCLA (22-9, 4th in Pac-12)
Next opponent: Gonzaga, Saturday, 2:34 p.m. PT (CBS)
How they got to the Final Four: The 11th-seeded Bruins lost their final four regular-season outings and survived Michigan State in overtime in their First Four game to enter the main bracket. They beat No. 2 seed Alabama in overtime in the Sweet 16 and No. 1 Michigan 51-49 in the Elite 8. They are just the fifth No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, and none of the previous four made it to the championship game.
Who’s hot: Sophomore guard Johnny Juzang, a transfer from Kentucky, has scored 108 points in NCAA play, matching the total Bruins legend Bill Walton put up in his first five tournament games. Juzang scored 28 on Tuesday vs. Michigan.
Tournament history: Seriously? The Bruins have won 11 NCAA titles, 10 of them under legendary coach John Wooden from 1964 through ’75. But this is their first return trip to the Final Four since 2008.
All-time vs. Gonzaga: The Zags own a 3-2 series lead but lost to the Bruins in the most consequential meeting, falling 73-71 in a 2006 Elite 8 game that left star Adam Morrison weeping on the Oakland Arena floor.
 
—BAYLOR (26-2, 1st in Big 12)
Next opponent: Houston, Saturday, 11:14 a.m. PT (CBS)
How they got to the Final Four: The top-seeded Bears lost to Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament but have won four NCAA games by an average margin of more than 14 points by forcing nearly 17 turnovers per game with their pressure defense.
Who’s hot: Baylor has a deep stable of talented guards, including sixth man Adam Flagler, who began his career at Presbyterian but is averaging 11.0 points, including 8 for 12 on 3-point shots and 14 for 15 from the free throw line, over the tournament’s first four games. 
Tournament history: Baylor is playing in its ninth NCAA tournament since 2008 under coach Scott Drew but has reached the Final Four for the first time since 1950. 
All-time vs. Gonzaga: The Bears are winless in five tries against the Zags, four of them matching coaches Few and Drew. Jared Butler, star of this Baylor team, scored 11 points as a freshman in the Bears’ 83-71 loss to Gonzaga in the 2019 NCAA tournament. The teams were supposed to play Dec. 5 — at Indianapolis, no less — but the game was canceled after a Gonzaga player tested positive for COVID-19.
 
— HOUSTON (26-2, 2nd in AAC)
Next opponent: Baylor, Saturday, 11:14 a.m. PT (CBS)
How they got to the Final Four: The No. 2 seeded Cougars have held their first four NCAA foes to 55.8 points per game on 39-percent shooting. Houston averages nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game, third-best in the nation.
Who’s hot: Junior guard Quentin Grimes is averaging 18.0 points through four NCAA games, but he has shot far better from 3-point distance (44 percent) than from inside the arc (32 percent).
Tournament history: Houston returns to the Final Four for the first time since a run of three straight trips (1982-83-84), none of which netted a national championship. 
All-time vs. Gonzaga: The Cougars and Zags have never met, and that won’t change unless Houston wins its semifinal battle of Texas.
 
A SELECT CLUB AWAITS: For the record, here are the seven teams that have assembled undefeated NCAA championship seasons: 1956 USF (29-0), 1957 North Carolina (32-0), 1964 UCLA (30-0), 1967 UCLA (30-0), 1972 UCLA (30-0), 1973 UCLA (30-0), 1976 Indiana 32-0).
 
Since the Hoosiers in '76, only UNLV (1991) and Kentucky (2015) even got this far with flawless records. Both lost in the Final Four.
 
SUGGS INSPIRED BY BUECKERS: Suggs grew up in West St. Paul, Minnesota, 20 miles from Hopkins — hometown of fellow freshman point guard sensation Paige Bueckers of the UConn women’s team.
 
The two are pals and Suggs was watching closely as Bueckers scored 28 points Monday night to lead the Huskies past Baylor and into the women’s Final Four.
 
“I was extremely nervous all game. I was pacing back and forth. I couldn't sit down,” Suggs said a day later after scoring 18 points against USC to help the Zags secure their own Final Four bid. “I texted her after, and we FaceTimed and talked for a little bit. She said some things that really helped me. I've been kind of struggling, trying to get my footing in these tournament games. 
 
“Of course, seeing her go out there and play great like she did and then talking afterwards, she kind of said some words, it kind of got me uplifted. It got me going. Definitely helped tonight.”
 
NEW YORK CITY, MEET SPOKANE:  A reporter from New York City asked Few during Tuesday’s post-USC news conference is he was disappointed by the game’s 4:25 p.m. PT tipoff because it must have have prevented some Zags fans from watching the game on TV.
 
“Trust me, our fans, they're not at work. If you think they're at work, you don't know the Zag fans,” Few said. “Everything's shut down, and everybody was watching. Listen, we don't lack for any more viewership or fans. They have their priorities in line. They stop work early or stop whatever they're doing and cheer for the Zags.”
 
LOOKING AHEAD TO MONDAY: Most college basketball fans expect — and hope — to see Gonzaga and Baylor meet in Monday night’s championship game. Same goes for Lon Kruger, who announced his retirement as Oklahoma’s coach last week.
 
Kruger’s Sooners faced Baylor in Big 12 play and were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Gonzaga. Afterward, Kruger was asked his impressions of the Zags.
 
“They’re a special team, no question about it. Like Baylor is a special team,” he said. “Those two through the course of the year have separated themselves and I think deservedly so and correctly. . . . Would be an interesting final game, if it turns out that way. For sure.”
 
ELI SCOTT RETURNING TO LMU: Eli Scott, a first-team All-WCC selection and one of the league’s most versatile players, announced Wednesday he will take advantage of the NCAA’s one-year COVID waiver to replay his senior season. Scott’s decision is big for coach Stan Johnson, who led the Lions to their first winning record in WCC play since 2012.
 
A 6-foot-6 forward, Scott led the Lions in scoring, rebounds and assists for the second straight season and was the only WCC player to average at least 20 points in conference games.  “Eli's decision to return to school sends a powerful message as to where our program is headed,” Johnson said, “and how committed he is in becoming the best basketball player and student athlete possible.”
 
LEGANS READY FOR THE TASK AT PORTLAND: Shantay Legans, who played point guard at Cal and Fresno State and led Eastern Washington into the NCAA tournament this season, had plenty of friends and colleagues tell him not to accept the head coaching job at Portland.
 
But Legans is undeterred by the Pilots’ recent struggles, which include a 1-42 record in WCC play the past three seasons. Legans was 75-49 in four seasons at EWU and his team threw a scare into Kansas in the NCAA tournament before losing 93-84.
 
"I can't wait, because I know exactly what we're going to do" Legans said. "You have to have a chip on your shoulder. It's always going to be tough. If you don't have a chip on your shoulder, that means you're ready to get beaten up."
 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “They play so fast and so efficient with everything they do. Like there's no lapses. Like you just can't take -- not even a play, you can't take a second off versus them, or else they're going to make you pay.” — Creighton star Marcus Zegarowski on facing Gonzaga
 
CHARLES BARKLEY QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “You see them on tape, you see them on TV. When you see them in person, it’s different.” — Barkley on Gonzaga