Gonzaga Bulldogs: What if they played the 2020 NCAA Tournament?
The NCAA canceled their 2020 Men’s Basketball Tournament due to Covid-19. What if the tournament was played? Would the Gonzaga Bulldogs have won the trophy?
“You take the blue pill… the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want. You take the red pill… you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” – Morpheus from the Matrix. In our gout red pill installment, we ask, What if the Gonzaga Bulldogs played the 2020 NCAA Tournament?
On March 10, 2020, the NCAA canceled its Men’s Basketball Tournament, the same day the Gonzaga Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference Tournament. With the uncertainty of a looming pandemic, the entire sports world stopped at that time. Covid-19 had the world in its grip, and no one knew what to do.
Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz was the first significant athlete diagnosed. Donovan Mitchell, of the same team, was next. Commissioner Adam Silver was quick to postpone the NBA season. No one wanted to hear the word – cancel. How would a stacked Gonzaga Bulldogs team have done if the NCAA Tournament went on as usual?
By then, some of the conferences had already played their tournaments. As mentioned above Gonzaga won the WCC Tournament for their 23rd bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was a tough call to stop March Madness, but most coaches, including Mark few, backed the decision. The Big Dance never happened so, we’ll never know if the 31-2 Gonzaga Bulldogs would have taken the trophy that year. But what if the Tournament went along as planned?
This is a pandemic. The NCAA needs to be a responsible global citizen and join the NBA, MLB and others to limit the spread of this through social distancing. That means suspending the NCAA Tournament. Ivy League, Duke, KU and ASU are leading here. The NCAA should follow. pic.twitter.com/Pleqybhp6n
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 12, 2020