Gonzaga Bulldogs: 2021 Year in Review
Teresa Powe
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2021 was quite a year for Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball. They won another WCC Championship and came within one game of their first National Championship.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs started 2021 as an undefeated team. No doubt in anyone’s mind that this year they would be the NCAA champions. Unfortunately, this year would be another “maybe next year.”
The Undefeated Regular Season
The Gonzaga Bulldogs did not lose one game in the regular 2020-2021 season. Therefore, 2020-21 had to be the season that ended with the NCAA Championship Trophy.
The Bulldogs had no problem going through the West Coast Conference. And at the end of the regular season, the Zags were 22-0. Only two more games for the WCC championship, then on to the NCAA!
March Madness 2021
I have never covered any team in any sport going into the championship tournament undefeated. Every Gonzaga Bulldog game had me on the edge of my seat, my stomach in knots. The Zags sailed through to the Elite Eight with no problem. However, the Final Four matchup with the UCLA Bruins had Zags Nation concerned.
When I tell you this was one of the most exciting, sickening games I have ever watched, please believe me. If you saw it, you know what I mean. With 3.3 seconds left in overtime, Johnny Juzang made a layup to put UCLA up by two. Superstar freshman Jalen Suggs launched a buzzer-beater from the Final Four logo and won the game for Gonzaga. One more game to go for a title.
The championship game can be summed up in two words, Baylor Bears. That same team that Gonzaga Coach Mark Few and Baylor Coach Scott Drew tried unsuccessfully to reschedule several times during the regular season
II didn’t sit on the edge of my seat for this one. There was no need as Baylor handed the Gonzaga Bulldogs their first loss in over a year. And just like that, it was over…well, maybe next year.
Team ? win ? pic.twitter.com/HQq7n2SLi8
— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) December 29, 2021
2021-2022
Suggs, Corey Kispert, and Joel Ayayi are now in the NBA. Suggs was picked fifth by the Orlando Magic, the Washington Wizards chose Kispert tenth, and Ayayi is now with the Wizards G League team.
The new season brought back key contributors Drew Timme, Andrew Nembhard, Anton Watson, and Julian Strawther. In addition, the highest recruit ever to attend Gonzaga, Chet Holmgren, the number one prospect in the nation, would be teamed with Timme in the frontcourt. Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton joined Strawther and Nembhard to make up the three guards who fill out the starting five. The Gonzaga Bulldogs bench is deep, with many talented young men from across the country, including Anton Watson, Hunter Sallis, and Nolan Hickman.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs played several highly touted Power 5 teams at the start of this season. Duke and Alabama handed GU early defeats, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs overcame Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA, and Northern Arizona. In my opinion, this was a great idea, getting the Zags ready to compete in March Madness 2022.
Related Story: 2021-22 WCC thumbnail preview
As 2021 comes to a close, Zags Nation should feel good. Gonzaga may not be undefeated and may have fallen from No. 1 to No. 5, but they are still the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the number one contenders for the NCAA tournament trophy this year.