28-3. 26-5. 29-4. 28-6. 32-3. 35-3. Those are just a few of the impressive records produced by some of the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball teams from 2003-2016. In those years, the team entered the tournament as a four seed once, a three seed twice, a two seed twice, and as the one seed once. This would propel them to being in six sweet sixteens, three elite eights and one final four. However, they failed to make it to the final four, only made the elite eight once and were eliminated in the round of 32 four of those six years. It has become a running gag at this point. Every year Gonzaga has an outstanding regular season just to be trounced early in the March Madness tournament. Last year Villanova was able to end their run of disappointing NCAA tournaments, and this season Gonzaga looks to do the same. They will enter the NCAA tournament with only one blemish on their resume, a tight loss to a tough BYU Cougars team. They currently sit at 31-1 and should be a number one seed in the big dance. However, that doesn’t guarantee much if you look at their results from the past.

Not many people believe that they can overcome the demons that have plagued them in the past. “They have not been able to get it done in the past, so why should I trust them now?” said senior Tom Gallo. He says he has picked them to go deep in the tournament in the past, and they never have. This feeling is shared among college basketball fans around the country. Many expect another early round exit, while the few who still believe hope to be rewarded when they fill Gonzaga in on their brackets.

This Gonzaga team is different than the past. They have a great defense to go along with their high powered offense. They are not thinking about the past losses and instead are looking ahead. They are as focused as ever. Despite the fact that it’s a new team with different players, the question will remain in the heads of everyone following the tournament and this team. Can Gonzaga basketball finally put together an NCAA tournament run?

* photo via Google Images under the Creative Commons license