Gonzaga’s Mark Few fires warning shot to rest of NCAA after upsetting Alabama

Nobody had a better start to Feast Week than the Gonzaga Bulldogs. No. 12 Gonzaga took down No. 8 Alabama 95-85 in the opener of the Players Era Championship, improving to 6-0 on the season. Gonzaga will now take on Maryland in what should be a massive game for the Bulldogs, attempting to make the tournament final on Thursday.

Gonzaga has had a great start to the campaign. Every win has been by double digits. They already have wins against Oklahoma, No. 22 Creighton, and Arizona State. They also have two monster wins by over 50 points against Texas Southern (55) and Southern Utah (72).

After the win against Alabama, head coach Mark Few sent warning shots to the rest of the NCAA.

“I feel great because I think there’s room for growth. There’s a lot of stuff I feel like we have to clean up right now that I feel gives us a higher ceiling, whereas are ’17 team was pretty good to go by this time; certainly our ’21 team was clicking on all cylinders way back in the first tournament we had.

“It’s really encouraging, and it’s really kind of exciting from that point of view. But I give these guys a lot of credit. We’ve played a pretty arduous schedule so far, and they found ways to win.”

This team is extremely deep and experienced. The Bulldogs have four players who score north of 10 points per game, with Graham Ike leading the way at 17.7 points per game. The senior also averages 9.5 rebounds per game. Tyon Grant-Foster, the star transfer from Grand Canyon, is having a great start to his Bulldogs tenure. He scored 21 points against Alabama and now averages 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on the season.

Because of the rules and tiebreakers in the Players Era Championship, Gonzaga would need to dominate Maryland to make the final. Both No. 7 Michigan (40-point win) and No. 17 Tennessee (25-point win) have the advantage; however, the Vols have to take on No. 3 Houston today. Michigan will face No. 22 Auburn, and if the Wolverines win, they should easily make the final with their blowout win over San Diego State.

Gonzaga must beat Maryland by at least 15 points to give them a real shot at the final. If Tennessee loses, that helps them out a ton. Iowa State only beating St. John’s by one hurt the Cyclones and their chances at the final.

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