Gonzaga's dominance of the West Coast Conference is so taken for granted that news of the No. 18 Bulldogs' 10th consecutive league title didn't cause much of a stir.
But the streak merits some attention. It's tied for the second longest in history, behind the 13 Pac-10 titles won by UCLA from 1967-79. And if not for a late stumble in 2000, the Zags would have won their 13th straight title, having also won in 1998 and 1999.
Coach Mark Few has been on board for all of those, first as an assistant and since 2000 as head coach. He never tires of telling listeners that - for all the attention Gonzaga's 11 straight trips to the NCAA tournament get - the program's singular achievement may be the run of league titles.
This year was particularly gratifying for Few, as the Zags overcame the loss of four starters to post a 12-2 record in the WCC. They were 25-5 overall.
``It's a long, hard haul,'' Few said this week, after being named coach of the year for a record eighth time. ``This is far and away the youngest, most inexperienced team we have ever taken into league.''
By winning the conference, Gonzaga earned a bye into Sunday's semifinals of the WCC tournament in Las Vegas.
There are critics who dismiss Gonzaga's success as primarily the result of playing in a weak league. But that begs the question of why other teams, in other weak leagues, have not strung together such runs.
Gonzaga's streak is tied with UNLV, which won 10 Big West titles from 1983-1992, and Connecticut, which won 10 Yankee titles from 1951-60.
Few said there is a lot more parity in college basketball than there used to be, and lots of traditional powers get upset by upstarts these days. Conference play is especially tough because each team plays twice, giving opponents a chance to make adjustments.
The parity was clear in Gonzaga's two WCC losses, at San Francisco and Loyola Marymount, both middle-of-the-pack teams.
``There's pretty good talent in this league,'' Few said after the loss at Loyola. ``If we are not playing at our highest level, we are as susceptible as anybody to get beat.''
As the marquee program in the WCC, Gonzaga is often the only game their opponents sell out, and opposing fans are jacked up. ``You're going to get everybody's best shot,'' Few said.
The streak has changed Gonzaga from a mid-major backwater, best known for producing John Stockton, into a Top 25 juggernaut.
Gonzaga's run also changed the West Coast Conference, but in more subtle ways. Long a one-and-out league in the NCAA tournament, the WCC has been able to cash in on Gonzaga's success. Money flows to the league from each round of the tournament, and Gonzaga has gone to the Sweet 16 five times and to the second round three more times.
Other teams have also improved in an effort to catch up with Gonzaga, and programs like Saint Mary's and San Diego have found their way to the NCAAs in recent years.
But no WCC team has found a way to challenge the Zags consistently. They are 128-12 in WCC play since the streak began.
Gonzaga's success helped prompt the league to move its tournament from member sites, often San Diego or Santa Clara, to Las Vegas last year. The tournament sold out, largely because so many Gonzaga fans escaped the cold of Spokane, and is sold out at the Orleans casino again this year.
Rival coaches have noticed that the Orleans was not exactly a neutral site last year.
``I saw a lot more blue and red than I wanted to,'' San Francisco coach Rex Walters joked.
Gonzaga's league success is somewhat counterintuitive. The WCC is made up of eight private colleges, with the others in San Diego, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and Portland, Ore.
Spokane is a remote, snowy outpost far from the glamour of the West Coast's major metros. Yet it is Gonzaga that recruits a steady stream of NBA prospects, and has had every one of its games televised and sold out for years.
Few said the secret is that Gonzaga recruits good players. The Zags have had nine of the past 10 WCC players of the year, starting with Casey Calvary in 2001 and including Dan Dickau, Blake Stepp, Ronny Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Derek Raivio and Jeremy Pargo. Matt Bouldin is the player of the year this season.
``What an amazing group of guys has come through here,'' Few said.
Every year there is buzz that some WCC team will dethrone the Zags. This year it was supposed to be Portland, which returned all its starters from a team that won 19 games a year ago. The Zags beat them twice.
Asked if he thought the young Zags might be vulnerable in the tournament this year, coach Eric Reveno said vulnerable would be an overstatement.
``I like their chances,'' Reveno said, drawing laughter.
