Gonzaga basketball: 2019-2020 season review and 2020-2021 early preview

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 10: The Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Saint Mary's Gaels 84-66 to win the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 10, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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Killian Tillie #33, Corey Kispert #24 and Drew Timme #2 The Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga basketball was one of the top contenders to win the 2020 NCAA Tournament, thanks to an egalitarian approach and another great job by Mark Few.

The 2019-20 season has to be seen as one of the better coaching performances by Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few. Whereas last year’s team steamrolled to an Elite Eight appearance led by first-round NBA Draft picks Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke, this was a classic Few season, with a group of relatively unhyped pro prospects playing well on both ends by sharing the ball and committing to defense.

Gonzaga was once again the most efficient offense in the country by points per 100 possessions, and the first healthy season for Killian Tillie in three years helped buoy the team’s ball movement and balanced scoring attack. On the defensive end, after playing Clarke as a small-ball center in 2018-19, the Bulldogs turned to the bruising Filip Petrusev this year as the starter, and the team’s 33rd-ranked defense was even better when he was on the floor.

Another hallmark strength of Few’s teams is their ability to find and develop international talent, and this year’s team might have been the best example. From Petrusev and Tillie to starting wing Joel Ayayi, the Bulldogs leaned heavily on foreign-born players to lead them to a 31-2 record heading into tournament time. The Bulldogs were bound yet again for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney.

With much of the core talent outside of Tillie set to return in 2020-21, the Bulldogs’ dazzling performance this season will not go to waste, but instead set the stage for a new era.