Gonzaga notches 21st straight 20-win season with victory over San Diego

Some things never change.

With a 69-59 win over San Diego on Thursday, Gonzaga checked off another item from the to-do list this year.

The 20th win marked the Bulldogs’ 21st straight season with as many victories.

“Twenty win seasons,” Gonzaga coach Few said. “In college basketball, they’re an anomaly.”

The streak is currently tied with Duke for the second longest in the country. The Blue Devils (19-3) have a chance to extend their streak to 22 seasons on Saturday against St. John’s.

Kansas (18-4) currently holds the longest run with 28 consecutive seasons.

Few smiled at his team’s accomplishment shortly after the victory against the Toreros, though his excitement was short-lived.

“Does that mean we’re satisfied, happy, content? No,” he said. “But it’s still an accomplishment. With the schedule we’ve played and the people we’ve lost – obviously everybody knows that from last year – this group has represented themselves well.”

Few stepped in as head coach for Dan Monson in the 1998-1999 season, a year after Gonzaga (20-4) notched its first 20-win season of the run. It’s certainly an anomaly at Gonzaga, considering that before their current streak began in the 1997-1998 season, the Zags had only eight such seasons in the 90 years prior.

Gonzaga is eyeing one more streak this year – an 11th-straight season with at least 25 victories. The Bulldogs could check that off the list before they head into postseason with five more wins in their remaining seven West Coast Conference games.