Other than the loss to Michigan in the Players Era Championship game, Mark Few’s Gonzaga Bulldogs have been nearly flawless. The Zags are off to a 9–1 start, sitting comfortably at No. 8 in the country, and the confidence around the program is as high as ever. But the next test is a big one. UCLA awaits, and even with Gonzaga’s strong start, Mark Few isn’t taking the Bruins lightly.

“They did a nice job in the portal, adding some pieces and keeping the ones that they needed to keep. And you know, that’s a really nice-looking team. I think they lost a couple there, which might have been because they weren’t healthy at all the spots. I think they’re now healthy at all the spots. The last game I watched, they were healthy,” Mark Few said.

He continued,” You’re playing a Mick Cronin team, it’ll be really physical, extremely physical. I’m sure they’ll try to slow the game down, and you know, it’s just a fun game to play in. They challenge you in a lot of ways. Mick’s a great coach.”

There’s no denying Mick Cronin’s coaching credentials. Before joining UCLA at age 47, he already had more Division I wins than any active coach under 50 and had led Cincinnati to nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Then he arrived in Westwood and made an immediate impact, taking the Bruins on an unforgettable Final Four run in just his second season. It was the kind of moment that instantly won over a fanbase desperate to get back to national prominence.

But since that breakout run, things have trended downward for the Bruins. Cronin followed the Final Four appearance with two straight Sweet 16 trips, but UCLA then missed the NCAA Tournament entirely in their final Pac-12 season. Last season wasn’t much better, with the Bruins exiting in the Round of 32.

But they’ve made significant changes to their roster this season, just as Mark Few highlighted. Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic graduated, while Dominick Harris and Aday Mara transferred out. Even with those departures, Mick Cronin held on to three of his top four scorers from last year: Tyler Bilodeau, Eric Dailey Jr., and Skyy Clark.

He strengthened the roster with two major additions. The first was Xavier Booker, a former five-star recruit from the 2023 class. But the headline move was Donovan Dent, the explosive New Mexico guard who arrived from the portal after averaging 20.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Yes, the losses to Arizona and California knocked them out of the AP Top 25 after opening the season at No. 12, but injuries played a major role in that drop. In the loss to Cal, Dent suffered an apparent lower-leg injury and limped off the court, and his absence was a key factor in the Bruins coming up short. His shooting slump during that stretch also added to their struggles.

But, Mick Cronin and his Bruins bounced back last week with an 82–80 win at Washington in their Big Ten opener. The game was driven by guard Skyy Clark, forward Tyler Bilodeau, and point guard Donovan Dent, who put up 25, 21, and 17 points, respectively. The Bruins then returned to Pauley Pavilion on Saturday for their conference home opener and took down former Pac-12 rival Oregon, 74–63, a win that helped them climb back into the top-25 rankings.

With momentum now on UCLA’s side, Mark Few knows this won’t be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination. But the Zags aren’t pushovers either, and Few himself just hit a major milestone after their win against North Florida.

Mark Few Secures Career Win No. 750

The Bulldogs’ win over North Florida on Sunday at the McCarthey Athletic Center looked routine on the scoreboard, but it carried historic weight. It marked a massive milestone for Mark Few. The win was his 750th as a head coach, a feat only one other coach in men’s college basketball has ever reached: Kentucky legend Adolph Rupp. Few needed 904 games to get there, just two more than Rupp.

“It means I’ve been doing it a lot longer than I remember doing it, or feel like I’ve been doing it. Hey, it’s just been an awesome, awesome run with just awesome guys. Incredible players and incredible people around me and great support,” Few said when asked how he felt about his achievement.

One thing Gonzaga fans still haven’t experienced in these 904 games is a national championship. Mark Few has delivered two Final Four runs and reached the title game in both 2017 and 2021, but the Zags are still searching for that all-important win. Can he finally break the duck this season? He certainly has a team capable of making that push.

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Do you think the Zags can win the championship this year? Let us know in the comments below!