Tim Benz: In a strange way, a near defeat may actually heighten Gonzaga's legacy

That Gonzaga-UCLA Final Four game Saturday was the sporting event this country needed.

I mean, when was the last time everybody in America on Twitter agreed that something was good? Well, aside from FS1’s Skip Bayless.

Generally speaking, though, if he doesn’t like something that’s all the more proof of how great it was.

The quality of play throughout. The 14-point underdog Bruins almost upsetting the unbeaten No.1 seed Bulldogs. The back-and-forth shot making and highlight defensive plays. And, of course, the overtime buzzer beater at the end from Jalen Suggs to win it for the Zags 93-90.

JALEN SUGGS. UNBELIEVABLE! ?@ZagMBB #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/QeEAjENYmG

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 4, 2021

The victory for Gonzaga was even bigger than how it may look on the surface. Obviously, it keeps their unbeaten season alive. And it keeps their NCAA title hopes in play.

But that victory was also a huge step toward the potential legacy of that team. Frankly, so was Baylor’s 79-58 blowout of Houston in the other national semifinal.

As we discussed in this space last week, even though Gonzaga may end this year 32-0 and as the first unbeaten champion since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, there will still be skeptics about whether coach Mark Few’s team deserves to be mentioned among the all-time greats in the history of college basketball.

They play in the mid-major West Coast Conference. Coronavirus cancelations have eliminated a few games off their total. And there’s a general belief that the Bulldogs roster isn’t caked with top-level NBA talent.

As I wrote on Friday, there are easy retorts that Few and others could’ve made on behalf of the Bulldogs long before that victory Saturday night. Many of which I believe. The FiveThirtyEight statistical site lent some credence to that argument later on Friday afternoon.

One case frequently made by those saying that Gonzaga should be included in the pantheon of all-time great teams is that they blow out their opposition so frequently. That close shave against UCLA was Gonzaga’s first game under a 10-point margin since an 87-82 win over West Virginia way back on Dec. 2.

That run included victories over nationally ranked competition from other conferences such as Iowa and Virginia. But those facts never seem to get in the way of detractors saying, “Gonzaga’s schedule wasn’t tough enough to consider them ‘truly’ great.”

In a way, I thought the best possible thing that could’ve happened to Gonzaga would’ve been to see Michigan beat UCLA in the Elite 8 and Baylor beat Houston in the opposite side of the Final Four. Thus, giving the Bulldogs two opposing No.1 seeds as final mountains to climb en route to an unbeaten championship.

Baylor did its job, throttling Houston in the Saturday opening act for the Gonzaga-UCLA drama. In doing so, with the contrast of Gonzaga’s troubles, Baylor looks like even stiffer competition than they otherwise would have.

There will be no “Rocky” underdog in the NCAA Final Monday night. It’ll be Apollo Creed versus Clubber Lang. Power versus power. The two best teams all season long squaring off versus one another. Strangely, this matchup — one of those canceled games from the regular season for Gonzaga — now helps their “pound for pound” argument even further because we haven’t seen this contest yet.

And the Zags also benefited from playing UCLA in the thrilling manner that they did, more than they would’ve beating Michigan 80-70.

Even though UCLA was an 11-seed and Michigan was a top Big Ten power all year, that ending couldn’t have gone any better for Gonzaga’s legacy. Every great team needs a game like that. Every great team needs to be tested and win in dramatic fashion. Every legendary squad must have a personifying, memorable, defining moment.

For the Zags, Suggs’ shot and that 15-round slugfest over UCLA was exactly that. We will always remember how Gonzaga was tested. We will also remember how they counterpunched in the face of adversity. And we’ll always remember the heart-stopping ending.

In an ironic twist, the team that was substantially better than everyone all season long may have helped stake its claim to being one of the best teams ever … by (finally) almost losing.

At least now, because of that game, the 2021 Bulldogs will truly be unforgettable, even if they lose to Baylor Monday night.

I don’t see that happening, though. Gonzaga seems destined for an undefeated season now more than ever. And that’s a fun story.

Regardless of what Skip may tell you.