Former Gonzaga star Dickau: Zags can make deep run in South region

Trips to the NCAA Tournament are nothing new for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, and neither are the high seeds they’ve been receiving in recent years.

The Zags, who open the tournament Friday against North Dakota State in Seattle, are a No. 2 seed in this year’s edition of March Madness, marking the second time they’ve been a second seed, the third time they’ve been seeded No. 2 or higher, and the sixth time they’ve been seeded at least as high as a No. 4. But even with those accolades the Bulldogs haven’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2009, nor have they been back to the Elite Eight since the 10th-seeded 1999 squad began the 17-year run by upsetting its way to the quarterfinal round.

It’s been a history of success and disappointment for Gonzaga, taking high hopes into March only to see them dashed earlier than expected almost on a yearly basis.

Dan Dickau, one of the greatest players in the program’s history, knows that dichotomy personally. He was a member of the 12th-seeded 2001 team that reached the Sweet 16, but he also was part of the No. 6 seed team that was knocked out in the first round by Wyoming the next year.

Dickau has seen Gonzaga’s reputation grow as they’ve been regarded both as a national power but also as a team that never quite gets it done in March. Now a Pac-12 Network broadcaster and radio host in Spokane, Dickau has thoughts on the perception of the Zags as well as their chances to break through some ceilings in the coming weeks, which he shared with 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Justin and Gee” on Tuesday.

“So many people are hung up on the fact that, ‘OK, Gonzaga’s been so good for so long – where’s their next Elite Eight run? Where is the Final Four appearance?’ And, granted, they haven’t had one,” he said. “That is something that the average fan doesn’t realize just how difficult it is to, 1, get to the NCAA Tournament, 2, win a game in the NCAA Tournament, and then 3, advance deep, which is what people want to see.”

Gonzaga fans certainly want to see the Bulldogs finally pull off a run into the later rounds of the tournament, and Dickau believes coach Mark Few has the roster and the path to make it happen in the coming weeks.

“I think it’s the best looking bracket I’ve ever seen for Gonzaga to make a deep tournament run,” he said of the South Region, which poses potential third round and Sweet 16 matchups of No. 7 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed Iowa State for the Zags. “After a lull towards the end of the regular season in the WCC, they really turned it around in the West Coast Conference Tournament and I think they’re looking really good right now.”

A big reason why Gonzaga is playing so well, not just in recent weeks but for the entire season, is the balance throughout the offense. Not only is there the usual experience and skill in the backcourt from Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell and Byron Wesley, but there’s also a trio of players in the post – leading scorer Kyle Wiltjer, burly 7-footer Przemek Karnowski and sixth man Damontas Sabonis – that have helped make the Zags even more dangerous than in past seasons.

“Wiltjer, he can just score it every which way. He kinda scores it around you on the block, as opposed to Karnowski, who scores over you,” Dickau said. “And then Sabonis, he just has a motor that doesn’t stop for a big guy, and he scores through you on the post. So really Gonzaga has three different looks in the post, and they all come at you in different ways, so they’re extremely difficult to prepare for.”