The coach of the latest team to land the No. 1 spot on top of the AP rankings is embracing college basketball's wild ride this year and thinks you should too.
Gonzaga's Mark Few has led the Bulldogs to a 13-1 overall record with wins over North Carolina, Washington, Arizona and Oregon with their lone loss coming against Michigan at the Battle4Atlantis tournament.
With the Zags being the sixth team to sit on top of the AP rankings in this still-young college basketball season, parity has become a huge talking point within the college basketball world.
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"I think everybody should just chill out on rankings right now and speculation on seeding because I think we are in for a wild ride," Mark Few told Andy Katz on the latest edition of the March Madness 365 podcast.
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A wild ride it has been, indeed. With six No. 1 teams and programs like North Carolina and Florida who were favorites to make the Final Four this year outside the top 25 looking in, this has been one of the more unpredictable college basketball seasons in recent memory.
Of course, when it comes to college basketball a "wild ride" is what the media and fans want out of the sport that is famous for its madness. Mark Few has also seemed to embrace the tumultuous nature of the 2019-2020 season so far, noting up to 50 teams that could compete for a Final Four spot.
"I think the other part that would be true [about this season] would be yeah, everybody has got a shot. There is probably 50 teams that have got a shot," Few said. "Last year, looking at us, looking at Duke and Virginia, you could pick out five or six and say 'okay those guys are gonna, you know.'"
Few knows that his team is also susceptible to this kind of parity as well. Although the Zags are No. 1 and about a week out from conference play, the West Coast Conference could pose several more threats than years previous.
Along with Gonzaga, three other teams in Saint Mary's, Santa Clara and BYU could compete for the West Coast Conference crown this year. The Gaels are led by a potential All-American in Jordan Ford, Santa Clara has been tearing it up early this season with a 12-2 record with wins over Washington State and Cal and BYU has their star Yoeli Childs back.
"I hope the general public across the country just doesn't do their 'well, Gonzaga is gonna win every game and blah blah blah.' I mean, these guys have way way way more experience back," Few said of Gonzaga's WCC opponents. "Yoeli Childs has been a handful for everybody in the league and he's a very very good player. Saint Mary's has their entire team back."
Few also went on to praise teams in the middle of the conference who he said have stepped up their game.
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"I would say the other part of our league, the middle part, has really raised itself up. Santa Clara is very experienced, has everybody back and playing very well, has legitimate bigs that are skilled and guards that can score.
"Pepperdine has got a ton of talent with the two of the Edwards brothers and Colbey Ross is a terrific point guard. And then Damon Stoudamire has had a great start at Pacific this year. I think it's much more competitive and I think wins are going to hard to come by," Few said.
Few's interview with Katz begins at about the 6:30 mark of the podcast and covers all of these topics and more. This week's edition of the March Madness 365 podcast also features an interview with FOX's Gus Johnson and columnist Pat Forde.
The March Madness 365 podcast is a weekly podcast covering all things college basketball. You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.
