In 2021, I had an urgent message for Slate readers ahead of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament: The Gonzaga Bulldogs were on the verge of becoming the best team ever. It did not work out, as Gonzaga fell to Baylor in the national championship game. In 2022, I was undeterred. “Just pick Gonzaga,” I urged. “Their time has come. And if it has not, I will rewrite this argument every March until it does.” Once again their time did not come. Gonzaga lost even earlier, in the Sweet 16. In 2023, I stayed strong. The headline read, “Just Pick Gonzaga Again. No, Really!” The Bulldogs were peaking at the right time and seemed as good a bet as anybody, but they fell to eventual champion Connecticut in the Elite Eight.
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