'It's really, really, really hard': Gonzaga's NCAA Tournament run, often taken for granted, built on more than cluck

Mark Few's Gonzaga men’s basketball team has won 27 NCAA Tournament games in 27 straight years .

The Zags have reached the NCAA Sweet 16 for a record-tying ninth consecutive time.

Coach Mark Few used the term “desperation” to capture the urgency of their situation.

Few is a coach, at his core, but the job must increasingly force him to extend his executive function.

Gonzaga has been invited to the NCAA Tournament beyond the lifespan of every Zags player.

Few’s first year, 1989-90 , the Zags went 8-20 and were ranked 225th out of 292 Division I teams.

Few said it was common to schedule recruiting trips to same locations as coaching friends from more well-to-do schools so they could mooch a few hotel nights on their couches.

Gonzaga has won 44 NCAA Tournament games, trailing only John Calipari , Bill Self and Tom Izzo .

Few has won 27 consecutive NCAA berths, 16 consecutive (nation-leading) opening-round victories, nine consecutive Sweet 16s .

Few: "Nothing was ever gifted to the Gonzaga program. I wish everybody in college athletics would kind of understand that”.