After 18 straight years of NCAA tournament appearances, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
They punched their ticket to Glendale, Arizona, with an 83-59 victory over the Xavier Musketeers on Saturday, doing what no other team in program history could. Several alumni who played on those past teams took to Twitter after the game to acknowledge the accomplishment of their alma mater.
All three former Bulldogs currently playing in the NBA published messages on social media, including Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk. Just like this year's Gonzaga squad, Olynyk's 2012-13 Bulldogs entered the tournament as a No. 1 seed, but his squad lost in the round of 32 to the Wichita State Shockers.
So proud of my dudes! Final Four! History! Was only a matter of time, you guys done did it! #ZagUpOneTime! #Mood pic.twitter.com/iaIaAMqKfS
— Kelly Olynyk (@KellyOlynyk) March 26, 2017
Houston Rockets forward Kyle Wiltjer posted a photo with his girlfriend, Charday Hunt, and his former Gonzaga teammate and current Oklahoma City Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis opted to feature a photo of himself with the 2016-17 Bulldogs at Chesapeake Energy Arena when they were in Oklahoma City.
History is written!!! Couldn't be happier for the Zags and their first trip to the final four. See you guys in Phoenix @ZagMBB #ZagUp pic.twitter.com/CgiTdYDCGl
— Kyle Wiltjer (@kwiltj) March 26, 2017
Proud of my brothers for making history tonight!!! Heading to the Final Four baby ZagUp!!!!! #ZagFamily #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/bYjci1VZHC
— Domantas Sabonis (@Dsabonis11) March 26, 2017
Dan Dickau, Ronny Turiaf, Austin Daye, David Stockton and Elias Harris -- former NBA players who attended Gonzaga -- also shared their feelings about the historic victory for the school with an enrollment of just 7,572.
Landed in Phoenix of all places to find out @ZagMBB heading to first Final 4. Time to find a way back in a few days. Proud of these guys!!!
— Dan Dickau (@dandickau21) March 26, 2017
Proud of y'all... #ZagUp so glad game didn't make it to overtime now I can go to @sfdeltas opening soccer game #SFDeltas #Soccer
— Ronny Turiaf (@Ronny_Turiaf) March 26, 2017
Final 4 baby!!! @ZagMBB Next stop PHX!!!
— Austin Daye (@Adaye5) March 26, 2017
Huuuuuge congrats @ZagMBB ! I'm honored and proud to be a Zag. Y'all stay focused and keep up the good work ✊🏽 #FinalFour #ZAGUP #AllLove
— Elias Harris (@EliasJMHarris) March 26, 2017
There have only been 18 players from Gonzaga to ever play in the NBA.
The West Coast Conference champions will face either the Florida Gators or South Carolina Gamecocks next week, with a trip to the title game on the line.
-- Nick Ostiller