Gonzaga's Mark Few on 2023 Maui Invitational: 'This is far and away the best field I've ever seen'

Bulldogs tip-off the most-anticipated multi-team event of the season against No. 2 Purdue

Over the course of the last quarter-century, Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have been a part of some stacked multi-team events. But the 2023 Maui Invitational has shaped up to feature the most loaded field of teams the program has seen — five ranked teams, four of which are in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, with six of the eight participants having made the NCAA Tournament last March.

"This is far and away the best field I've ever seen," Mark Few said of the Maui Invitational.

The tournament could go down as one of the most memorable in program history based on each team's success in the 2023-24 season. No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Purdue are tied for the shortest odds of winning the National Championship at +1100 on FanDuel, with No. 4 Marquette (+1800) and No. 7 Tennessee (+2000) not far behind. Gonzaga, the lowest-ranked AP Top 25 team in the field, will have its work cut out from Nov. 20-22 if it is to win the program's third Maui Invitational title.

But it's certainly not the first time the Zags have been featured in a loaded mid-season tournament bracket. Here's a look back at the five toughest multi-team events (with eight or more teams) Gonzaga has been a part of, in chronological order.

Honorable mentions: 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis, 2018 Maui Invitational, 2002 Maui Invitational, 2001 Great Alaska Shootout

2022 PHIL KNIGHT LEGACY TOURNAMENT 

The field: No. 24 Purdue (winner), No. 8 Duke (runner-up), No. 6 Gonzaga, Oregon State, Xavier, Florida, West Virginia, Portland State

Last season's Phil Knight Legacy tournament in Portland, Oregon, was sneakily one of the best multi-team events from a talent perspective. Five of the eight teams went on to the NCAA Tournament and ranked inside the top 20 on KenPom (No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Gonzaga, No. 15 Xavier, No. 18 Duke and No. 19 West Virginia), making the tournament arguably the deepest of any on this list. Many expected a Bulldogs-Blue Devils showdown in the final heading into the event, but the Boilermakers had other plans.

The Moda Center became Zach Edey's breakout stage as he guided Purdue to the tournament championship over Duke. The 7-foot-3 center averaged 22.7 points and 10.3 rebounds and shot 58.5% from the field. The Zags had no answer for Edey in the second round, as he finished with 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field in the 84-66 blowout win.

The loss to Purdue sent Gonzaga to the third-place game, where Julian Strawther's 23 points led the Bulldogs to a come-from-behind victory over Xavier.

2017 PHIL KNIGHT INVITATIONAL 

The field: No. 1 Duke (winner), No. 7 Florida (runner-up), No. 17 Gonzaga, Texas, Stanford, Ohio State, Butler, Portland State

The first iteration of the Phil Knight Invitational saw a loaded eight-team field with six future NCAA Tournament teams competing in Portland, with No. 1 Duke having the deepest run to the Elite Eight. Three of the participating teams entered the event ranked in the AP Top 25, while four finished the season in the top 20 of KenPom.

Needless to say, it was another tough time for the Bulldogs, who took home third place in the event following a memorable double-overtime loss to No. 7 Florida in the second round. Jalen Hudson dropped 35 points for the Gators in the top-25 showdown, while the Bulldogs' Jonathan Williams had a career-high 39 points and 12 rebounds. Both coaches said the game had a Sweet 16/Elite Eight feel to it, but it was Gonzaga who actually got to experience the Sweet 16 later that season while Florida fell in the second round as a No. 6 seed.

Williams made the Phil Knight Invitational all-tournament team, alongside the Gators' trio of Hudson, Chris Chiozza and KeVaughn, as well as Duke's Marvin Bagley III.

2010 COLLEGE BASKETBALL EXPERIENCE CLASSIC

The field: No. 1 Duke (winner), No. 4 Kansas State (runner-up), No. 22 Gonzaga, No. 25 San Diego State, Marquette, Princeton, Bucknell, James Madison, Presbyterian, IUPUI, Green Bay, Miami (OH)

Gonzaga's fourth-place finish shouldn't be looked down upon given the competition the 12-team field featured. Headlined by the reigning national champion Blue Devils, seven teams from the event made it to the NCAA Tournament later that March (Duke, Kansas State, Marquette, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Princeton and Bucknell). The Bulldogs had it rough against the Wildcats and Aztecs before squeezing out a narrow win over the Golden Eagles in the consolation round.

After handling IUPUI in the regional round in Spokane, the Bulldogs dropped just their fifth game in the McCarthey Athletic Center since it opened in 2004, as Kawhi Leonard and San Diego State hung on for a 3-point win despite Steven Gray's 35 points. Then it was off to Kansas City, Missouri, where the Zags shot a woeful 19-of-57 from the floor in a 17-point loss to Kansas State at the Sprint Center. 

Gonzaga snapped its two-game skid against Jimmy Butler's Golden Eagles, as Mark Few deployed a 2-3 zone after giving up 12 3-pointers to the Wildcats the day prior. The Bulldogs escaped with a 66-63 win as Butler's 3-point attempt at the horn missed the mark.

All in all, the event featured plenty of talent with two Sweet 16 teams and a strong 14-seed in Bucknell, which lost to the eventual champion UConn Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

2006 NIT TIP-OFF

The field: Butler (winner), Gonzaga (runner-up), No. 2 North Carolina, No. 25 Tennessee, Baylor, Colorado State, Rice, Belmont, Indiana, Notre Dame, Winthrop, Lafayette, Sacred Heart, Iona, UNC Wilmington, Fordham 

The 2006 NIT Tip-Off event didn't feature all of the big-name brands of the sport, but it was special in that the format had changed from previous iterations. The first two rounds were held at regional "common sites" rather than campuses to create a more NCAA Tournament-like atmosphere, with Spokane being among the four host cities.

It sure had a Cinderella feel for the Bulldogs, as Derek Raivio's 21 points were enough to pull off an upset against No. 2 North Carolina in Madison Square Garden. The Tar Heels never got within four points in the last four minutes despite an 18-5 run in the second half, as Gonzaga shut down All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who had just nine points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field. It was a monumental win in the first meeting between the two programs, setting up a matchup with Butler in the event's championship round.

Yet despite an eight-minute-long drought without a field goal, Butler held on for a 79-71 win in the final round. Gonzaga cut an 18-point lead down to six late in the second half, but Butler went 16-of-18 from the free-throw line over the last three minutes and change to ice it.

Overall, the NIT Tip-Off event had eight of its 16 participants advance to the NCAA Tournament later that season, with the Tar Heels going as far as the Elite Eight. Six teams finished top 50 in KenPom, three of which ranked in the top 20. 

2005 MAUI INVITATIONAL

The field: No. 3 UConn (winner), No. 20 Gonzaga (runner-up), No. 11 Arizona, No. 12 Michigan State, Kansas, Arkansas, Maryland, Chaminade

Arguably the most loaded tournament the Bulldogs have featured in, the 2005 Maui Invitational was an absolute gauntlet to go through. Six of the eight participants went to the NCAA Tournament, three of which earned a 4-seed or better and two advanced as far as the Sweet 16. That doesn't include the Terrapins, who earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT after just missing the NCAA Tournament cut.

Of course, the most memorable game of the event was the triple-overtime thriller between the Bulldogs and Spartans in the semifinal round. There were 13 lead changes over the final 7:30 and four in the last 1:10 of regulation. Gonzaga missed three shots in the last nine seconds of the first overtime and didn't get a clean look at the end of the second overtime. Finally, Adam Morrison sank two free throws, finishing with a program-record 43 points, to put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

Spartans freshman Goran Suton missed a layup in the final seconds, as Raivio made a pair of free throws on the other end to seal the deal.

That 55-minute long ordeal probably didn't serve Gonzaga well in the championship round against UConn, which came out on top with a 2-point win on the heels of a Denham Brown turnaround jumper in the final seconds. The final buzzer had originally gone off as Brown hit the shot, but officials put 1.1 back on the clock. It didn't matter though, as the Zags didn't get a clean look on their final possession.

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