What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's loss to Purdue in 2024 NCAA Tournament

Bulldogs fell to the Boilermakers 80-68 on Friday in Detroit, Michigan

Mar 29, 2024; Detroit, MN, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few looks on in the first half / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

DETROIT - All Mark Few could do was tip his hat to the Purdue Boilermakers.

His Gonzaga Bulldogs fought valiantly throughout the first half of Friday's 80-68 loss to Zach Edey and Purdue, though things got out of hand against the 7-foot-4 All-American and his supporting cast down the stretch.

"We're disappointed in how this game turned out, but obviously -- I mean, as a head coach, just very, very, very proud of how these guys battled and fought through all the stuff that this season," Few said. "So tip your hats to Purdue."

Here's more of what Few said after the season-ending loss:

On Zach Edey's skillset:

"He's just an entity all to himself. But having drawn on the experience we had the first time playing him over in Hawaii, and that's why we felt like we played that game pretty even and just had a couple of silly turnovers, missed some shots down the stretch."

"Yeah, he's a load, and [the Boilermakers] did a great job. They made their 3s in the first half, which really got us attentive and kind of dialed in to take those away. Then they just time and time again went to him over and over again in the second half. It's either going to be a foul or, you know."

On the path Gonzaga took this season:

"Yeah, I just told them, hey, listen, I think the majority of teams in college basketball probably would have folded up there in January based on the expectations that we have in our program and what we were dealing with.

"But these guys, they doubled down, and they showed their real character and competed and then got even closer instead of pulling apart. I think they deserve a lot of credit for that, and I think they showed their true character during those times even though there's a lot of background noise circling around them."

On Anton Watson's career:

"To be honest with you, I'm so happy that we kind of delivered on everything we talked about when we first recruited him to come to Gonzaga. He's had just an awesome career."

"I told the team in the locker room, it feels like he's won 300 games at Gonzaga. I mean, that's what it feels like. I don't know what his winning percentage is, but the guy's been in National Championship games and Elite Eights and Sweet 16s and made huge shots and huge plays. He's been unbelievable. He broke presses and solved zones when we didn't know what the hell we were doing."

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