SAN JOSE, Calif. — It could have been ephemeral. The Gonzaga phenomenon—now on the way to its first-ever Final Four—could have raged and faded in the span of two weeks of March 1999, as a No. 10 seed making its second-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. An upset of Minnesota, then No. 2 Stanford, then No. 5 Florida in the Sweet 16, with that classic Gus Johnson call after Casey Calvary's tip in with 4.4 seconds left: "Shannon from the cornerrrr … and it's over. Gonzaga! The slipper stillllll fits!" America's new darlings were knocked out two days later, their final, errant shot a driving, double-clutch layup by star guard Matt Santangelo in the face of UConn's front line in the Elite Eight.
The Breakthrough: Its Cinderella days long behind it, Gonzaga at last reaches Final Four
