Gonzaga's easy run won't matter as long as it wins the title

The knock on Gonzaga throughout Mark Few's run with the program has been that it isn't battle-tested due to the poor quality of the West Coast Conference.

Other than Saint Mary's, Gonzaga plays largely inferior opponents throughout the conference schedule, prompting criticism from all over the country, including ESPN analyst Bill Walton.

This year's Gonzaga team laid waste to the entire conference, winning every single game by double digits until suffering an improbable loss to BYU at home to close out the regular season.

The Bulldogs grabbed one of the four No. 1 seeds in the tournament, and began their quest to make the first Final Four appearance in school history and finally gain respect nationwide.

Despite the fact the Bulldogs are heading to Phoenix as one of the final quartet of teams left standing, questions about their competition remain, thanks to arguably the most favorable draw in the tournament.

Here's how Gonzaga got there:

Round one - (16) South Dakota State

A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed before, and Gonzaga ensured it wouldn't be the first as the Bulldogs hammered South Dakota State by 20 points in the opening game. The contest began slowly for Mark Few's program, as it only led by four points at half, but ultimately pulled away to down the 18-17 Jackrabbits with ease.

Round two - (9) Northwestern

Northwestern made its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in this year's event, and escaped with an opening-round win over Vanderbilt thanks to a mind-blowing foul by the Commodores in the final moments. The Bulldogs blew the doors off the Wildcats in the first half, taking an 18-point lead to the locker room, but allowed Northwestern to get back in the game with a 12-point advantage in the second half. Nevertheless, Gonzaga pulled out the 79-73 win and moved on to the Sweet 16.

Round three - (4) West Virginia

Round three saw Gonzaga face its only top-25 opponent in the draw from Ken Pomeroy's rankings - his seventh-best West Virginia. As most teams do against the pressing defense of Bob Huggins' program, the Bulldogs struggled with the Mountaineers, but held firm and escaped with a three-point win. Much is made of the Bulldogs' potent offense, but it was the defense that got the win over West Virginia, holding their opponent to a paltry 26-percent shooting from the field.

Round four - (11) Xavier

Entering play at this year's tournament, a No. 11 seed had only made the Elite Eight six times in history. Xavier became the seventh with an incredible run through No. 6 Maryland, No. 3 Florida State, and No. 2 Arizona. The Musketeers ran out of gas against Gonzaga and got hammered by 24 points in a dominant showing from the Bulldogs.

So to recap, Gonzaga will have played a No. 16 seed, a No. 9 seed making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, a No. 4 seed, a No. 11 seed that lost six of its last seven regular-season games, and either No. 7 South Carolina or No. 4 Florida should the Bulldogs make the championship game.

The other side of the bracket boasts No. 1s North Carolina and Kansas, No. 2 Kentucky, and No. 3 Oregon. Gonzaga's run to the Final Four is going to be significantly easier than any of those four teams.

The best thing for Gonzaga? History doesn't give a damn how you win the championship, just that you got the job done. Two more wins and that's exactly the case for the Bulldogs.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)