With Mark Few on the cusp of 700 wins, a look at the Gonzaga coach’s other milestone victories

Gonzaga coach Mark Few is on the cusp of another career milestone, needing only one more victory to reach 700 in his career.

Few could get there on Thursday, when Gonzaga (11-5, 2-1) visits Pepperdine (9-10, 2-2) for a 6 p.m. tipoff at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.

With No. 700 on the horizon, we look back at Few’s other milestone wins, beginning with his first game as a head coach on Nov. 21, 1999.

1: Back when Gonzaga would entertain the idea of opening a season in Missoula, the 25th-ranked Bulldogs beat the Grizzlies to give Few his first career coaching win.

Gonzaga won despite four players fouling out, going on an 11-2 run in the second half to open up a decisive lead. Casey Calvary scored a team-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half.

“They at the time were the program in the Big Sky,” former GU assistant Bill Grier said. “I remember just us as a staff being really tight going over there because we were so worried about that game.”

100: Few hit triple digits in the win column during Gonzaga’s 21st straight West Coast Conference victory, an 82-71 victory in front of a sellout crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags led by only two points with 4 minutes, 49 seconds remaining when they went on a 12-0 scoring spurt to put the game away.

Ronny Turiaf scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds to help give Few his 100th win, making him just the sixth coach in NCAA history to reach that plateau in his fourth season.

200: Derek Raivio scored a game-high 25 points and Few picked up another career milestone during a 77-69 victory against Santa Clara at the Leavey Center. The Broncos nearly spoiled No. 200, erasing most of a 14-point deficit with less than five minutes remaining, but Santa Clara never got closer than 69-66.

“Wow, that’s impressive,” Zags senior Sean Mallon told the Associated Press when notified Few had won his 200th game. “That’s pretty impressive. We didn’t know it. He doesn’t talk about that stuff.”

300: There were a number of reasons to celebrate after Few picked up his 300th career win against Oklahoma State, 73-52, on New Year’s Eve in 2010. The Bulldogs dispatched the Cowboys at Spokane Arena, getting a season-high 22 points from Elias Harris, along with a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double from Rob Sacre, in a 73-52 victory.

Few tied former Bowling Green and Toledo coach Harold Anderson for sixth-fastest to 300 wins, reaching that marker in just 378 career games.

400: Unlike Nos. 100, 200 and 300, Few’s 400th win came with a side of drama, and at a pivotal point of the season. Facing Santa Clara in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 WCC Tournament, the Zags had possession with 10 seconds remaining after Broncos star Jared Brownridge hit a jumper to tie the game at 75-75. Gonzaga point guard David Stockton went coast to coast, laying the ball in with two seconds remaining to secure a 77-75 win and a spot in the WCC semifinals against Saint Mary’s.

With the tight victory, Few became the fifth fastest to 400 career coaching wins, getting there in 499 games.

500: Few was OK with his 500th win being a secondary storyline on March 18, 2017, the day Gonzaga clinched a Sweet 16 berth with a 79-73 victory over Northwestern in Salt Lake City. Trailing by 18 points at halftime, Northwestern went on a huge scoring run in the second half and had the deficit down to 63-58 when Wildcats coach Chris Collins was whistled for a technical foul. Nigel Willams-Goss stepped up and made both free throws and Gonzaga led by at least two possessions the rest of the way.

Williams-Goss was the Bulldogs’ leader in three statistical categories, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

600: Gonzaga’s coach was the recipient of an ice shower after the top-ranked Bulldogs dispatched No. 6 Kansas 102-90 in the season opener played in Fort Myers, Florida.

The Jayhawks tied the game on multiple occasions in the second half, but the Zags used a 22-7 run to open up a big lead and never looked back, winning the first of 31 straight games en route to an appearance in the national championship game.

The Bulldogs received at least 20 points from three different players, with Drew Timme scoring 25, Jalen Suggs contributing 24 and Corey Kispert adding 23.