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The Gonzaga Bulldogs have rarely been the underdog over the last few seasons, as they've cruised their way to a top seed in the NCAA Tournament during their run of eight consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

Many forget, though, getting to the second weekend in March consistently was started by a Gonzaga team that, much like this season's squad, faced a lot of adversity down the stretch of the regular season.

The 2015-16 Bulldogs were unranked for most of the season, lost three West Coast Conference games, including both matchups against Saint Mary's, dealt with injury bugs and were considered, at best, a bubble team by most prognosticators. Fortunes changed after Mark Few's team, led by Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis, won the WCC Tournament to capture the league's automatic bid, which put them as an 11-seed for the NCAA Tournament. They went on to beat Seton Hall and Utah to advance to the Sweet 16. 

Now, Few and the Bulldogs have once again embraced an underdog mentality in hopes of extending the program's streak of 24 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau broke down how the Bulldogs' new mentality played a role in their 89-85 win over Kentucky on a new episode of Gonzaga Nation.

Produced by Christian Pedersen.

This article first appeared on FanNation Gonzaga Nation and was syndicated with permission.

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