| 2015–16Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball | |
|---|---|
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen | |
| Conference | West Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 21 |
| Record | 28–8 (15–3 WCC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | McCarthey Athletic Center |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Mary's | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 29 | – | 6 | .829 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gonzaga † | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 28 | – | 8 | .778 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BYU | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 26 | – | 11 | .703 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola Marymount | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pacific* | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 8 | – | 20 | .286 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 9 | – | 21 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Conference tournament winner *ineligible for postseason due to self probation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team representedGonzaga University in the2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coachMark Few, who was in his 17th season as head coach. The team played its home games atMcCarthey Athletic Center, which had a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags) played in their 36th season as a member of theWest Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–8, 15–3 in WCC play to finish in a share for the WCC regular season championship. They defeatedPortland,BYU, andSaint Mary's to be champions of theWCC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to theNCAA tournament. As a #11 seed, they defeatedSeton Hall andUtah to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost toSyracuse. The final AP Poll is the most recent poll in which Gonzaga was unranked until2023–24, when they were unranked for 6 weeks.
The 2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs team were predicted to finish atop of the conference by the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.[1] The Zags finished in first place in theWest Coast Conference Standings for the 18th time with a 17–1 conference record after BYU defeated the Zags in the regular season finale, snapping the nation's longest active home winning streak of 41 games, as well as Gonzaga's school record 22-game winning streak.[2] The Bulldogs then went on to beatBYU in theWest Coast Conference tournament, and claimed their 14th WCC tournament title, along with punching their 18th ticket to the NCAA tournament.[3] Gonzaga entered the2015 NCAA tournament as a #2 seed in the South region, and dismantled #15 seed North Dakota State,[4] #7 seed Iowa,[5] and #11 seed UCLA,[6] to gain its second trip to the Elite Eight, as well as Mark Few's first as head coach. The Zags then fell to #1 seed (and eventual national champion) Duke, and finished the season with a 35–3 record, which were the most wins in school history.[7]
| Name | Position | Year at Gonzaga | Alma Mater (year) | Previous Job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Wojcik | Special Assistant to the Head Coach | 1st | Navy (1987) | Head coach atCollege of Charleston |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Bell Jr. | 5 | G | 6'2" | 212 | Senior | Kent, WA | Graduated |
| Kevin Pangos | 4 | G | 6'2" | 182 | Senior | Newmarket, ON | Graduated |
| Byron Wesley | 22 | G | 6'4" | 206 | Senior | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Graduated |
| Angel Nunez | 2 | F | 6'8" | 202 | Junior (Redshirt) | Bronx, NY | Transferred toSouth Florida[8] |
| Connor Griffin | 14 | G | 6'4" | 214 | Sophomore | Lake Oswego, OR | Transferred toWashington (Football)[9] |
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Years Remaining | Date Eligible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Williams-Goss | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Happy Valley, OR | Washington | 2 | Oct. 1, 2016[10] |
| Johnathan Williams | F | 6'9" | 228 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Missouri | 2 | Oct. 1, 2016[11] |
| Jeremy Jones | F | 6'6" | 203 | Sophomore | San Antonio, TX | Rice | 3 | Oct. 1, 2016[12] |
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesse Wade[13] PG | Kaysville, UT | Davis | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 4, 2013 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Jack Beach[14] SG | San Diego, CA | Torrey Pines | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jan 1, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (N/A) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: #110 ESPN: N/A | ||||||
Sources:
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| College recruiting information (2016) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
| Zach Collins[15] C | Las Vegas,NV | Bishop Gorman | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Mar 16, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Killian Tillie[16] F | Antibes,France | INSEP | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 29, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Zach Norvell Jr.[17] G | Chicago,IL | Simeon | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 2, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Jacob Larsen[18] C | Holte,Denmark | Falkonergårdens Gymnasium SISU Copenhagen | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Nov 12, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Rui Hachimura[19] F | Sendai,Japan | Meisei | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 20, 2015 | |
| Recruit ratings:Scout: | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: #14 Rivals: #13 247Sports: #10 ESPN: #21 | ||||||
Sources:
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| 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name | Position | Year at Gonzaga | Alma Mater (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Few | Head coach | 17th | Oregon (1987) |
| Tommy Lloyd | Associate Head Coach | 15th | Whitman (1998) |
| Donny Daniels | Assistant coach | 6th | Cal State Fullerton (1976) |
| Brian Michaelson | Assistant coach | 3rd | Gonzaga (2005) |
| Doug Wojcik | Special Assistant to the Head Coach | 1st | Navy (1987) |
| John Jakus | Director of Basketball Operations | 2nd | Trinity International (1999) |
| Mike Hart | Video Coordinator | 2nd | Gonzaga (2012) |
| Riccardo Fois | Director of Analytics | 2nd | Pepperdine (2009) |
| Jennifer Nyland | Athletic Trainer | 17th | Washington State (1998) |
| Travis Knight | Strength & Conditioning Coach | 10th | Gonzaga (2000) |
| Poll | Pre[25] | Wk 2[26] | Wk 3[27] | Wk 4[28] | Wk 5[29] | Wk 6[30] | Wk 7[31] | Wk 8[32] | Wk 9[33] | Wk 10[34] | Wk 11[35] | Wk 12[36] | Wk 13[37] | Wk 14[38] | Wk 15[39] | Wk 16[40] | Wk 17[41] | Wk 18[42] | Wk 19[43] | Final[44] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | N/A* | |||||
| Coaches | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 21 |
Gonzaga's non-conference schedule[45] included home games against Arizona, UCLA, Montana, Northern Arizona, Mount St. Mary's, and Saint Martin's. Gonzaga played true road games at SMU and Washington State, and also faced off with Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Classic in Okinawa, Japan. The Zags were invited to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they played against three of the following in the Bahamas: Syracuse, UConn, Texas, Michigan, Texas A&M, Washington, and Charlotte.[46] Gonzaga also played Tennessee in the 13th annual Battle in Seattle at KeyArena. Gonzaga played 18 conference games (home-and-home) during the season.[47] Gonzaga will be featured on the ESPN networks at least 14 times in 2015–16. The WCC Tournament will feature 5 games televised on the ESPN networks.[48][49]
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| Oct 31* | No. 9 | vs. No. 22 Baylor Secret Scrimmage | L – | – | – | – | – | Zions Bank Basketball Center Salt Lake City, UT | |||
| Nov 7* 5:00 pm, KHQ | No. 9 | Eastern Oregon | W 90–58 | – | 33 – Wiltjer | 14 – Wiltjer | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| Nov 13* 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | vs. Pittsburgh Armed Forces Classic | Cancelled[n 1] | Butler Marine Base Okinawa, JP | |||||||
| Nov 18* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 10 | Northern Arizona | W 91–52 | 1–0 | 26 – Sabonis | 9 – Karnowski | 6 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Nov 21* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 10 | Mount St. Mary's Battle 4 Atlantis opening round | W 101–56 | 2–0 | 15 – Melson, Sabonis | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Nov 25* 9:00 am, ESPN2 | No. 10 | vs. Washington Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | W 80–64 | 3–0 | 24 – Wiltjer | 11 – Dranginis, Wiltjer | 3 – McClellan | Imperial Arena (1,374) Nassau, BS | |||
| Nov 26* 10:00 am, ESPN | No. 10 | vs. No. 25 Texas A&M Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals | L 61–62 | 3–1 | 18 – Wiltjer | 7 – Wiltjer | 5 – Dranginis | Imperial Arena (1,331) Nassau, BS | |||
| Nov 27* 9:00 am, ESPN | No. 10 | vs. No. 18 UConn Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game | W 73–70 | 4–1 | 17 – Wiltjer | 9 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | Imperial Arena (2,122) Nassau, BS | |||
| Dec 2* 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 13 | at Washington State | W 69–60 | 5–1 | 22 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 4 – Dranginis | Beasley Coliseum (8,209) Pullman, WA | |||
| Dec 5* 12:15 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | No. 19 Arizona | L 63–68 | 5–2 | 33 – Wiltjer | 16 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Dec 8* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 20 | Montana | W 61–58 | 6–2 | 16 – Sabonis, Wiltjer | 10 – Sabonis | 3 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Dec 12* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | UCLA | L 66–71 | 6–3 | 20 – Wiltjer | 8 – Sabonis, Wiltjer | 4 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Dec 14* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | Saint Martin's | W 86–50 | 7–3 | 21 – Sabonis | 12 – Sabonis | 8 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Dec 19* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Tennessee Battle in Seattle | W 86–79 | 8–3 | 36 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis | KeyArena (16,770) Seattle, WA | ||||
| WCC Regular Season | |||||||||||
| Dec 21 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | Pepperdine | W 99–73 | 9–3 (1–0) | 23 – Sabonis | 11 – Wiltjer | 6 – Sabonis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Dec 23 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | Loyola Marymount | W 85–62 | 10–3 (2–0) | 26 – Wiltjer | 13 – Sabonis | 7 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Dec 31 2:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | at Santa Clara | W 79–77 | 11–3 (3–0) | 26 – Perkins | 7 – Wiltjer | 4 – Perkins | Leavey Center (3,121) Santa Clara, CA | ||||
| Jan 2 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | at San Francisco | W 102–94 OT | 12–3 (4–0) | 35 – Sabonis | 14 – Sabonis | 4 – Sabonis | War Memorial Gymnasium (3,253) San Francisco, CA | ||||
| Jan 9 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | Portland | W 85–74 | 13–3 (5–0) | 32 – Wiltjer | 17 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Jan 14 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | BYU Rivalry | L 68–69 | 13–4 (5–1) | 35 – Wiltjer | 10 – Wiltjer | 7 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Jan 16 5:00 pm, KAYU/RTNW | No. 25 | San Diego | W 88–52 | 14–4 (6–1) | 25 – Wiltjer | 15 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | |||
| Jan 21 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 67–70 | 14–5 (6–2) | 23 – McClellan | 13 – Sabonis | 7 – Sabonis | McKeon Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA | ||||
| Jan 23 1:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW/TWCSN | at Pacific | W 71–61 | 15–5 (7–2) | 23 – Wiltjer | 20 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | Alex G. Spanos Center (4,309) Stockton, CA | ||||
| Jan 28 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | Santa Clara | W 84–67 | 16–5 (8–2) | 35 – Wilter | 17 – Sabonis | 4 – McClellan | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Jan 30 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | San Francisco | W 86–48 | 17–5 (9–2) | 15 – Melson, Sabonis, Wiltjer | 10 – Dranginis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Feb 4 7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | at Loyola Marymount | W 92–63 | 18–5 (10–2) | 23 – Wiltjer | 11 – Sabonis | 7 – Dranginis | Gersten Pavilion (3,422) Los Angeles, CA | ||||
| Feb 6 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Pepperdine | W 69–66 | 19–5 (11–2) | 20 – Sabonis | 11 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis, Perkins | Firestone Fieldhouse (3,210) Malibu, CA | ||||
| Feb 11 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at Portland | W 92–66 | 20–5 (12–2) | 21 – Wiltjer | 11 – Sabonis | 9 – Perkins | Chiles Center (4,852) Portland, OR | ||||
| Feb 13* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | at No. 16 SMU | L 60–69 | 20–6 | 20 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | Moody Coliseum (7,249) Dallas, TX | ||||
| Feb 18 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | Pacific | W 90–68 | 21–6 (13–2) | 26 – Wiltjer | 10 – Sabonis | 6 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Feb 20 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 58–63 | 21–7 (13–3) | 21 – Perkins | 13 – Sabonis | 3 – McClellan | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA | ||||
| Feb 25 7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | at San Diego | W 82–60 | 22–7 (14–3) | 18 – Melson | 17 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis, McClellan | Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,076) San Diego, CA | ||||
| Feb 27 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | at BYU Rivalry | W 71–68 | 23–7 (15–3) | 21 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Marriott Center (18,987) Provo, UT | ||||
| WCC Tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 5 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (7) Portland Quarterfinals | W 92–67 | 24–7 | 26 – McClellan | 8 – Dranginis, Wiltjer | 5 – Dranginis | Orleans Arena (7,209) Las Vegas, NV | |||
| Mar 7 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) BYU Semifinals/Rivalry | W 88–84 | 25–7 | 29 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Orleans Arena (8,362) Las Vegas, NV | |||
| Mar 8 6:00 pm, ESPN | (2) | vs. (1) Saint Mary's Championship/Rivalry | W 85–75 | 26–7 | 20 – McClellan | 8 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Orleans Arena (7,418) Las Vegas, NV | |||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| Mar 17* 6:57 pm, truTV | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) No. 20 Seton Hall First Round | W 68–52 | 27–7 | 21 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | Pepsi Center (19,500) Denver, CO | |||
| Mar 19* 5:40 pm, TNT | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Utah Second Round | W 82–59 | 28–7 | 22 – McClellan | 10 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis, McClellan, Sabonis, Wiltjer | Pepsi Center (19,551) Denver, CO | |||
| Mar 25* 6:40 pm, CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Syracuse Sweet Sixteen | L 60–63 | 28–8 | 23 – Wiltjer | 17 – Sabonis | 6 – Perkins | United Center (21,490) Chicago, IL | |||
*Non-conference game.#Rankings fromAP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are inPacific Time. | |||||||||||