Category: Gonzaga Bulldogs

Gonzaga’s win at San Francisco protected 25 year streak of making NCAA Tournament

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs likely stamped an at-large bid in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a win over San Francisco on Thursday.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs entered the final week of February and the start of March in unfamiliar territory: on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

They knew they needed at least one win in the final week of the WCC regular season, but road games against San Francisco and St. Mary’s looked daunting.

So far, so good for the Zags however, as Mark Few’s team took their first lead of the game with under a minute to go in the first half and never once looked back – destroying the Dons in the first seven minutes of the second half and coasting to an 18 point victory.

Graham Ike was outstanding, potentially locking up the WCC Player of the Year award by posting 26 points on 9-12 shooting, along with seven rebounds and two blocks and a perfect 8-8 performance at the free throw line.

Gonzaga moves to 23-6 overall and 13-2 in WCC play, cementing themselves as the No. 2 seed heading into the conference tournament which gives them a double-bye. They are now 2-5 in Quad 1 games, a still unremarkable record but one that comes with being No. 19 in the NET and No. 17 at KenPom.

With only one regular season game remaining, on the road against the No. 17 ranked Gaels of St. Mary’s, the Zags have positioned themselves to earn a bid in the Big Dance regardless of how things play out on Saturday and next week in Vegas.

Of course, Gonzaga would like nothing more than to avenge a two point loss at home and spoil St. Mary’s perfect regular season record – and a win in Moraga gives the Zags even more wiggle room and could lead them to as high as a six or seven seed if they win out and take the WCC autobid.

Gonzaga has not missed the NCAA Tournament since 1998, the third longest current streak, and Thursday’s second half against the Dons likely insured that streak won’t end in 2024.

Ben Gregg lifts Gonzaga over Pilots in homecoming for Portland native

Gonzaga forward Ben Gregg had a huge first half to lead the Bulldogs over the Portland Pilots in college basketball Thursday night action.

Growing up a Gonzaga fan while living in the Portland area, Ben Gregg was already plenty familiar with the Chiles Center from his many trips to see the Zags play the Pilots when he was a kid.

Now the junior forward is making his presence felt on the floor, instead of on the sidelines, after dropping 13 points and four rebounds – most coming in the first half – in an 86-65 win for Gonzaga on Thursday evening.

It is the fifth straight win for the Zags and gives them a 21-6 record ahead of a huge trio of remaining conference games: first at home against Santa Clara on Saturday followed by a Bay Area road trip to face San Francisco at the Chase Center and then a huge game in Moraga against the St. Mary’s Gaels, the nation’s only undefeated team in conference play.

Gonzaga got off to a pedestrian start this season, with a trio of new starters including freshman Dusty Stromer, who filled in when presumed starter Steele Venters tore his ACL just two days before the team’s opener.

However, Mark Few’s club has gotten back on track in large part because of Gregg, who replaced Stromer in the starting lineup on January 18 – a stretch in which the team’s offensive efficiency and rebounding dramatically improved.

Gregg is averaging 10.1 points and 6.9 rebounds since entering the starting lineup, and Thursday was just another example of how impactful he is – now that he’s the one on the court wearing the uniform, instead of sitting in the crowd.

Gonzaga picks up much needed victory over Kentucky at Rupp Arena

The Gonzaga Bulldogs picked up a much needed Quad 1 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs came into Saturday’s road tilt against the Kentucky Wildcats in dire need of a marquee victory – and for first time all season long they got it done.

Mark Few’s team picked up their first Quad 1 win of the year, 89-85, over John Calipari’s team at Rupp Arena thanks to a monster night from the frontcourt, led by 23 points and five rebounds from Graham Ike.

Gonzaga is in a rare spot where they are not the favorite to win the WCC Championship and – if they don’t – might not have the resume to secure an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. If that were to happen, it would end a streak that dates back to 1998, one year before Few took over as head coach.

The decision to schedule this premier non-conference game in February paid off in a massive way for the Zags, as it gave them a huge momentum building victory and memorable performance a month before the Selection Sunday committee makes their decision.

The story is not as happy for Kentucky, who have now lost three of their last four games. They struggled on both ends of the floor in the first half, getting into a 12 point hole and never fully recovering – despite an insane effort from freshman guard Reed Sheppard, who had 21 points in the second half and kept the ‘Cats in this one until the final buzzer.

Gonzaga (18-6) now has five days off until they take on LMU on Thursday, February 15, while Kentucky hosts Ole Miss on Tuesday at 9:00 PM ET on ESPN.

Why Gonzaga’s Anton Watson should be on 2024 NBA draft radar

Anton Watson’s size and defensive instincts make him an NBA draft prospect, and improved outside shooting should get the Gonzaga star selected.

It is incredibly rare for fifth year seniors to get selected in the NBA draft. The NBA values youth and upside above all else, and 23-year-olds who weren’t good enough to get drafted early in their college career rarely move the needle later on.

But the 2024 draft class is considered historically weak, which could lead to more teams prioritizing adding role players who can instantly contribute, rather than taking a shot on younger players who may have more upside but who aren’t performing well in college or overseas.

That leads us to Gonzaga’s 6’8 forward Anton Watson, a fifth-year senior from Spokane who has gone from a sub-20 minute per game role player to the leading scorer on a top-15 team in the country this season.

Watson is currently averaging 14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 57.3% on two pointers and 42.9% from beyond the arc. He turned a lot of heads with a 32 point outburst against the UCLA Bruins in the Maui Invitational, and he paced the Zags with 20 points in a loss to the UConn Huskies in mid-December.

Watson is among the best on-ball defensive players in the country, with incredibly active hands, good body control, upper body strength, and athleticism which has resulted in 179 career steals – second in Gonzaga basketball history only behind Hall of Fame guard John Stockton.

His frame and defensive instincts have had him on the NBA radar since he was a freshman back in 2019-20, but his lack of consistent offense has always held him back – particularly his struggles to shoot from distance.

The modern NBA requires you to be able to space the floor and knock down threes, which is why even elite college players like Oscar Tshiebwe, Kofi Cockburn, Adama Sanogo, and Watson’s former teammate Drew Timme haven’t been able to make it.

However, Watson has made massive strides in this area, going from 11.1% as a freshman, 15% as a sophomore, 22.7% as a junior, 33.3% as a senior to his current 42.9% mark – while his attempts per game has increased in each season as well.

A 6’8 forward who can defend 2-5 and at least capably knock down open threes absolutely has a spot as a 3-and-D role playing wing in the modern NBA, and in a draft class without a lot of obvious long term NBA talent it should absolutely be on the minds of scouts and general managers to consider Watson with a second round pick.

He’ll be 27 by the time his rookie contract is up, but a contending team picking in the second round would be wise to lock him up as a rotational bench piece – rather than gambling on an underperforming underclassmen or an unproven international player.