2017–18 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

2017–18 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
WCC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	West Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 8
Record	32–5 (17–1 WCC)
Head coach	Mark Few (19th season)
Assistant coaches	Tommy Lloyd (17th season) Donny Daniels (8th season) Brian Michaelson (5th season)
Home arena	McCarthey Athletic Center

2017–18 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 8 Gonzaga †	17	–	1		.944			32	–	5		.865
No. 25 Saint Mary's	16	–	2		.889			30	–	6		.833
BYU	11	–	7		.611			24	–	11		.686
San Diego	9	–	9		.500			20	–	14		.588
San Francisco	9	–	9		.500			22	–	17		.564
Pacific	9	–	9		.500			14	–	18		.438
Santa Clara	8	–	10		.444			11	–	20		.355
Loyola Marymount	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Portland	4	–	14		.222			10	–	22		.313
Pepperdine	2	–	16		.111			6	–	26		.188
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 19th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. This was the Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags) 38th season as a member of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 32–5, 17–1 in WCC play to win the WCC regular season championship. They defeated Loyola Marymount, San Francisco and BYU to become champions of the WCC tournament. They received the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated UNC Greensboro and Ohio State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Florida State.

The last weeks of the season were played against the backdrop of a potential Gonzaga move to the Mountain West Conference (MW), first publicly reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune on February 28, 2018. MW commissioner Craig Thompson told the newspaper that the league had discussed expansion with six schools, with Gonzaga the only school he specifically named. Thompson added that Gonzaga could potentially join as a full but non-football member as early as the 2018–19 school year. A later Union-Tribune report indicated that talks were advanced enough that the conference's presidents planned a vote on an invitation to Gonzaga during the MW men's and women's basketball tournaments in Las Vegas, but decided to delay the vote until after the Final Four. However, before the MW's planned vote, Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth notified both conferences that Gonzaga would remain in the WCC for the immediate future.

Previous season

Main article: 2016–17 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

The Bulldogs team finished the 2016–17 season 37–2, 17–1 in WCC play. The season was arguably the greatest season in Gonzaga's 109-year basketball history. The Bulldogs finished with a 32–1 regular season record and did not lose a game until February. They finished ranked second in the final AP Poll, the highest final national ranking in school history. They won both the WCC regular season and tournament championships. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and a received a No. 1 seed in the West region. They advanced to the first NCAA National Championship game in the school's history—the deepest run for a WCC team since San Francisco advanced to its third consecutive Final Four in 1957, and also the deepest run by any Division I school without a football team since Seton Hall made the championship game in 1989. With a victory over South Carolina in the national semifinal, the Bulldogs tied the NCAA Division I record for the second-most wins in a season. Their run ended in the NCAA National Championship game, where they lost to North Carolina.

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)	Reason for Departure
John Jakus	Director of Basketball Operations	3rd	Trinity International (1999)	Assistant coach at Baylor
Ken Bone	Special Assistant to the head coach	1st	Seattle Pacific (1982)	Associate head coach at Pepperdine

Additions to staff

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)	Previous Job
Stephen Gentry	Director of Basketball Operations	1st	Gonzaga (2006)	Director of player development at Oklahoma State

Player departures

Johnathan Williams had entered the NBA draft but did not hire an agent, giving him the option to return to Gonzaga. He withdrew from the draft on May 24, the last day he could have done so to retain NCAA eligibility.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Przemek Karnowski	24	C	7'1"	300	Senior (Redshirt)	Toruń, Poland	Graduated
Rem Bakamus	15	G	6'0"	173	Senior (Redshirt)	Longview, WA	Graduated
Jordan Mathews	4	G	6'4"	203	Senior	San Francisco, CA	Completed athletic eligibility; graduated from California in 2016
Nigel Williams-Goss	5	G	6'3"	195	Junior (Redshirt)	Happy Valley, OR	Graduated; declared for 2017 NBA draft; selected 55th overall by the Utah Jazz
Ryan Edwards	25	C	7'1"	295	Junior (Redshirt)	Kalispell, MT	Graduated; transferred to Portland State
Dustin Triano	55	G	6'3"	180	Junior (Redshirt)	Vancouver, BC	Graduated; transferred to Western Oregon
Bryan Alberts	10	G	6'5"	198	Sophomore (Redshirt)	Northridge, CA	Graduated; transferred to Long Beach State
Zach Collins	32	C	7'0"	230	Freshman	Las Vegas, NV	Declared for 2017 NBA draft; selected 10th overall by the Sacramento Kings

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Years Remaining	Date Eligible
Brandon Clarke	F	6'8"	210	Junior	Phoenix, AZ	San Jose State	2	Oct. 1, 2018
Alex Martin	G	6'5"	205	Sophomore (redshirt)	Overland Park, KS	Johnson County CC	3	Oct. 1, 2017

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Corey Kispert SF	Seattle, WA	King's HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 4, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Joël Ayayi PG	Bordeaux, France	INSEP	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Apr 27, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. "2017 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. "2017 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017. "2017 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017.

2017 returning missionaries

Jesse Wade graduated high school in 2015, but before enrolling in college at Gonzaga, he left for a 2-year LDS mission in Lyon, France, and will arrive on campus as a freshman in Fall 2017.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jesse Wade PG	Kaysville, UT	Davis	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Oct 4, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A  247Sports: #110  ESPN: N/A
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013.

Future recruits

Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Filip Petrušev PF	Belgrade, Serbia	Montverde Academy	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oct 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Greg Foster SG	Thiensville, WI	Ed W. Clark High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	Nov 8, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Gonzaga Commit List for 2018". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2017–18 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 3 Johnathan Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) RS Sr Southwind Missouri Memphis, TN G 0 Silas Melson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Jefferson Portland, OR G 20 Brian Pete (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Southridge Portland, OR F 22 Jeremy Jones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr East Central Rice San Antonio, TX G 13 Josh Perkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Huntington Prep Park Hill, CO F 15 Brandon Clarke (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Desert Vista San Jose State Phoenix, AZ G 2 Jack Beach (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Torrey Pines San Diego, CA G 5 Alex Martin (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Blue Valley Belmont Johnson County CC Overland Park, KS F 33 Killian Tillie 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So INSEP Cagnes-sur-Mer, France F 21 Rui Hachimura 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Meisei Toyama, Japan G 23 Zach Norvell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Simeon Chicago, IL C 14 Jacob Larsen 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 227 lb (103 kg) RS Fr Falkonergårdens Gymnasium SISU Copenhagen Holte, Denmark G 10 Jesse Wade 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Davis Kaysville, UT F 24 Corey Kispert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr King's Seattle, WA G 11 Joël Ayayi  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 169 lb (77 kg) Fr INSEP Bordeaux, France	Head coach Mark Few (Oregon) Assistant coach(es) Tommy Lloyd (Whitman) Donny Daniels (Cal State Fullerton) Brian Michaelson (Gonzaga) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 17, 2018

• Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Year at Gonzaga	Alma Mater (year)
Mark Few	Head coach	19th	Oregon (1987)
Tommy Lloyd	Associate head coach	17th	Whitman (1998)
Donny Daniels	Assistant coach	8th	Cal State Fullerton (1976)
Brian Michaelson	Assistant coach	5th	Gonzaga (2005)
Ken Nakagawa	Graduate Assistant	2nd	Long Beach State (2014)
Stephen Gentry	Director of Basketball Operations	1st	Gonzaga (2006)
Riccardo Fois	Director of Analytics	4th	Pepperdine (2009)
Josh Therrien	Athletic Trainer	2nd	Washington State (2007)
Travis Knight	Strength and Conditioning Coach	12th	Gonzaga (2000)

Schedule and results

Gonzaga's non-conference schedule includes matchups with Washington and San Diego State on the road. Gonzaga hosted Creighton, Texas Southern, and Incarnate Word at home. Gonzaga battled Villanova on a neutral court at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. The Zags were invited to play in the PK80: Phil Knight Invitational, where they played against Florida, Ohio State, and Texas. The Zags played in the single-elimination WCC Tournament, which took place in March 2018 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2017* 5:00 pm, KHQ	No. 18	College of Idaho	W 96–67		28 – Tillie	6 – 3 Tied	5 – Tied	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 18	Texas Southern	W 97–69	1–0	20 – Perkins	12 – Tillie	5 – Norvell	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Nov 14* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 17	Howard	W 106–69	2–0	18 – Norvell	9 – Tied	6 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Nov 18* 7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 17	Utah State PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Opening Round	W 79–66	3–0	20 – Tillie	9 – Tied	3 – Tied	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Nov 23* 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	vs. Ohio State PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket Quarterfinals	W 86–59	4–0	21 – Williams	11 – Tillie	4 – Tied	Veterans Memorial Coliseum (7,878) Portland, OR
Nov 24* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	vs. No. 7 Florida PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket Semifinals	L 105–111 2OT	4–1	39 – Williams	12 – Williams	7 – Perkins	Moda Center (14,274) Portland, OR
Nov 26* 10:00 am, ESPN	No. 17	vs. Texas PK80–Phil Knight Invitational Motion Bracket 3rd Place Game	W 76–71 OT	5–1	20 – Hachimura	9 – Hachimura	7 – Perkins	Moda Center (15,365) Portland, OR
Nov 29* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 15	Incarnate Word	W 103–68	6–1	18 – Hachimura	8 – Larsen	5 – Norvell	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 1* 7:15 pm, ESPN2	No. 15	No. 25 Creighton	W 91–74	7–1	22 – Tillie	8 – Tillie	4 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 5* 4:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	vs. No. 4 Villanova Jimmy V Classic	L 72–88	7–2	22 – Norvell Jr.	5 – Perkins	5 – Perkins	Madison Square Garden (17,532) New York, NY
Dec 10* 5:00 pm, P12N	No. 12	at Washington Rivalry	W 97–70	8–2	21 – Williams	12 – Williams	8 – Perkins	Alaska Airlines Arena (9,749) Seattle, WA
Dec 16* 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 12	North Dakota	W 89–83 OT	9–2	20 – Perkins	9 – Tillie	7 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 18* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 12	IUPUI	W 101–71	10–2	27 – Tillie	14 – Williams	6 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 21* 7:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 12	at San Diego State	L 70–72	10–3	22 – Norvell Jr.	15 – Williams	7 – Perkins	Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA
WCC Regular Season
Dec 28 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 20	Pacific	W 81–48	11–3 (1–0)	19 – Hachimura	6 – Kispert	5 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Dec 30 4:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 20	Santa Clara	W 101–52	12–3 (2–0)	19 – Melson	6 – Tied	8 – Tied	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Jan 4, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 19-t	at Pepperdine	W 89–59	13–3 (3–0)	22 – Tillie	8 – Tillie	5 – 3 Tied	Firestone Fieldhouse (2,930) Malibu, CA
Jan 6 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 19-t	at Loyola Marymount	W 85–66	14–3 (4–0)	30 – Williams	10 – Williams	10 – Perkins	Gersten Pavilion (2,782) Los Angeles, CA
Jan 11 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 15	Portland	W 103–57	15–3 (5–0)	23 – Melson	10 – Larsen	7 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Jan 13 6:30 pm, ESPNU	No. 15	at San Francisco	W 75–65	16–3 (6–0)	17 – Williams	9 – Williams	3 – Williams	War Memorial Gymnasium (4,022) San Francisco, CA
Jan 18 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 13	Saint Mary's Rivalry	L 71–74	16–4 (6–1)	23 – Hachimura	8 – Tillie	7 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Jan 20 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 13	at Santa Clara	W 75–60	17–4 (7–1)	17 – Perkins	8 – Williams	7 – Norvell Jr.	Leavey Center (5,011) Santa Clara, CA
Jan 25 8:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 15	at Portland	W 95–79	18–4 (8–1)	27 – Tillie	7 – Tied	6 – Melson	Chiles Center (4,557) Portland, OR
Jan 27 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 15	San Francisco	W 82–73	19–4 (9–1)	16 – Tied	8 – Tillie	4 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Feb 1 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW	No. 14	San Diego	W 69–59	20–4 (10–1)	14 – Williams	12 – Williams	2 – 3 Tied	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Feb 3 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 14	BYU Rivalry	W 68–60	21–4 (11–1)	15 – Hachimura	10 – Williams	7 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Feb 8 7:00 pm, SWX/RTNW	No. 12	at Pacific	W 71–61	22–4 (12–1)	21 – Tillie	13 – Williams	5 – Perkins	Alex G. Spanos Center (3,453) Stockton, CA
Feb 10 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	at No. 11 Saint Mary's Rivalry	W 78–65	23–4 (13–1)	21 – Hachimura	11 – Williams	5 – Perkins	McKeon Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA
Feb 15 6:00 pm, SWX/RTNW	No. 9	Loyola Marymount	W 76–46	24–4 (14–1)	14 – Kispert	13 – Williams	2 – 3 Tied	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Feb 17 5:00 pm, KAYU/RTNW	No. 9	Pepperdine	W 81–67	25–4 (15–1)	18 – Williams	12 – Williams	7 – Perkins	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
Feb 22 6:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 6-t	at San Diego	W 77–72	26–4 (16–1)	17 – Tillie	9 – Williams	4 – Perkins	Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,772) San Diego, CA
Feb 24 5:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 6-t	at BYU Rivalry	W 79–65	27–4 (17–1)	16 – Williams	6 – 3 Tied	7 – Perkins	Marriott Center (18,987) Provo, UT
WCC Tournament
Mar 3 7:00 pm, ESPN2	(1) No. 7	vs. (8) Loyola Marymount Quarterfinals	W 83–69	28–4	24 – Tillie	10 – Williams	6 – Perkins	Orleans Arena (7,279) Paradise, NV
Mar 5 6:00 pm, ESPN	(1) No. 6	vs. (4) San Francisco Semifinals	W 88–60	29–4	26 – Tillie	10 – Williams	8 – Perkins	Orleans Arena (8,296) Paradise, NV
Mar 6 6:00 pm, ESPN	(1) No. 6	vs. (3) BYU Championship/Rivalry	W 74–54	30–4	22 – Tillie	13 – Williams	8 – Perkins	Orleans Arena (8,030) Paradise, NV
NCAA tournament
Mar 15* 10:30 am, TNT	(4 W) No. 8	vs. (13 W) UNC Greensboro First Round	W 68–64	31–4	19 – Williams	11 – Williams	2 – Tied	Taco Bell Arena (11,662) Boise, ID
Mar 17* 7:45 pm, CBS	(4 W) No. 8	vs. (5 W) No. 17 Ohio State Second Round	W 90–84	32–4	28 – Norvell Jr.	12 – Norvell Jr.	8 – Perkins	Taco Bell Arena (11,686) Boise, ID
Mar 22* 7:07 pm, TBS	(4 W) No. 8	vs. (9 W) Florida State Sweet Sixteen	L 60–75	32–5	16 – Hachimura	11 – Williams	4 – Perkins	Staples Center (19,181) Los Angeles, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	18	17	17	15	12	12	12	20	19	15	13	15	14	12	9	6-t	7	6	8	Not released
Coaches	19	19^	17	14	13	13	15	19	19	14	14	15	12	11	8	6	7	6	8	10

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Notes