The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the Pac-12 Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs play home basketball games at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, on the university campus.
Gonzaga has had 15 of its players receive the WCC Player of the Year award, and two players, Frank Burgess in 1961 with 32.4 points per game, and Adam Morrison in 2006 with 28.1 points per game, have led the nation in scoring. Morrison was named the Co-National Player of the year for the 2005–06 season.
Since the mid-1990s, Gonzaga has established itself as a major basketball power in a mid-major conference. They have been to every NCAA tournament held since 1999, a year in which they made a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight, and have appeared in every final AP poll since the 2008–09 season. Gonzaga had an active weekly poll streak of 143 weeks, starting from the 2016–17 season and ending on January 15, 2024, being tied for the tenth longest streak in Division I history. They have also appeared in all but one WCC conference title game since 1995, and in every conference title game since 1998, winning 21 of them.
The 2016–17 Bulldogs went to the program's first-ever Final Four, advancing to the 2017 national championship game, where they lost to North Carolina. They returned to the Final Four in 2021, losing in the national championship game to Baylor.
Team history Early years Gonzaga introduced a basketball program during the 1907–08 basketball season and, although the season was not an official one, they achieved a record of under head coach George M. Varnell. In the 1908–09 season, Varnell became the first official coach for Gonzaga, earning a record. William Mulligan coached the following season and acquired an record. Frank McKevitt took over for Mulligan during the 1910–11 basketball season, acquiring an record. From 1944 to 1994, the Bulldogs compiled a record of , earning regular season titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67 (Big Sky) under Hank Anderson, and in 1993–94 (WCC) under Dan Fitzgerald. That season also saw the team qualify for its first postseason tournament, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), while being led by forward Jeff Brown, who was the WCC Player of the Year, and point guard Geoff Goss, who was made the All-WCC First Team that season. In the following season, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs won the WCC tournament to secure their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Dan Monson (1997–1999) In 1997, Gonzaga assistant coach Dan Monson, the son of veteran Oregon and Idaho head coach Don Monson, became the head coach of Gonzaga as Fitzgerald wanted to focus on his athletic director's duties.Boling 2004: xi During his first season, Monson led the Zags to a 24–10 record and a WCC regular season title, which was not enough to land an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. They earned a bid into the NIT and beat Wyoming 69–55 in the first round in Laramie, but fell at Hawai'i 78–70 in the second round.
During the 1998–99 season, the Bulldogs had a 28–7 record after winning the conference tournament, and were seeded tenth in the West regional of the NCAA tournament.Bradley 2009: 195 In the tournament's "Cinderella" run and Gonzaga's "coming out party" (Gonzaga has made the NCAA tournament each year since) the Zags beat seventh-seeded Minnesota 75–63 in the first round in Seattle and followed it with an 82–74 win over second-seeded Stanford to advance to the regional semifinals in Phoenix. Gonzaga beat Florida 73–72 to advance to the regional finals after Casey Calvary tipped in the winning basket with four seconds remaining. They trailed eventual national champion UConn by one point with a minute remaining before losing 67–62 in the regional finals.
Mark Few (1999–present)
After Monson departed for Minnesota that summer, assistant coach Mark Few was promoted to head coach on July 26, 1999.
In his inaugural season, Few led the Zags to a 26–9 record, which was highlighted by winning the WCC tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament with wins over Louisville and St. John's in Tucson, Arizona.
In the 2000–01 season, the Bulldogs faced a tough schedule highlighted by games against Arizona, Washington, Florida, and New Mexico. Despite starting the season 5–1, the Zags dropped four of their next five games. Gonzaga rebounded and finished the regular season 15–6 before winning their third consecutive WCC tournament title. The win gave the Bulldogs an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, where they were seeded twelfth in the South regional. In the first round in Memphis against fifth-seeded Virginia, Casey Calvary put back a blocked shot with nine seconds left to give the Zags an 86–85 victory. Gonzaga then beat 13th-seeded Indiana State 85–68 in the second round to advance to their third consecutive Sweet 16. In Atlanta, the Zags lost to defending national champion Michigan State 77–62 and finished the season with a 26–7 record.
Prior to the 2001–02 season, the Bulldogs were unanimously favored to win the WCC title in the WCC preseason coaches poll. Few led the Zags to a share of the WCC regular season title, as Pepperdine also had a 13–1 conference record. The Bulldogs would avenge their only conference loss of the season by defeating Pepperdine 96–90 for their fourth straight WCC tournament title. The win gave the Zags an automatic bid as a six-seed in the NCAA tournament, opening against 11th-seeded Wyoming. Despite beating the Cowboys four years earlier in the NIT, they lost 73–66, marking the first time the Zags lost in the first round of the tournament under Mark Few.
In the 2002–03 season, Few led the Bulldogs to their fifth regular season title in six years with a 12–2 conference record. Despite this, Gonzaga lost to San Diego in the WCC tournament championship game 72–63, marking the first time the Zags had lost in the championship game in four years. Gonzaga garnered a nine-seed in the 2003 NCAA tournament, where they beat Cincinnati 74–69 to advance to the second round of the tournament for the fourth time in five years. The Bulldogs would go on to lose to Arizona 96–95 in double overtime to finish 24–9.
The 2003–04 season marked the first time that the team participated in the annual Battle in Seattle game. Gonzaga faced third-ranked Missouri, who was the highest-ranked regular season opponent that the Zags had played against up to that point; they would go on to win the game in an 87–80 overtime victory. This season marked the last time Gonzaga would play home games in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre; their last game in the building took place February 28, 2004, where they beat Santa Clara 80–64. The win gave the Bulldogs their first undefeated run through the WCC in school history with a 14–0 conference record. Gonzaga would go on to receive an automatic bid into the 2004 NCAA tournament with a two-seed, which was the highest seed they had received in school history in seven tournament appearances. The Bulldogs would go on to beat 15th-seeded Valparaiso 76–49 before being upset in the second round by tenth-seeded Nevada 91–72, where they finished the season 28–3.
Gonzaga opened up the 2004–05 season with a home game against Portland State in the new 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center on November 19, 2004. Despite losing five seniors, including second-round NBA draft pick Blake Stepp, Few was still able to lead the Zags to their ninth regular season title since 1994 with a 12–2 conference record. The Bulldogs would go on to win their second straight WCC Tournament title, giving them an automatic bid into the 2005 NCAA tournament as a three-seed. The Zags beat 14th-seeded Winthrop 74–64 before falling to Texas Tech 71–69 in the second round, where they ended the season with a 26–5 record.
Before the 2005–06 season got underway, Gonzaga junior Adam Morrison became the first player in team history to be named to the preseason Associated Press All-America team. The Zags also received their highest preseason ranking in program history at number seven in the USA Today/ESPN preseason poll. The Bulldogs captured their third straight WCC Tournament title when they beat Loyola Marymount 68–67 in the championship game. They received an automatic bid into the 2006 NCAA tournament as a three-seed, where they beat Xavier 79–75 in the first round. The Zags would go on to beat Indiana Hoosiers 90–80, where they would advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. Despite being ahead by as many as 17 points, the Bulldogs ended their season in the Sweet 16 by losing to UCLA 73–71, finishing 29–4.
The 2006–07 season marked the first time that the Zags suffered at least ten losses in a season since the 1997–98 season. Despite this, Few still led the Bulldogs to their seventh straight regular season title with a conference record of 11–3. Gonzaga would go on to win the WCC Tournament for the fourth year in a row, being the only Division I school to do so that year. They received an automatic bid into the 2007 NCAA tournament, where they were given a 10-seed. The Zags would end their season by losing in the opening round for the first time since 2001, as Indiana beat Gonzaga 70–57.
In 2007–08 the Bulldogs went 25–8, but lost in the Round of 64 as a #7 seed to a Davidson team that went to the Elite Eight as a #10 seed.
The 2008–09 team won both the WCC Regular Season Championship and the WCC Tournament Championship. Entering the NCAA tournament as a #4 seed, the team reached the Sweet Sixteen, before losing to eventual NCAA Champions North Carolina.
For the next five seasons, the team advanced to the NCAA tournament, but fell in the Round of 32 each time. The 2012–13 team became the first Gonzaga squad to be ranked as the #1 team in the country and was awarded as a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time. The Zags also won over 30 games for the first time in program history with a 32–3 overall record.
The 2014–15 team advanced all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Duke. This was the first time since 1999 that Gonzaga had advanced to the Elite Eight. Gonzaga also won the WCC regular-season and tournament championships for the third consecutive season. The 2014–15 also set the school record for wins in a single season with 35.
The 2015–16 team suffered 4 losses at home and nearly missed the NCAA tournament entirely, but shared the WCC regular-season crown with Saint Mary's and then won the WCC Tournament. The Zags were awarded a #11 seed and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, dismantling #6 seed Seton Hall and #3 seed Utah, before falling to Syracuse by three points.
The 2016–17 team won its first 29 games, setting a new school record for consecutive games won, before falling to WCC rival BYU. The Zags made the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed and advanced to the school's first-ever championship game, with wins over South Dakota State, Northwestern, West Virginia, Xavier, and South Carolina. The Zags set a new school record for wins in a single season with 37 and also had the most wins of any team that season.
The 2017–18 team also enjoyed success. Despite what was considered a "rebuilding year" after the Loss of Karnowski, Williams-Goss, Mathews and Collins among others (causing the Bulldogs to not be picked to win the West Coast Conference), the team won the WCC regular season title outright before winning the WCC tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. They were ultimately bounced by Florida State, and finished the season at 32–5.