2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The team was led by head coach Mark Few , who was in his 16th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center , which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags) were playing in their 35th season as a member of the West Coast Conference . The Zags were predicted to finish atop of the conference by the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.[ 1] The Zags finished in first place in the West 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 beat BYU in the West Coast Conference tournament , and claimed their 14th WCC tournament title, along with punching their 18th ticket to the NCAA Tournament.[ 3] Gonzaga entered the 2015 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]
Previous season
The 2013-14 Gonzaga Bulldogs team were predicted to finish atop of the conference by the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.[ 8] The Zags finished in first place in the West Coast Conference Standings for the 17th time with a 15-3 conference record.[ 9] The Bulldogs then went on to beat BYU in the West Coast Conference tournament , and claimed their 13th WCC tournament title, along with punching their 17th ticket to the NCAA Tournament.[ 10] The team drew an eight seed in the 2014 NCAA tournament , where they outlasted ninth-seed Oklahoma State in the round of 64, 85-77,[ 11] but then lost to Arizona in the round of 32, 84-61.[ 12] The Zags finished the season with an overall record of 29-7, including a perfect 15-0 record at home.
Preseason
Departures
Incoming transfers
2014 recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Silas Melson [ 18] SG
Portland, OR
Jefferson
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Jun 18, 2013
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 73
Josh Perkins [ 19] PG
Park Hill, CO
Huntington Prep
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
186 lb (84 kg)
Aug 24, 2013
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 86
Bryan Alberts[ 20] SG
Northridge, CA
Village Christian
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Oct 28, 2013
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 70
Domantas Sabonis [ 21] PF
Kaunas , Lithuania
Sunny View School
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Apr 17, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : N/A Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : #14 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 recruiting class
Roster
2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
5
Gary Bell Jr.
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
214 lb (97 kg)
Sr
Kentridge
Kent, WA
G
4
Kevin Pangos
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
182 lb (83 kg)
Sr
Denison Secondary
Newmarket, ON
G
22
Byron Wesley
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
Sr
Etiwanda USC
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
G
21
Eric McClellan
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
184 lb (83 kg)
RS Jr
Austin Vanderbilt Tulsa
Austin, TX
F
33
Kyle Wiltjer
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
RS Jr
Jesuit Kentucky
Portland, OR
F
2
Angel Nunez
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
202 lb (92 kg)
RS Jr
Notre Dame Prep Louisville
Bronx, NY
G
3
Kyle Dranginis
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
202 lb (92 kg)
RS Jr
Skyview
Nampa, ID
C
24
Przemek Karnowski
7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
288 lb (131 kg)
Jr
Nicolaus Copernicus Siarka Jezioro Tarnobrzeg
Toruń , Poland
G
15
Rem Bakamus (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
167 lb (76 kg)
RS So
Mark Morris
Longview, WA
G
14
Connor Griffin (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
212 lb (96 kg)
So
Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego, OR
C
25
Ryan Edwards
7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
294 lb (133 kg)
So
Glacier
Kalispell, MT
G
55
Dustin Triano (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
RS Fr
New Hampton School
Vancouver, BC
G
0
Silas Melson
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
Fr
Jefferson
Portland, OR
F
11
Domantas Sabonis
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
231 lb (105 kg)
Fr
Sunny View School Unicaja Málaga
Kaunas , Lithuania
G
13
Josh Perkins
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
186 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Huntington Prep
Park Hill, CO
G
10
Bryan Alberts
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Fr
Village Christian
Northridge, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: February 18, 2015
Ryan Edwards has elected to redshirt the 2014-15 season and will have 3 years of eligibility remaining effective in 2015-16.[ 23]
Bryan Alberts has elected to redshirt the 2014-15 season and will have 4 years of eligibility remaining effective in 2015-16.[ 24]
Josh Perkins suffered a broken jaw in a November 2014 game and received a medical redshirt. He was finally cleared to play with full contact in late April 2015.[ 25] [ 26] [ 27]
Angel Nunez won an appeal to grant him one final year of eligibility after the 2014-15 season.[ 28]
Rankings
Ranking movementLegend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll
Pre[ 29]
Wk 2[ 30]
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Wk 17
Wk 18
Wk 19
Final
AP
13
13
10
9
9
8
8
7
6
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
7
7
7
N/A
Coaches
13
11
8
8
8
8
8
8
7
3
3
3
2 (1)
2 (1)
2 (1)
2
7
7
7
6
Schedule
Gonzaga's non-conference schedule included home games against SMU, Memphis, Texas Southern, Sacramento State, and Southeastern Louisiana. Gonzaga played true road games at Arizona and UCLA, and also faced off with Washington State at the Spokane Arena. The Zags were invited to be a host in the NIT Season Tip-Off, where they hosted Saint Joseph's and St. Thomas Aquinas and then traveled to Madison Square Garden in New York to play Georgia and ultimately St. John's in the championship game.[ 31] Gonzaga also played in the 12th annual Battle in Seattle at KeyArena against Cal Poly. Gonzaga played 18 conference games (home-and-home) during the season.[ 32]
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/01/2014 *6:00 PM , KHQ
No. 13
Thompson Rivers
W 95–69
-
15 – Wesley
8 – Wesley
4 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (-)Spokane, WA
11/08/2014 *
No. 13
vs. Texas Secret Scrimmage
W 73–56
-
–
–
–
GCU Arena (-)Phoenix, AZ
Regular Season
11/14/2014 *6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 13
Sacramento State
W 104–58
1–0
18 – Wiltjer
8 – Sabonis
6 – Perkins
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
11/17/2014 *8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 13
No. 22 SMU ESPN Tip-Off Marathon
W 72–56
2–0
17 – Pangos
9 – Sabonis
7 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
11/19/2014 *8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 13
Saint Joseph's NIT Season Tip-Off
W 94–42
3–0
18 – Bell Jr.
11 – Sabonis
6 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
11/22/2014 *6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 13
St. Thomas Aquinas NIT Season Tip-Off
W 109–55
4–0
24 – Nunez
11 – Tied
7 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
11/26/2014 *6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 10
vs. Georgia NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals
W 88–76
5–0
32 – Wiltjer
6 – Tied
6 – Pangos
Madison Square Garden (5,128)New York, NY
11/28/2014 *4:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 10
vs. St. John's NIT Season Tip-Off Finals
W 73–66
6–0
14 – Sabonis
9 – Sabonis
9 – Pangos
Madison Square Garden (5,548)New York, NY
12/02/2014 *6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 9
Southeastern Louisiana
W 76–57
7–0
20 – Wiltjer
9 – Karnowski
3 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
12/06/2014 *2:15 pm, ESPN
No. 9
at No. 3 Arizona
L 63–66 OT
7–1
15 – Wiltjer
7 – Karnowski
6 – Pangos
McKale Center (14,655)Tucson, AZ
12/10/2014 *8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 9
vs. Washington State
W 81–66
8–1
22 – Karnowski
9 – Wesley
4 – Wiltjer
Spokane Arena (11,521)Spokane, WA
12/13/2014 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 9
at UCLA
W 87–74
9–1
24 – Wiltjer
9 – Wesley
5 – Dranginis
Pauley Pavilion (10,006)Los Angeles, CA
12/15/2014 *6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 8
Texas Southern
W 94–54
10–1
21 – Wiltjer
7 – Nunez
6 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
12/20/2014 *7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 8
vs. Cal Poly Battle in Seattle
W 63–50
11–1
16 – Tied
8 – Karnowski
3 – Dranginis
KeyArena (11,741)Seattle, WA
12/27/2014 3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 8
at BYU
W 87–80
12–1 (1–0)
24 – Wiltjer
10 – Tied
7 – Pangos
Marriott Center (20,900)Provo, UT
12/29/2014 8:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 7
at San Diego
W 60–48
13–1 (2–0)
15 – Wiltjer
8 – Karnowski
4 – Pangos
Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,517)San Diego, CA
01/03/2015 6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 7
at Portland
W 87–75
14–1 (3–0)
21 – Tied
6 – Sabonis
5 – Pangos
Chiles Center (4,852)Portland, OR
01/08/2015 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 6
San Francisco
W 88–57
15–1 (4–0)
17 – Pangos
9 – Sabonis
5 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
01/10/2015 1:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 6
Santa Clara
W 79–57
16–1 (5–0)
18 – Karnowski
9 – Tied
4 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
01/15/2015 7:30 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
at Pepperdine
W 78–76
17–1 (6–0)
24 – Wiltjer
12 – Sabonis
5 – Pangos
Firestone Fieldhouse (3,250)Malibu, CA
01/17/2015 1:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
at Loyola Marymount
W 72–55
18–1 (7–0)
17 – Bell
8 – Sabonis
6 – Pangos
Gersten Pavilion (4,026)Los Angeles, CA
01/22/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 3
Saint Mary's
W 68–47
19–1 (8–0)
14 – Pangos
13 – Sabonis
5 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
01/24/2015 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
Pacific
W 91–60
20–1 (9–0)
13 – Tied
8 – Sabonis
4 – Wiltjer
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
01/29/2015 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
Portland
W 64–46
21–1 (10–0)
13 – Sabonis
11 – Sabonis
4 – Karnowski
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
01/31/2015 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
Memphis
W 82–64
22–1
17 – Karnowski
11 – Sabonis
5 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
02/05/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 2
at Santa Clara
W 77–63
23–1 (11–0)
22 – Wiltjer
9 – Sabonis
7 – Pangos
Leavey Center (4,700)Santa Clara, CA
02/07/2015 8:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 2
at San Francisco
W 81–70
24–1 (12–0)
29 – Wiltjer
11 – Wiltjer
4 – Pangos
War Memorial Gymnasium (4,000)San Francisco, CA
02/12/2015 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
Loyola Marymount
W 80–51
25–1 (13–0)
21 – Wiltjer
10 – Wiltjer
8 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
02/14/2015 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
Pepperdine
W 56–48
26–1 (14–0)
19 – Pangos
7 – Karnowski
3 – Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
02/19/2015 8:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW
No. 3
at Pacific
W 86–74
27–1 (15–0)
45 – Wiltjer
6 – Wiltjer
8 – Pangos
Alex G. Spanos Center (5,672)Stockton, CA
02/21/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
at Saint Mary's
W 70–60
28–1 (16–0)
16 – Wiltjer
12 – Wiltjer
7 – Pangos
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)Moraga, CA
02/26/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
San Diego
W 59–39
29–1 (17–0)
14 – Karnowski
8 – Karnowski
4 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
02/28/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
BYU
L 70–73
29–2 (17–1)
17 – Wesley
9 – Wesley
5 – Pangos
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, WA
WCC Tournament
03/07/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 7
vs. San Francisco Quarterfinals
W 81–72
30–2
24 – Karnowski
8 – Wiltjer
5 – Pangos
Orleans Arena (8,537)Las Vegas, NV
03/09/2015 6:00 PM, ESPN
No. 7
vs. Pepperdine Semifinals
W 79–61
31–2
25 – Wesley
9 – Wiltjer
6 – Pangos
Orleans Arena (8,546)Las Vegas, NV
03/10/2015 6:00 PM, ESPN
No. 7
vs. BYU Final
W 91–75
32–2
18 – Wiltjer
10 – Wiltjer
5 – Pangos
Orleans Arena (8,585)Las Vegas, NV
NCAA tournament
03/20/2015 *7:10 pm, TNT
(2 S) No. 7
vs. (15 S) North Dakota State Second round
W 86–76
33–2
23 – Wiltjer
11 – Sabonis
5 – Pangos
KeyArena (14,852)Seattle, WA
03/22/2015 *4:10 pm, TBS
(2 S) No. 7
vs. (7 S) Iowa Third round
W 87–68
34–2
24 – Wiltjer
9 – Sabonis
4 – Tied
KeyArena (14,901)Seattle, WA
03/27/2015 *4:15 pm, CBS
(2 S) No. 7
vs. (11 S) UCLA Sweet Sixteen
W 74–62
35–2
18 – Karnowski
10 – Wiltjer
4 – Wiltjer
NRG Stadium (21,168)Houston, TX
03/29/2015 *2:05 pm, CBS
(2 S) No. 7
vs. (1 S) No. 4 Duke Elite Eight
L 52–66
35–3
16 – Wiltjer
5 – Tied
2 – Tied
NRG Stadium (20,744)Houston, TX
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Region.
All times are in
Pacific Time .
See also
References
^ "West Coast Conference Announces 2014-15 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, All-WCC Team" . October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015 .
^ "BYU beats No. 3 Gonzaga, ending nation's longest home win streak" . February 28, 2015.
^ "No. 7 Gonzaga cruises past BYU to 14th WCC title" . March 10, 2015.
^ "Gonzaga moves on with 86-76 win over ND State" . March 20, 2015.
^ "Gonzaga catches fire in second half, routs Iowa to reach Sweet 16" . March 22, 2015.
^ "Gonzaga handles UCLA, reaches Elite Eight for 1st time since '99" . March 27, 2015.
^ "Freshmen-led Duke pounds Gonzaga to earn Coach K's 12 Final Four" . March 29, 2015.
^ "Coaches Tab Gonzaga to Capture WCC Men's Basketball Title" . October 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014 .
^ "Gonzaga beats St. Mary's 75-47 to close WCC season" . March 1, 2014.
^ "Gonzaga holds off BYU comeback to win WCC title" . March 11, 2014.
^ "Gonzaga outlasts Oklahoma State as 61 fouls called, 5 foul out" . March 21, 2014.
^ "No. 1 Arizona dominates Gonzaga to reach Sweet 16" . March 23, 2014.
^ "Gerard Coleman headed to Georgetown (Kent.) College" . August 15, 2014.
^ "Report: Former Gonzaga forward Lucas Meikle transfers to Cal Poly" . July 6, 2014.
^ "Byron Wesley transferring to Gonzaga" . May 18, 2014.
^ "Eric McClellan transferring to GU" . June 29, 2014.
^ "Kraziness in the Kennel This Saturday" . October 23, 2014. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved November 1, 2014 .
^ "Oregon high schooler Silas Melson commits to Gonzaga" . June 19, 2013.
^ "Josh Perkins, highly-touted recruit, picks Zags" . August 24, 2013.
^ "Guard Bryan Alberts from SoCal commits to Gonzaga" . October 29, 2013.
^ "Domas Sabonis Signs Men's Basketball Letter-Of-Intent" . April 17, 2014. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014.
^ "Guard Jesse Wade from Utah commits to Zags" . October 4, 2013.
^ "Zags roll past wolfpack" . November 1, 2014.
^ "Bryan Alberts to redshirt" . November 15, 2014.
^ "Josh Perkins on the mend" . March 22, 2015.
^ "Domantas Sabonis back to Gonzaga" . Retrieved April 4, 2015 .
^ "Josh Perkins is cleared for full contact" . Retrieved April 28, 2015 .
^ "Angel Nunez won his NCAA appeal" . February 18, 2015.
^ "2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Preseason (Nov. 10)" . October 31, 2014.
^ "2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Preseason (Nov. 17)" . November 17, 2014.
^ "30th Annual NIT Season Tip-Off Features 10-team Field, Six Games At MSG" . September 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014 .
^ "2014-15 Gonzaga Men's Basketball Schedule" . September 17, 2014.
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics