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2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

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2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
WCC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA Tournament, Runner Up
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record31–1 (15–0 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcCarthey Athletic Center
Seasons
2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Gonzaga † 15 – 0   1.000 31 – 1   .969
No. 23 BYU 10 – 3   .769 20 – 7   .741
Loyola Marymount 7 – 5   .583 13 – 9   .591
Pepperdine 7 – 6   .538 15 – 12   .556
Pacific 6 – 7   .462 9 – 9   .500
Santa Clara 4 – 5   .444 12 – 8   .600
Saint Mary's 4 – 6   .400 14 – 10   .583
San Francisco 4 – 9   .308 11 – 14   .440
San Diego 2 – 7   .222 3 – 11   .214
Portland 0 – 11   .000 6 – 15   .286
† 2021 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, in his 22nd season as head coach. This was the Bulldogs' 17th season at the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center and 41st season as a member of the West Coast Conference.

The Bulldogs became the first unbeaten team to get to the NCAA National Championship game since Indiana State in 1979. They lost to fellow 1-seed Baylor in the National Championship game 86-70 that denied Gonzaga's undefeated season.

Previous season

Main article: 2019–20 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

The Bulldogs finished the season 31–2, 15–1 in WCC play to be WCC regular season champions. They then defeated San Francisco and Saint Mary's to be champions of the WCC Tournament. They earned the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, all postseason play, including the NCAA Tournament, was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulldogs finished #2 in the final AP and Coaches poll.

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Name Position Year at
Gonzaga 		Alma Mater (year) Reason for Departure
Gary Bell Jr. Graduate Assistant 1st Gonzaga (2015) Left team

Additions to staff

Name Position Year at
Gonzaga 		Alma Mater (year) Previous Job
Evan Manning Graduate Assistant 1st Kansas (2016) Director of Player Development at Wake Forest

Player departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Admon Gilder 1 G 6'4" 200 Senior (Redshirt) Dallas, TX Completed college eligibility[a]
Ryan Woolridge 4 G 6'3" 175 Senior (Redshirt) Mansfield, TX Completed college eligibility[a]
Killian Tillie 33 F 6'10" 220 Senior Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Graduated
Filip Petrušev 3 F 6'11" 235 Sophomore Belgrade, Serbia Signed with Mega Soccerbet[1]
Brock Ravet 32 G 6'1" 175 Freshman Kittitas, WA Left team[2]
  1. ^ a b Gilder and Woolridge were both graduate transfers in the 2019–20 season, with Gilder having graduated from Texas A&M and Woolridge from North Texas.

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous
School 		Years
Remaining 		Date
Eligible
Aaron Cook Jr. 4 G 6'2" 185 Senior (Redshirt) St. Louis, MO Southern Illinois 2[a] October 1, 2020[4]
Andrew Nembhard 3 G 6'5" 193 Junior Aurora, ON Florida 3[a] November 24, 2020[5][6]
  1. ^ a b Initially, Cook and Nembhard were to be eligible for one and two years respectively. However, on October 14, 2020, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for all athletes who participate in a winter sport in 2020–21, including basketball.[3]

Recruiting classes

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dominick Harris
SG 		Murrieta, CA Rancho Christian (CA) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jan 28, 2018 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 85
Julian Strawther
SF 		Las Vegas, NV Liberty HS (NV) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 18, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 85
Jalen Suggs
PG / SG 		West St. Paul, MN Minnehaha Academy (MN) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jan 3, 2020 
Star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 96
Ben Gregg
PF 		Clackamas, OR Clackamas (OR) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sep 9, 2020 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 14  ESPN: 7
  • 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 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  • "2020 Gonzaga Bulldogs Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.

2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kaden Perry
PF / C 		Battle Ground, WA Battle Ground (WA) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jun 27, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Hunter Sallis
PG / SG 		Omaha, NE Millard North (NE) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 26, 2021 
Star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 91
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:

Roster

2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 4 Aaron Cook Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Westminster Christian
Southern Illinois 		St. Louis, MO
F 24 Corey Kispert 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr King's Edmonds, WA
G 11 Joël Ayayi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr INSEP Bordeaux, France
G 23 Matthew Lang (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Jesuit Portland, OR
G 35 Will Graves (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr South Eugene
Lane CC 		Eugene, OR
G 3 Andrew Nembhard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Jr Montverde Academy
Florida 		Aurora, ON
F 22 Anton Watson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Gonzaga Prep Spokane, WA
G 5 Martynas Arlauskas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So President Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium Kaunas, Lithuania
F 2 Drew Timme 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Pearce Richardson, TX
F 10 Pavel Zakharov 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Montverde Academy St. Petersburg, Russia
C 21 Oumar Ballo 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Fr NBA Academy Latin America Koulikoro, Mali
G 55 Dominick Harris 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Rancho Christian Murrieta, CA
G 0 Julian Strawther 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Liberty HS Las Vegas, NV
G 1 Jalen Suggs 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Minnehaha West St. Paul, MN
G 32 Evan Inglesby (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Barlow Gresham, OR
F 30 Abe Eagle (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Chaminade Prep Los Angeles, CA
F 20 Colby Brooks (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Loyola HS Los Angeles, CA
F 33 Ben Gregg 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Clackamas Clackamas, OR
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 17, 2020

  • Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.
  • Andrew Nembhard was initially ruled as a redshirt prior to the start of the 2020–21 season. However, on November 24, 2020, the NCAA granted him immediate eligibility. Additionally, the NCAA has granted an additional year of eligibility to all individuals who participate in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year. Nembhard will thus have 3 years of eligibility remaining at the start of the 2020–21 season.
  • Ben Gregg joined the team on December 17, 2020, after graduating high school early.


Coaching staff

Name Position Year at
Gonzaga 		Alma Mater (year)
Mark Few Head Coach 22nd Oregon (1987)
Tommy Lloyd Associate Head Coach 20th Whitman (1998)
Brian Michaelson Assistant Coach 8th Gonzaga (2005)
Roger Powell Jr. Assistant Coach 2nd Illinois (2005)
Jorge Sanz Director of Basketball Operations 3rd Florida Atlantic (2011)
Evan Manning Graduate Assistant 1st Kansas (2016)
Ken Nakagawa Video Coordinator 5th Long Beach State (2014)
Josh Therrien Athletic Trainer 5th Washington State (2007)
Travis Knight Strength & Conditioning Coach 15th Gonzaga (2000)

Schedule and results

To date, Gonzaga is the only NCAA basketball team, either men's or women's, to remain undefeated in every game (within and outside its conference) during the 2020–21 season.[7]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 26, 2020*
10:30 am, FOX 		No. 1 vs. No. 6 Kansas
Fort Myers Tip-Off 		W 102–90  1–0
  25 – Timme   9 – Ayayi   8 – Suggs  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (175)
Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2020*
8:00 am, FOX 		No. 1 vs. Auburn
Fort Myers Tip-Off 		W 90–67  2–0
  28 – Timme   10 – Timme   6 – Suggs  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (288)
Fort Myers, FL
December 2, 2020*
4:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 vs. No. 11 West Virginia
Jimmy V Classic 		W 87–82  3–0
  21 – Ayayi   7 – Ayayi   6 – Nembhard  Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
December 5, 2020*
10:00 am, CBS 		No. 1 vs. No. 2 Baylor Canceled due to COVID-19 issues Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
December 8, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Tarleton State Canceled due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 10, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Southern Canceled due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 12, 2020*
7:30 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Northern Arizona Canceled due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 14, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Idaho Canceled due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 19, 2020*
9:00 am, CBS 		No. 1 vs. No. 3 Iowa W 99–88  4–0
  27 – Suggs   18 – Ayayi   6 – Ayayi, Kispert  Sanford Pentagon (243)
Sioux Falls, SD
December 21, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Northwestern State W 95–57  5–0
  27 – Kispert   8 – Timme   7 – Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 22, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Northwestern State W 95–78  6–0
  25 – Timme   9 – Timme   5 – Ayayi, Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 26, 2020*
1:00 pm, CBS 		No. 1 vs. No. 16 Virginia W 98–75  7–0
  32 – Kispert   8 – Timme   8 – Nembhard  Dickies Arena (2,795)
Fort Worth, TX
December 28, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Northern Arizona W 88–58  8–0
  17 – Ayayi   10 – Ayayi   7 – Nembhard  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
December 29, 2020*
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Dixie State W 112–67  9–0
  25 – Kispert   11 – Ayayi   6 – Ayayi  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
WCC Regular Season
January 2, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 San Francisco W 85–62  10–0
(1–0) 		 26 – Kispert   11 – Timme   4 – Nembhard  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
January 7, 2021
7:00 pm 		No. 1 Santa Clara Postponed due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
January 7, 2021
5:30 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 BYU
Moved from February 6 		W 86–69  11–0
(2–0) 		 23 – Kispert   8 – Watson   6 – Ayayi  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
January 9, 2021
5:00 pm, KAYU/RTNW 		No. 1 at Portland W 116–88  12–0
(3–0) 		 26 – Timme   13 – Ayayi   14 – Ayayi  Chiles Center 
Portland, OR
January 14, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 Pepperdine W 95–70  13–0
(4–0) 		 23 – Kispert   10 – Watson   4 – Nembhard, Timme  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
January 16, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 at Saint Mary's
Rivalry 		W 73–59  14–0
(5–0) 		 17 – Kispert   8 – Timme   2 – Suggs  University Credit Union Pavilion 
Moraga, CA
January 23, 2021
7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 Pacific W 95–49  15–0
(6–0) 		 22 – Timme   11 – Suggs   8 – Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
January 28, 2021
6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 at San Diego W 90–62  16–0
(7–0) 		 21 – Timme   8 – Kispert   10 – Nembhard  Jenny Craig Pavilion 
San Diego, CA
January 30, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 at Pepperdine W 97–75  17–0
(8–0) 		 19 – Timme   7 – Ayayi   8 – Nembhard  Firestone Fieldhouse 
Malibu, CA
February 4, 2021
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 1 at Pacific
Moved from February 25 		W 76–58  18–0
(9–0) 		 21 – Timme   9 – Suggs   3 – Nembhard, Suggs  Alex G. Spanos Center 
Stockton, CA
February 4, 2021
6:00 pm 		No. 1 Loyola Marymount Postponed due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
February 6, 2021
7:00 pm 		No. 1 Santa Clara
rescheduled from January 7 		Postponed due to COVID-19 issues McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
February 8, 2021
8:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 at BYU
moved from February 27 		W 82–71  19–0
(10–0) 		 24 – Suggs   13 – Timme   4 – Ayayi  Marriott Center 
Provo, UT
February 11, 2021
7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW 		No. 1 at Santa Clara Canceled due to COVID-19 issues Leavey Center 
Santa Clara, CA
February 13, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 at San Francisco W 100–61  20–0
(11–0) 		 28 – Timme   10 – Timme   5 – Nembhard, Suggs  War Memorial Gymnasium 
San Francisco, CA
February 18, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 Saint Mary's
Rivalry 		W 87–65  21–0
(12–0) 		 20 – Kispert   6 – Ayayi   5 – Nembhard, Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center 
Spokane, WA
February 20, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN2 		No. 1 San Diego W 106–69  22–0
(13–0) 		 21 – Timme   8 – Kispert, Timme   3 – Kispert  McCarthey Athletic Center (200)
Spokane, WA
February 25, 2021
4:00 pm, CBSSN 		No. 1 Santa Clara
rescheduled from February 6 		W 89–75  23–0
(14–0) 		 25 – Kispert   11 – Suggs   8 – Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center (200)
Spokane, WA
February 27, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN 		No. 1 Loyola Marymount
rescheduled from February 4 		W 86–69  24–0
(15–0) 		 24 – Kispert   7 – Timme   7 – Suggs  McCarthey Athletic Center (200)
Spokane, WA
WCC Tournament
March 8, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN 		(1) No. 1 vs. (4) Saint Mary's
Semifinals 		W 78–55  25–0
  18 – Timme   8 – Timme   4 – Timme  Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
March 9, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN 		(1) No. 1 vs. (2) BYU
Championship 		W 88–78  26–0
  23 – Suggs   9 – Ayayi   5 – Suggs  Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2021*
6:20 pm, TBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (16 W) Norfolk State
First Round 		W 98–55  27–0
  23 – Kispert   9 – Ayayi   7 – Cook  Bankers Life Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 22, 2021*
11:40 am, CBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (8 W) Oklahoma
Second Round 		W 87–71  28–0
  30 – Timme   13 – Timme   4 – Timme  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 28, 2021*
11:10 am, CBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (5 W) No. 19 Creighton
Sweet Sixteen 		W 83–65  29–0
  22 – Timme   8 – Ayayi   8 – Nembhard  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
March 30, 2021*
4:15 pm, TBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (6 W) No. 23 USC
Elite Eight 		W 85–66  30–0
  23 – Timme   10 – Suggs   8 – Suggs  Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
April 3, 2021*
5:34 pm, CBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (11 E) UCLA
Final Four 		W 93–90 OT 31–0
  25 – Timme   6 – Ayayi   8 – Nembhard  Lucas Oil Stadium (8,131)
Indianapolis, IN
April 5, 2021*
6:20 pm, CBS 		(1 W) No. 1 vs. (1 S) No. 3 Baylor
National Championship 		L 70–86  31–1
  22 – Suggs   5 – Timme   4 – Nembhard  Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Pacific Time.

Source[8]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP1 (28)1 (57)1 (54)1 (54)1 (61)1 (62)1 (63)1 (63)1 (62)1 (62)1 (61)1 (55)1 (59)1 (60)1 (59)1 (61)1 (60)Not released
Coaches2 (10)2^ (10)1 (23)1 (24)1 (25)1 (29)1 (29)1 (29)1 (28)1 (29)1 (28)1 (28)1 (28)1 (28)1 (31)1 (31)1 (32)

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

  1. ^ "Gonzaga center Filip Petrusev to sign pro deal in Serbia". July 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "Brock Ravet decides to leave Gonzaga men's basketball team". January 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Gonzaga Lands Grad Transfer Aaron Cook". SB Nation. April 7, 2020.
  5. ^ "Top transfer Andrew Nembhard committing to Gonzaga". ESPN. June 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 24, 2020). "Transfer Andrew Nembhard eligible to play for Gonzaga men's basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "Men's College Basketball Standings - 2020-21". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  8. ^ "gozags.com :: Gonzaga Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball". gozags.com.
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