2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

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.

2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
WCC regular season and tournament champions
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 1
2020–21 record31–1 (15–0 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcCarthey Athletic Center
2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 1 Gonzaga150 1.000311  .969
No. 23 BYU103 .769207  .741
Loyola Marymount75 .583139  .591
Pepperdine76 .5381512  .556
Pacific67 .46299  .500
Santa Clara45 .444128  .600
Saint Mary's46 .4001410  .583
San Francisco49 .3081114  .440
San Diego27 .222311  .214
Portland011 .000615  .286
2021 WCC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Bulldogs became the first undefeated team to advance to the national championship game since Indiana State in 1979. Gonzaga lost to fellow 1-seed Baylor in the championship game 70–86, denying the Bulldogs a perfect season.[1]

Previous season

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 cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulldogs finished #2 in the final AP and Coaches poll.

Offseason

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[lower-alpha 1]
Ryan Woolridge 4 G 6'3" 175 Senior (Redshirt) Mansfield, TX Completed college eligibility[lower-alpha 1]
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[2]
Brock Ravet 32 G 6'1" 175 Freshman Kittitas, WA Left team[3]
  1. 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 6'1" 180 Senior (Redshirt) St. Louis, MO Southern Illinois 2[lower-alpha 1] October 1, 2020[5]
Andrew Nembhard 3 G 6'5" 193 Junior Aurora, ON Florida 3[lower-alpha 1] November 24, 2020[6][7]
  1. 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.[4]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dominick Harris
SG
Murrieta, CA Rancho Christian 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jan 28, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 85
Julian Strawther
SF
Las Vegas, NV Liberty HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 18, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 85
Jalen Suggs
PG / SG
West St. Paul, MN Minnehaha Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jan 3, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 96
Ben Gregg
PF
Clackamas, OR Clackamas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sep 9, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   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

    US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
    Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
    Kaden Perry
    PF / C
    Battle Ground, WA Battle Ground 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jun 27, 2019 
    Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 84
    Hunter Sallis
    PG / SG
    Omaha, NE Millard North 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 26, 2021 
    Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 93
    Chet Holmgren
    C
    Minneapolis, MN Minnehaha Academy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Apr 19, 2021 
    Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 97
    Nolan Hickman
    PG
    Seattle, WA Wasatch Academy (UT) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 15, 2021 
    Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 90
    Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 4  247Sports: 5  ESPN: 5
    • 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
      PlayersCoaches
      Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
      G 4 Aaron Cook Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS SrWestminster Christian
      Southern Illinois
      St. Louis, MO
      F 24 Corey Kispert 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrKing's Edmonds, WA
      G 11 Joël Ayayi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg) RS JrINSEP Bordeaux, France
      G 23 Matthew Lang (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrJesuit Portland, OR
      G 35 Will Graves (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrSouth Eugene
      Lane CC
      Eugene, OR
      G 3 Andrew Nembhard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)193 lb (88 kg) JrMontverde Academy
      Florida
      Aurora, ON
      F 22 Anton Watson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) SoGonzaga Prep Spokane, WA
      G 5 Martynas Arlauskas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoPresident Valdas Adamkus Gymnasium Kaunas, Lithuania
      F 2 Drew Timme 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoPearce Richardson, TX
      F 10 Pavel Zakharov 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoMontverde Academy St. Petersburg, Russia
      C 21 Oumar Ballo 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)260 lb (118 kg) RS FrNBA Academy Latin America Koulikoro, Mali
      G 55 Dominick Harris 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrRancho Christian Murrieta, CA
      G 0 Julian Strawther 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrLiberty HS Las Vegas, NV
      G 1 Jalen Suggs 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrMinnehaha West St. Paul, MN
      G 32 Evan Inglesby (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrBarlow Gresham, OR
      F 30 Abe Eagle (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrChaminade Prep Los Angeles, CA
      F 20 Colby Brooks (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) FrLoyola HS Los Angeles, CA
      F 33 Ben Gregg 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrClackamas 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

      Until the championship game, Gonzaga was 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. During the championship game, Baylor University became the season champions after defeating Gonzaga 86–70.[8]

      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[9]

      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)2

      ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

      References

      1. "Gonzaga Bulldogs Schedule 2020-21". ESPN.com. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
      2. "Gonzaga center Filip Petrusev to sign pro deal in Serbia". July 20, 2020.
      3. "Brock Ravet decides to leave Gonzaga men's basketball team". January 5, 2020.
      4. "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
      5. "Gonzaga Lands Grad Transfer Aaron Cook". SB Nation. April 7, 2020.
      6. "Top transfer Andrew Nembhard committing to Gonzaga". ESPN. June 23, 2020.
      7. Borzello, Jeff (November 24, 2020). "Transfer Andrew Nembhard eligible to play for Gonzaga men's basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
      8. "Men's College Basketball Standings - 2020-21". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
      9. "gozags.com :: Gonzaga Official Athletic Site :: Men's Basketball". gozags.com.
      This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.