# 2024–25 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2024–25 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed the "Zags", is led by head coach Mark Few, in his 26th season as head coach, and plays home games at the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC).

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2023–24 season 27–8, 14–2 in WCC play to finish in second place, failing to win at least a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2012. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament, they defeated San Francisco in the semifinals, before losing to Saint Mary's in the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated McNeese in the First Round and Kansas in the Second Round to reach their ninth consecutive Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to Purdue.

## Offseason
### Departures

Gonzaga Bulldogs Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Anton Watson | 22 | F | 6'8" | 228 | Graduate | Spokane, WA | Graduated; declared for 2024 NBA draft; selected 54th overall by the Boston Celtics |
| Colby Brooks | 25 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Los Angeles, CA | Walk-on; transferred to San Diego |
| Luka Krajnović | 3 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Freshman | Zagreb, Croatia | Signed with KK Cedevita Junior of the Premijer liga |
| Pavle Stošić | 14 | F | 6'9" | 196 | Freshman | Niš, Serbia | Transferred to Utah State |

### Incoming transfers

Gonzaga Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Michael Ajayi | 1 | G | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Kent, WA | Pepperdine |
| Khalif Battle | 99 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Graduate | Hillside, NJ | Arkansas |
| Emmanuel Innocenti | 5 | F | 6'5" | 198 | Sophomore | Ranzanico, Italy | Tarleton State |
| Braeden Smith | 3 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Junior | Seattle, WA | Colgate |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ismaila Diagne C | Nguékhokh, Senegal | Real Madrid | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 237 lb (108 kg) | Jun 4, 2024 |
| Star ratings: 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: "Gonzaga 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. "2024 Gonzaga Bulldogs Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. ||||||

#### 2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2025) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Davis Fogle #7 SF | Anacortes, WA | Compass Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 4, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| 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 2025 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. "2025 Gonzaga Bulldogs Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024. |||||||

## Roster

Note: Players' year is based on remaining eligibility. The NCAA did not count the 2020–21 season towards eligibility.
* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Graham Ike | Braden Huff | Ismaila Diagne | |
| PF | Ben Gregg | Michael Ajayi | | Graydon Lemke |
| SF | Khalif Battle | Emmanuel Innocenti | Jun Seok Yeo | Noah Haaland |
| SG | Nolan Hickman | Dusty Stromer | Joe Few | Cade Orness |
| PG | Ryan Nembhard | | | Joaquim ArauzMoore |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 26, 2024* 5:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 6 | vs. USC Charity Game to support Eisenhower Health | L 93–96 | | 20 – Battle | 9 – Huff | 8 – Nembhard | Acrisure Arena (2,190) Palm Desert, CA |
| October 30, 2024* 6:00 p.m., KHQ | No. 6 | Warner Pacific | W 109–52 | | – | – | – | McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 6 | vs. No. 8 Baylor Findlay Auto Tip-Off | W 101−63 | 1−0 | 17 – Hickman | 8 – Tied | 11 – Nembhard | Spokane Arena (12,000) Spokane, WA |
| November 10, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 6 | Arizona State | W 88−80 | 2−0 | 21 – Huff | 12 – Ajayi | 11 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| November 15, 2024* 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 4 | UMass Lowell | W 113–54 | 3–0 | 21 – Battle | 10 – Gregg | 8 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| November 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 3 | at San Diego State | W 80–67 | 4–0 | 23 – Ike | 9 – Ike | 10 – Nembhard | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 20, 2024* 6:00 pm, KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 3 | Long Beach State | W 84–41 | 5–0 | 15 – Tied | 7 – Gregg | 7 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| November 27, 2024* 11:30 a.m., ESPN | No. 3 | vs. West Virginia Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 78–86 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | 19 – Huff | 6 – Gregg | 12 – Nembhard | Imperial Arena (959) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 28, 2024* 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | vs. No. 14 Indiana Battle 4 Atlantis consolation 2nd round | W 89–73 | 6–1 | 16 – Battle | 9 – Ajayi | 13 – Nembhard | Imperial Arena (2,885) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| November 29, 2024* 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 3 | vs. Davidson Battle 4 Atlantis 5th place game | W 90–65 | 7–1 | 24 – Gregg | 10 – Ike | 14 – Nembhard | Imperial Arena (993) Paradise Island, Bahamas |
| December 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 7 | vs. No. 4 Kentucky Battle in Seattle | L 89–90 $^{OT}$ | 7–2 | 28 – Ike | 11 – Ike | 10 – Nembhard | Climate Pledge Arena (17,846) Seattle, WA |
| December 14, 2024* 5:00 p.m., FOX | No. 8 | vs. No. 18 UConn Hall of Fame Series New York City | L 71–77 | 7–3 | 21 – Battle | 6 – Tied | 7 – Nembhard | Madison Square Garden (18,933) New York City, NY |
| December 18, 2024* 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 13 | Nicholls | W 102–72 | 8–3 | 25 – Huff | 10 – Gregg | 10 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| December 21, 2024* 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 13 | Bucknell | W 86–65 | 9–3 | 25 – Ike | 10 – Ike | 9 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| December 28, 2024* 1:00 p.m., FOX | No. 14 | vs. No. 22 UCLA West Coast Hoops Showdown | L 62–65 | 9–4 | 24 – Ike | 8 – Ike | 8 – Nembhard | Intuit Dome (12,272) Inglewood, CA |
| WCC regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Pepperdine | W 89–82 | 10–4 (1–0) | 21 – Battle | 9 – Ike | 5 – Hickman | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,506) Malibu, CA |
| January 2, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 19 | vs. Portland Community Cancer Fund Classic | W 81–50 | 11–4 (2–0) | 13 – Hickman | 15 – Ajayi | 9 – Nembhard | Spokane Arena (9,022) Spokane, WA |
| January 4, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Loyola Marymount | W 96–68 | 12–4 (3–0) | 27 – Ike | 9 – Ike | 11 – Nembhard | Gersten Pavilion (2,369) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 8, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 18 | San Diego | W 93–80 | 13–4 (4–0) | 23 – Gregg | 19 – Ike | 11 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| January 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 18 | Washington State Rivalry | W 88–75 | 14–4 (5–0) | 21 – Ike | 9 – Gregg | 5 – Tied | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| January 16, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 16 | at Oregon State | L 89–97 $^{OT}$ | 14–5 (5–1) | 26 – Ike | 13 – Gregg | 10 – Nembhard | Gill Coliseum (9,301) Corvallis, OR |
| January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | No. 16 | Santa Clara | L 99–103 | 14–6 (5–2) | 24 – Hickman | 8 – Gregg | 15 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| January 25, 2025 5:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | | at Portland | W 105–62 | 15–6 (6–2) | 24 – Gregg | 8 – Ajayi | 13 – Nembhard | Chiles Center (4,117) Portland, OR |
| January 28, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Oregon State | W 98–60 | 16–6 (7–2) | 23 – Battle | 10 – Ajayi | 9 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 1, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 58–62 | 16–7 (7–3) | 24 – Ike | 8 – Ike | 12 – Nembhard | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| February 6, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | | Loyola Marymount | W 73–53 | 17–7 (8–3) | 24 – Battle | 10 – Ike | 9 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | | at Pacific | W 78–61 | 18–7 (9–3) | 17 – Huff | 9 – Ajayi | 8 – Nembhard | Alex G. Spanos Center (3,176) Stockton, CA |
| February 13, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | San Francisco | W 88–77 | 19–7 (10–3) | 18 – Tied | 13 – Ike | 12 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6.000) Spokane, WA |
| February 15, 2025 6:00 p.m., KHQ/ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | W 107–55 | 20–7 (11–3) | 24 – Battle | 9 – Ike | 11 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 19, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Washington State Rivalry | W 84–63 | 21–7 (12–3) | 23 – Hickman | 13 – Ike | 5 – Hickman | Beasley Coliseum (10,219) Pullman, WA |
| February 22, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 67–74 | 21–8 (12–4) | 19 – Ike | 5 – Ike | 8 – Nembhard | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 25, 2025 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Santa Clara | W 95–76 | 22–8 (13–4) | 24 – Ike | 8 – Ajayi | 15 – Nembhard | Leavey Center (4,200) Santa Clara, CA |
| March 1, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at San Francisco | W 95–75 | 23–8 (14–4) | 23 – Gregg | 8 – Gregg | 15 – Nembhard | Chase Center (6,374) San Francisco, CA |
| WCC Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2025 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) San Francisco Semifinals | W 85–76 | 24–8 | 27 – Ike | 10 – Ike | 8 – Nembhard | Orleans Arena (6,217) Paradise, NV |
| March 11, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) | vs. (1) No. 19 Saint Mary's Championship | W 58–51 | 25–8 | 18 – Huff | 7 – Ike | 6 – Nembhard | Orleans Arena (6,237) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2025* 1:35 p.m., TBS | (8 MW) No. 24 | vs. (9 MW) Georgia First Round | | | | | | Intrust Bank Arena Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 6 (1) | 4 (3) | 3 (2) | 3 (2) | 7 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | |
| Coaches | 7 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 8 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | |