# 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 17th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center, which had a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags) played in their 36th season as a member of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–8, 15–3 in WCC play to finish in a share for the WCC regular season championship. They defeated Portland, BYU, and Saint Mary's to be champions of the WCC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #11 seed, they defeated Seton Hall and Utah to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Syracuse. The final AP Poll is the most recent poll in which Gonzaga was unranked until 2023–24, when they were unranked for 6 weeks.

## Previous season

The 2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs team were predicted to finish atop of the conference by the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll. 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. 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. Gonzaga entered the 2015 NCAA tournament as a #2 seed in the South region, and dismantled #15 seed North Dakota State, #7 seed Iowa, and #11 seed UCLA, 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.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes
#### Additions to staff

| Name | Position | Year at Gonzaga | Alma Mater (year) | Previous Job |
| Doug Wojcik | Special Assistant to the Head Coach | 1st | Navy (1987) | Head coach at College of Charleston |

### Player departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Gary Bell Jr. | 5 | G | 6'2" | 212 | Senior | Kent, WA | Graduated |
| Kevin Pangos | 4 | G | 6'2" | 182 | Senior | Newmarket, ON | Graduated |
| Byron Wesley | 22 | G | 6'4" | 206 | Senior | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Graduated |
| Angel Nunez | 2 | F | 6'8" | 202 | Junior (Redshirt) | Bronx, NY | Transferred to South Florida |
| Connor Griffin | 14 | G | 6'4" | 214 | Sophomore | Lake Oswego, OR | Transferred to Washington (Football) |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Years Remaining | Date Eligible |
| Nigel Williams-Goss | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Happy Valley, OR | Washington | 2 | Oct. 1, 2016 |
| Johnathan Williams | F | 6'9" | 228 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Missouri | 2 | Oct. 1, 2016 |
| Jeremy Jones | F | 6'6" | 203 | Sophomore | San Antonio, TX | Rice | 3 | Oct. 1, 2016 |

### 2015 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jesse Wade PG | Kaysville, UT | Davis | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 4, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Jack Beach SG | San Diego, CA | Torrey Pines | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jan 1, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: #110 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 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. "2015 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013. ||||||

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Zach Collins C | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Mar 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 |||||||
| Killian Tillie F | Antibes, France | INSEP | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Aug 29, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Zach Norvell Jr. G | Chicago, IL | Simeon | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 2, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Jacob Larsen C | Holte, Denmark | Falkonergårdens Gymnasium SISU Copenhagen | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Nov 12, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Rui Hachimura F | Sendai, Japan | Meisei | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 20, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #14 Rivals: #13 247Sports: #10 ESPN: #21 |||||||
| 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: "2016 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2015. "2016 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2015. "2016 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015. "2016 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2015. |||||||

## Roster

* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.
* Josh Perkins suffered a broken jaw in a November 2014 game and wasn't cleared to play with full contact until late April 2015. He was granted a medical hardship waiver and will have 4 years of eligibility remaining effective at the start of the 2015–16 season.
* Jesse Wade graduated high school in 2015, but before enrolling in college at Gonzaga, he left for a 2-year LDS mission in Lyon, France, and will arrive on campus as a freshman in Fall 2017.
* Przemek Karnowski did not play after the Bulldogs' fifth game of the season, a November 27, 2015 win over UConn, due to back problems. On December 31, it was announced that he would undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season. At the time his surgery was announced, it had not been decided whether Karnowski would apply for a medical hardship waiver and play at Gonzaga in 2016–17, or turn professional after this season. He ultimately chose to remain at Gonzaga and play in the 2016–17 season.

### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year at Gonzaga | Alma Mater (year) |
| Mark Few | Head coach | 17th | Oregon (1987) |
| Tommy Lloyd | Associate Head Coach | 15th | Whitman (1998) |
| Donny Daniels | Assistant coach | 6th | Cal State Fullerton (1976) |
| Brian Michaelson | Assistant coach | 3rd | Gonzaga (2005) |
| Doug Wojcik | Special Assistant to the Head Coach | 1st | Navy (1987) |
| John Jakus | Director of Basketball Operations | 2nd | Trinity International (1999) |
| Mike Hart | Video Coordinator | 2nd | Gonzaga (2012) |
| Riccardo Fois | Director of Analytics | 2nd | Pepperdine (2009) |
| Jennifer Nyland | Athletic Trainer | 17th | Washington State (1998) |
| Travis Knight | Strength & Conditioning Coach | 10th | Gonzaga (2000) |

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Others receiving votes. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | 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 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | | | RV | | | | RV | RV | N/A* |
| Coaches | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | RV | 21 |

## Schedule

Gonzaga's non-conference schedule included home games against Arizona, UCLA, Montana, Northern Arizona, Mount St. Mary's, and Saint Martin's. Gonzaga played true road games at SMU and Washington State, and also faced off with Pittsburgh in the Armed Forces Classic in Okinawa, Japan. The Zags were invited to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they played against three of the following in the Bahamas: Syracuse, UConn, Texas, Michigan, Texas A&M, Washington, and Charlotte. Gonzaga also played Tennessee in the 13th annual Battle in Seattle at KeyArena. Gonzaga played 18 conference games (home-and-home) during the season. Gonzaga will be featured on the ESPN networks at least 14 times in 2015–16. The WCC Tournament will feature 5 games televised on the ESPN networks.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 31* | No. 9 | vs. No. 22 Baylor Secret Scrimmage | L – | – | – | – | – | Zions Bank Basketball Center Salt Lake City, UT |
| Nov 7* 5:00 pm, KHQ | No. 9 | Eastern Oregon | W 90–58 | – | 33 – Wiltjer | 14 – Wiltjer | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Nov 13* 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | vs. Pittsburgh Armed Forces Classic | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Butler Marine Base Okinawa, JP |
| Nov 18* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 10 | Northern Arizona | W 91–52 | 1–0 | 26 – Sabonis | 9 – Karnowski | 6 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Nov 21* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 10 | Mount St. Mary's Battle 4 Atlantis opening round | W 101–56 | 2–0 | 15 – Melson, Sabonis | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Nov 25* 9:00 am, ESPN2 | No. 10 | vs. Washington Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | W 80–64 | 3–0 | 24 – Wiltjer | 11 – Dranginis, Wiltjer | 3 – McClellan | Imperial Arena (1,374) Nassau, BS |
| Nov 26* 10:00 am, ESPN | No. 10 | vs. No. 25 Texas A&M Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals | L 61–62 | 3–1 | 18 – Wiltjer | 7 – Wiltjer | 5 – Dranginis | Imperial Arena (1,331) Nassau, BS |
| Nov 27* 9:00 am, ESPN | No. 10 | vs. No. 18 UConn Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game | W 73–70 | 4–1 | 17 – Wiltjer | 9 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | Imperial Arena (2,122) Nassau, BS |
| Dec 2* 8:00 pm, FS1 | No. 13 | at Washington State | W 69–60 | 5–1 | 22 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 4 – Dranginis | Beasley Coliseum (8,209) Pullman, WA |
| Dec 5* 12:15 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | No. 19 Arizona | L 63–68 | 5–2 | 33 – Wiltjer | 16 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 8* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | No. 20 | Montana | W 61–58 | 6–2 | 16 – Sabonis, Wiltjer | 10 – Sabonis | 3 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 12* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | UCLA | L 66–71 | 6–3 | 20 – Wiltjer | 8 – Sabonis, Wiltjer | 4 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 14* 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | Saint Martin's | W 86–50 | 7–3 | 21 – Sabonis | 12 – Sabonis | 8 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 19* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Tennessee Battle in Seattle | W 86–79 | 8–3 | 36 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis | KeyArena (16,770) Seattle, WA |
| WCC Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec 21 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Pepperdine | W 99–73 | 9–3 (1–0) | 23 – Sabonis | 11 – Wiltjer | 6 – Sabonis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 23 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | Loyola Marymount | W 85–62 | 10–3 (2–0) | 26 – Wiltjer | 13 – Sabonis | 7 – Dranginis | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Dec 31 2:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | at Santa Clara | W 79–77 | 11–3 (3–0) | 26 – Perkins | 7 – Wiltjer | 4 – Perkins | Leavey Center (3,121) Santa Clara, CA |
| Jan 2 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at San Francisco | W 102–94 $^{OT}$ | 12–3 (4–0) | 35 – Sabonis | 14 – Sabonis | 4 – Sabonis | War Memorial Gymnasium (3,253) San Francisco, CA |
| Jan 9 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | Portland | W 85–74 | 13–3 (5–0) | 32 – Wiltjer | 17 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Jan 14 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | BYU Rivalry | L 68–69 | 13–4 (5–1) | 35 – Wiltjer | 10 – Wiltjer | 7 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Jan 16 5:00 pm, KAYU/RTNW | No. 25 | San Diego | W 88–52 | 14–4 (6–1) | 25 – Wiltjer | 15 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Jan 21 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 67–70 | 14–5 (6–2) | 23 – McClellan | 13 – Sabonis | 7 – Sabonis | McKeon Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| Jan 23 1:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW/TWCSN | | at Pacific | W 71–61 | 15–5 (7–2) | 23 – Wiltjer | 20 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis | Alex G. Spanos Center (4,309) Stockton, CA |
| Jan 28 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | Santa Clara | W 84–67 | 16–5 (8–2) | 35 – Wilter | 17 – Sabonis | 4 – McClellan | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Jan 30 5:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | San Francisco | W 86–48 | 17–5 (9–2) | 15 – Melson, Sabonis, Wiltjer | 10 – Dranginis | 5 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Feb 4 7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | at Loyola Marymount | W 92–63 | 18–5 (10–2) | 23 – Wiltjer | 11 – Sabonis | 7 – Dranginis | Gersten Pavilion (3,422) Los Angeles, CA |
| Feb 6 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Pepperdine | W 69–66 | 19–5 (11–2) | 20 – Sabonis | 11 – Sabonis | 5 – Dranginis, Perkins | Firestone Fieldhouse (3,210) Malibu, CA |
| Feb 11 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Portland | W 92–66 | 20–5 (12–2) | 21 – Wiltjer | 11 – Sabonis | 9 – Perkins | Chiles Center (4,852) Portland, OR |
| Feb 13* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 16 SMU | L 60–69 | 20–6 | 20 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | Moody Coliseum (7,249) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 18 6:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | Pacific | W 90–68 | 21–6 (13–2) | 26 – Wiltjer | 10 – Sabonis | 6 – Perkins | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Feb 20 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Saint Mary's Rivalry | L 58–63 | 21–7 (13–3) | 21 – Perkins | 13 – Sabonis | 3 – McClellan | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Feb 25 7:00 pm, KHQ/RTNW | | at San Diego | W 82–60 | 22–7 (14–3) | 18 – Melson | 17 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis, McClellan | Jenny Craig Pavilion (4,076) San Diego, CA |
| Feb 27 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at BYU Rivalry | W 71–68 | 23–7 (15–3) | 21 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Marriott Center (18,987) Provo, UT |
| WCC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 5 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (7) Portland Quarterfinals | W 92–67 | 24–7 | 26 – McClellan | 8 – Dranginis, Wiltjer | 5 – Dranginis | Orleans Arena (7,209) Las Vegas, NV |
| Mar 7 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (3) BYU Semifinals/Rivalry | W 88–84 | 25–7 | 29 – Wiltjer | 14 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Orleans Arena (8,362) Las Vegas, NV |
| Mar 8 6:00 pm, ESPN | (2) | vs. (1) Saint Mary's Championship/Rivalry | W 85–75 | 26–7 | 20 – McClellan | 8 – Sabonis | 5 – Perkins | Orleans Arena (7,418) Las Vegas, NV |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 17* 6:57 pm, truTV | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) No. 20 Seton Hall First Round | W 68–52 | 27–7 | 21 – Sabonis | 16 – Sabonis | 7 – Perkins | Pepsi Center (19,500) Denver, CO |
| Mar 19* 5:40 pm, TNT | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Utah Second Round | W 82–59 | 28–7 | 22 – McClellan | 10 – Sabonis | 3 – Dranginis, McClellan, Sabonis, Wiltjer | Pepsi Center (19,551) Denver, CO |
| Mar 25* 6:40 pm, CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Syracuse Sweet Sixteen | L 60–63 | 28–8 | 23 – Wiltjer | 17 – Sabonis | 6 – Perkins | United Center (21,490) Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||