# 2014–15 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

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. 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.

## Previous season

The 2013-14 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 17th time with a 15-3 conference record. 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. 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, but then lost to Arizona in the round of 32, 84-61. The Zags finished the season with an overall record of 29-7, including a perfect 15-0 record at home.

## Preseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Sam Dower | 35 | C | 6'9" | 243 | Senior (Redshirt) | Brooklyn Park, MN | Graduated |
| David Stockton | 11 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Senior (Redshirt) | Spokane, WA | Graduated |
| Drew Barham | 43 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Senior (Redshirt) | Memphis, TN | Graduated |
| Brian Bhaskar | 22 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Monterey, CA | Graduated |
| Gerard Coleman | 0 | G | 6'4" | 170 | Junior (Redshirt) | Boston, MA | Transferred to Georgetown (KY) |
| Luke Meikle | 21 | F | 6'9" | 203 | Freshman | Tacoma, WA | Transferred to Cal Poly |
| Leo Roese | 23 | G | 6'3" | 184 | Freshman | São Paulo, Brazil | Left Team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Years Remaining | Date Eligible |
| Byron Wesley | G | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | USC | 1 | Oct. 1, 2014 |
| Eric McClellan | G | 6'4" | 180 | Junior (Redshirt) | Austin, TX | Vanderbilt | 1.5 | Jan. 6, 2015 |

### 2014 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Silas Melson SG | Portland, OR | Jefferson | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 18, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Josh Perkins PG | Park Hill, CO | Huntington Prep | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Aug 24, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Bryan Alberts SG | Northridge, CA | Village Christian | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 28, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 70 ||||||
| Domantas Sabonis PF | Kaunas, Lithuania | Sunny View School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 17, 2014 |
| Recruiting 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: "2014 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. "2014 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. "2014 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. "2014 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 17, 2014. ||||||

### 2015 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2015 recruits :
| 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 |||||||
| 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. |||||||

## Roster

* Ryan Edwards has elected to redshirt the 2014-15 season and will have 3 years of eligibility remaining effective in 2015-16.
* Bryan Alberts has elected to redshirt the 2014-15 season and will have 4 years of eligibility remaining effective in 2015-16.
* 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.
* Angel Nunez won an appeal to grant him one final year of eligibility after the 2014-15 season.

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| 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 | 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. 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.
| 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. |||||||||