2007–08 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

During the 2007–08 season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team, from Gonzaga University in Washington state, played in the West Coast Conference and the Great Alaska Shootout. The team won 25 matches and lost 8, but lost in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

2007–08 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
WCC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Round of 64
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. -
APNo. 20
Record25–8 (13–1 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcCarthey Athletic Center
Seasons
2007–08 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 20 Gonzaga 13 1   .929 25 8   .758
Saint Mary's 12 2   .857 25 7   .781
San Diego 11 3   .786 22 14   .611
Santa Clara 6 8   .429 15 16   .484
San Francisco 5 9   .357 10 21   .323
Pepperdine 4 10   .286 11 21   .344
Portland 3 11   .214 9 22   .290
Loyola Marymount 2 12   .143 5 26   .161
2008 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Preseason

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Coach Mark Few hit the recruiting trail hard in the offseason with the Coach proclaiming it's "the best we've ever had here". Few managed to recruit sought-after forward Austin Daye, Junior College transfer Ira Brown, Robert Sacre (a 7-foot Center from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) and Steven Gray, a prized point/shooting guard. Also returning from a suspension would be the team's leading scorer from the season before Josh Heytvelt, and Theo Davis. The team entered the season ranked 14th in the AP Poll.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Sean Mallon 32 F 6'9" 223 Senior (Redshirt) Spokane, WA Graduated
Derek Raivio 5 G 6'3" 177 Senior Vancouver, WA Graduated
Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes 4 G 6'0" 182 Junior Montreal, QC Graduated; Transferred to Marshall
David Burgess 33 F 6'10" 270 Sophomore (Redshirt) Irvine, CA Transferred to Azusa Pacific
Jordan Mast 13 G 6'2" 180 Freshman (Redshirt) Hillsboro, OR Left Team

Incoming transfers

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous
School
Years
Remaining
Date
Eligible
Ira Brown F 6'4" 235 Junior Conroe, TX Phoenix College 2 Oct. 1, 2007[2]

2007 recruiting class

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[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Steven Gray
G
Bainbridge Island, WA Bainbridge 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jul 11, 2005 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 93
Robert Sacre
C
North Vancouver, BC Handsworth 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Oct 12, 2005 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 93
Austin Daye
F
Irvine, CA Woodbridge 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 16, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 97
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: 17  ESPN: 17
  • 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:

  • "2007 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  • "2007 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  • "2007 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
  • "2007–08 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 11, 2007.

Roster

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2007–08 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 31 Abdullahi Kuso 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Rimi
Rutgers
Tallahassee CC
Kaduna, Nigeria
G 22 David Pendergraft 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Sr Brewster Brewster, WA
F 42 Josh Heytvelt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr Clarkston Clarkston, WA
G 11 Andrew Sorenson (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) RS Jr Olympia Olympia, WA
G 22 Micah Downs 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Juanita
Kansas
Kirkland, WA
G 2 Jeremy Pargo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 219 lb (99 kg) Jr Robeson Chicago, IL
F 50 Ira Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Willis
Phoenix College
Conroe, TX
G 20 Larry Gurganious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 199 lb (90 kg) RS So Saint Mary's Berkeley, CA
C 45 Will Foster 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So White River Bonney Lake, WA
G 15 Matt Bouldin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 214 lb (97 kg) So ThunderRidge Highlands Ranch, CO
F 34 Theo Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 207 lb (94 kg) RS Fr Lutheran Christian Academy Brampton, ON
G 32 Steven Gray 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bainbridge Bainbridge Island, WA
F 5 Austin Daye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Woodbridge Irvine, CA
C 21 Robert Sacre 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Handsworth North Vancouver, BC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Tournament build-up

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Gonzaga received a 7 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, and were paired against the 10 seed Davidson College, a sleeper pick by many experts. During the season the Bulldogs played ten teams that eventually made it to the tournament, and played a total of 13 games against teams who made it into the tournament. The Zags won seven of those thirteen games beating a 10 seed in Saint Mary's, a 13 seed in San Diego (Gonzaga won twice against San Diego), an 11 seed in Saint Joseph's, WKU, a 12 seed, a 14th seeded Georgia team, and a 4 seed in UConn. Gonzaga also lost six games against eventual tournament teams, they lost to Saint Mary's on the road, San Diego in the WCC Conference tournament, and also lost to a 1 seed in Memphis, a 2 seed in Tennessee, a 6th seeded Oklahoma Sooners team, and a 4 seed in Washington State at home.

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/11/2007*
1:00 pm, FSN
No. 14 Montana W 77–54  1–0
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/13/2007*
8:00 pm, FSN
No. 14 Idaho W 80–43  2–0
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/17/2007*
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 14 UC-Riverside W 84–48  3–0
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
2007 Great Alaska Shootout
11/22/2007*
8:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 14 vs. Western Kentucky
Great Alaska Shootout
W 74–71  4–0
Sullivan Arena (8,383)
Anchorage, AK
11/23/2007*
9:00 pm, ESPN360
No. 14 vs. Texas Tech
Great Alaska Shootout
L 73–63  4–1
Sullivan Arena (8,700)
Anchorage, AK
11/24/2007*
7:00 pm, ESPN360
No. 14 vs. Virginia Tech
Great Alaska Shootout
W 82–64  5–1
Sullivan Arena (8,576)
Anchorage, AK
11/29/2007*
5:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 at Saint Joseph's W 70–65 OT 6–1
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200)
Philadelphia, PA
12/01/2007*
12:30 pm, ESPN
No. 19 at UConn
Basketball HOF Challenge
W 85–82  7–1
TD Banknorth Garden (18,007)
Boston
12/05/2007*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 17 No. 8 Washington State L 51–47  7–2
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/08/2007*
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 17 Cal State Northridge W 85–59  8–2
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/17/2007*
5:00 pm, FSN
No. 18 Northern Colorado W 77–57  9–2
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/20/2007*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 vs. Oklahoma
All-College Challenge
L 72–68  9–3
Ford Center (13,135)
Oklahoma City, OK
12/29/2008*
5:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 11 Tennessee
Battle in Seattle
L 82–72  9–4
KeyArena (15,141)
Seattle, WA
12/31/2008*
5:00 pm, FSN
Utah W 61–59  10–4
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/05/2008*
5:00 pm, FSN
vs. Georgia
Ronald McDonald House Charities
W 75–67  11–4
Spokane Arena (12,064)
Spokane, WA
01/12/2008
5:30 pm, FSN
at Loyola Marymount W 91–68  12–4 (1–0)
Gersten Pavilion (3,692)
Los Angeles
01/14/2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Pepperdine W 92–57  13–4 (2-0)
Firestone Fieldhouse (2,954)
Malibu, CA
01/19/2008
1:00 pm, FSN
San Diego W 80–70  14–4 (3–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/21/2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
San Francisco W 72–64  15–4 (4–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/26/2008*
9:00 am, ESPN
at No. 1 Memphis L 81–73  15–5
FedEx Forum (18,152)
Memphis, TN
01/28/2008
5:00 pm, FSN
Portland W 79–41  16–5 (5–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/02/2008
4:00 pm, KHQ
at Santa Clara W 87–82 2OT 17–5 (6–0)
Leavey Center (4,500)
Santa Clara, CA
02/04/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 21 St. Mary's L 89–85 OT 17–6 (6–1)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
02/09/2008
5:00 pm, KHQ
Pepperdine W 101–59  18–6 (7–1)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/11/2008
5:00 pm, FSN
Loyola Marymount W 83–50  19–6 (8–1)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/16/2008
5:00 pm, ESPNU
at San Francisco W 83–63  20–6 (9–1)
War Memorial Gymnasium (4,500)
San Francisco, CA
02/18/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at San Diego W 59–55  21–6 (10–1)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
02/25/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 24 at Portland W 73–51  22–6 (11–1)
Chiles Center (4,527)
Portland, OR
03/01/2008
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 24 No. 25 St. Mary's W 88–76  23–6 (12–1)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
03/03/2008
8:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 Santa Clara W 88–54  24–6 (13–1)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
2008 West Coast Conference tournament
03/09/2008*
6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 Santa Clara
Semifinals
W 52–48  25–6
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
03/10/2008*
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 20 San Diego
Finals
L 69–62  25–7
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
03/21/2008*
9:25 am, CBS
No. 20 (7) vs. No. 23 (10) Davidson
NCAA Tournament Round of 64
L 82–76  25–8
RBC Center (19,477)
Raleigh, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

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