Men's Basketball

No. 1 Gonzaga Rolls to Fifth Straight Sweet 16

Zags square off against Florida State Thursday on CBS

2018-19 #WCCHOOPS SCHEDULE | 2018-19 WCC Almanac   
 
COMPLETE RELEASE (.PDF)

ZAGS SWEET 16 (x5)
No. 1 Gonzaga reached its fifth straight NCAA Sweet 16 after dispatching Baylor (83-71) - the nation’s longest active streak. 
  • The Zags are one of 12 programs to reach five straight Sweet 16s overall and five consecutive has only been matched twice in the 35 years of the expanded bracket era (Kentucky & Kansas) 
  • This is the 10th Sweet 16 berth in program history for Gonzaga with nine of them coming under head coach Mark Few 
  • Gonzaga will face Florida State for the second straight season for the right to advance to the Elite Eight. The Zags have qualified for the Elite Eight twice since 2015 (2015 & 2017) and three overall (1999).
 
LIONS ADVANCE TO CBI SEMIFINALS
LMU (22-11) advanced to the semifinals of its first CBI Postseason with a convincing 81-63 victory against Brown
  • The Lions are the second WCC team to advance to the CBI semifinals in as many seasons (San Francisco, 2018 finalists)
  • James Batemon scored a team-high 21 points to pace the Lions
 
ABOUT GONZAGA
  • No. 1 seed Gonzaga opened the 2019 postseason with back-to-back wins against No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson (87-49) and Baylor (83-71).
  • The Bulldogs improved to 33-21 all-time in the NCAA Tournament (22 trips), 30-19 under head coach Mark Few (20 trips)
  • Gonzaga is one of just two programs nationally to win its NCAA Tournament opener in each of the last 11 seasons (Kansas)
  • Brandon Clarke’s 36-point outburst against Baylor in the second round is the second highest single-game scoring tally in WCC NCAA Tournament history. LMU All-American Bo Kimble scored 45 against New Mexico State (3/16/90).
  • No. 1 Gonzaga entered its 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches poll. The Bulldogs have appeared in 55 consecutive AP Top-25 polls and spent four weeks at No. 1 this season.
  • The Zags earned the third No. 1 seed in program history - all coming since 2013. With a win against Baylor in the 2019 NCAA Second Round, Gonzaga is the only team to advance to each of the last five NCAA Sweet 16s. 
  • Gonzaga’s set an NCAA record this year with the most consecutive road wins in conference play. The Zags won their 32nd straight at Saint Mary’s (3/2/19).
 
ABOUT LMU
LMU (22-11) started the year with the best start in program history (8-0) and have now doubled its win tally from a year ago.
 
COACH ROSE RETIRES
BYU’s Dave Rose announced his retirement from coaching at BYU after 22 years, including 14 seasons as head coach. COMPLETE RELEASE
  • Rose guided the Cougars to a record of 348-135, including eight trips to the NCAA Tournament and five NIT bids. 
  • Rose won four conference titles, was named conference coach of the year three times and led BYU to 13 20-win seasons and eight 25-win seasons. 
  • He retires as BYU’s all-time leader in winning percentage at 72.0 and is second all-time in victories at 348.
 
2019 #WCCHOOPS POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 28
NCAA SWEET 16 ROUND
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Florida State - (CBS) - 4:09 p.m.
     Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Center)
 
CBI SEMIFINALS
LMU at South Florida - 4:00 p.m.
       Tampa, Fla. (Yuengling Center)