Kelly Olynyk Has Career High 33 in Gonzaga Win at Santa Clara

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 5, 2013

Mark Few, head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs since 1999, has built the program into one of national prominence, routinely dominating the West Coast Conference. This season, he may have one of his best teams ever.

Few's record with the Zags is impressive, going 357–91 (.797) overall and an even better 162–22 (.882) in conference play. The 10th-ranked, 15-1 Bulldogs won their second straight conference game, winning at Santa Clara, 81-74, to remain tied with BYU for the early lead at 2-0 thanks to a career high, 33-point, 10-rebound effort from their outstanding junior forward, Kelly Olynyk.

Olynyk had a nearly flawless game, making 12 of 15 shots from the field, including going 1-for-1 from three-point range and canned seven of eight free throws, displaying a deft shooting touch for a big man. Olynyk, a native of Kamloop, British Columbia, stand's seven feet tall and finds few opposing players who can defend him. He's scored in double figures in all but one of Ganzaga's 16 games.

With three straight road wins under their collective belts, the Bulldogs appear ready for their next big test, a January 10 meeting with traditional conference rival, St. Mary's. It will mark Olynyk's first game as a starter against the Gaels, since he sat out last season.

NOTABLE: Life is tough in the big conferences. There were 16 Top 25 teams in action on Saturday, and five of them suffered defeats at the hands of conference foes.

In the Big East, the carnage was widespread, with #15 Georgetown falling to Marquette, 49-48, Rutgers topping #24 Pitt, 67-62, and #15 Cincinnati losing at home to St. John's, 53-52.

In the Big Ten, the #11 Fighting Illini took down #8 Ohio State, 74-55, while #25 Kansas State prevailed at home, 73-67, over #22 Oklahoma State in Big 12 action.

Gonzaga Shoots 64% in 104-57 win; Kyle Dranginis Leads with 30 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 29, 2012

Freshman guard Kyle Dranginis, who was averaging less than 15 minutes and 2.67 points per game, exploded for 30 to lead the 7=0 Bulldogs to a 104-57 trouncing of Lewis-Clark State, hitting 12 of 16 shots from the field, including four threes.

The 6'5" Dranginis, who logged more court time than any of his teammates with 34 minutes, wasn't exactly hogging the ball, either, as five of his teammates also scored in double figures. Dranginis distributed seven assists and helped out on the boards, pulling in six rebounds.

Gonzaga, ranked 12th nationally, scored in triple figures for the second time this season. The Bulldogs displayed masterful marksmanship, shooting an incredible 64% (43-for-67)for the game while limiting the visiting Warriors to a mere 37%. They lead the nation in field goal percentage at 54% and are 8th overall in scoring, averaging 85.3 points per game.

Elsewhere, #8 Kentucky was treated rudely by their Notre Dame hosts, as the Fighting Irish posted a 64-50 victory over the Wildcats, one of two wins by the Big East in the opening night of the Big East - SEC Challenge. St. John's got the other Big East win, dumping South Carolina, 89-65. Florida and LSU were winners for the SEC.

The inter-conference showcase continues Friday with four more games, including Tennessee at Georgetown and Arkansas hosting the #6 Syracuse Orange.

Elias Harris Leads Gonzaga to 6-0 with 24 Point Effort

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, November 25, 2012

Headed into Sunday's game with Davidson, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, ranked 17th in the last poll, look like the giant-killer they've always been under coach Mark Few.

With their 81-67 win over the Wildcats, the Zags improved to 6-0 and almost certainly will move up a few notches - possibly into the top 10 - when the new poll is released Monday afternoon.

Senior forward Elias Harris, who has averaged 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in his four years as a starter for Gonzaga, scored a season-high 24 points to lead all scorers on 9-for-11 shooting. Harris notched his second double-double of the season with 10 rebounds as he controlled the interior on both ends while Kevin Pangos dominated the outside, hitting five of nine three-pointers for his 23 points.

Elsewhere, #6 Syracuse defeated Colgate for the 47th consecutive time, 87-51; #15 Michigan State survived a scare from visiting Louisiana-Lafayette, 63-60; #1 Indiana demolished Ball State, 101-53; and Shabazz Muhammad's double-double was not enough to prevent UCLA from losing its second game of the season, 70-68, to Cal Poly.

The Bruins entered the week ranked #11, but lost to Georgetown on Monday, narrowly defeated Georgia, 60-56, and appear headed to the lower rungs of the Top 25 if not ending up unranked come Monday afternoon.

Gonzaga Pays Back St. Mary's Behind Kevin Pangos' 27 Points; Murray State Last Unbeaten to Fall

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, February 9, 2012

Official attendance for Gonzaga's showdown with St. Mary's was quoted at 6,000, but inside the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, it sounded more like 60,000 and the home Bulldogs treated the guest Gaels like they weren't invited.

Before a loud and often deafening crowd, freshman guard Kevin Pangos pumped in 27 points to lead Gonzaga to a 73-59 pummeling of #13 St. Mary's the leaders in the race for the West Coast Conference title.

St. Mary's came into the game riding a 12 game winning streak with an unbeaten, 10-0 record in the conference and a two game lead over the Zags, but Pangos and his fellow Gaels took St. Mary's dazzling point guard, Matthew Deledevoda out of his game, limited the Gaels to 38% shooting, and, with the win, may have secured themselves another trip to the NCAA tourney.

Earlier in the season, St. Mary's had treated the Bulldogs with disdain, pounding them, 83-62, and taking control of the top spot in the conference, but Thursday night, on their home floor, the Zags were clearly the better team, shooting 53% and out-rebounding St. Mary's 40-26.

Pangos, a speedy sharpshooter who is also developing into a slashing driver, was 8-for-16 from the field, making five of six of his three-pointers and going 6-for-6 from the line, along with four boards, two assists and a pair of steals.

The win upped Gonzaga's record to 19-4 overall and 9-2 in the conference. With non-conference wins over Notre Dame, Butler and Arizona on their resume, the Bulldogs appear poised to re-enter the Top 25 next week and ride a wave of confidence through the remainder of the season and into tournament play.

They still trail St. Mary's by a game in the conference schedule, but will likely face them again in the WCC tournament, the winner receiving an automatic bad to the the NCAA tourney.

NOTABLE: The last of the undefeated teams in Division I finally met its match as #7 Murray State fell to Tennessee Tech, 72-68, despite 31 points from Isaiah Canaan. The Racers entered the game at 23-0 with a stranglehold on the Ohio Valley conference. Following the loss, their lead is still 2 1/2 games over Tennessee State with just four more conference tilts left on the schedule, the final three of those on the road. The non-conference game with St Mary's on February 18 is of particular importance as both the Gaels and the Racers will be looking for a signature win to ensure a trip to the big dance.

Pangos Hoists 33, Ties 3-Point Record for Gonzaga in Bulldog Victory over Washington State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 14, 2011

Kevin Pangos missed all three shots he took from inside the 3-point arc in Gonzaga's 89-81 win over Washington State. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, he hit nine of 13 from outside the arc, tallying a career-high 33 points tying Dan Dickau's school record for made threes in a game to help the Zags move to 2-0 on the season.

Pangos, a 6'1" freshman guard, lit up the scoreboard for Gonzaga after scoring only 11 points in their season opening, 77-69, win over Eastern Washington on Friday.

In his 37 minutes, Pangos also dished six assists and grabbed a pair of rebounds. He was also 6-for-6 from the line, including two clutch free throws with time winding down. Center Robert Sacre, saddled with foul trouble much of the game, made six straight foul shots as the Bulldogs failed to score a field goal in the final five minutes, but held off a late rally by the Cougars. Sacre played only 23 minutes, but contributed from the charity stripe, making all 13 of his free throws.

The Bulldogs are expected to remain a force in the West Coast conference after being knocked out in the second round of last season's NCAA tournament by Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars.

Round of 64 Results and Recaps - Late Games

Southeast

Florida 79 UC-Santa Barbara 51 - Chandler Parsons scored 10 points, had 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Gators rolled to an easy win. Ten different players Gators scored as coach Billy Donovan emptied his bench late.

BYU 74 Wofford 66 - The Cougars proved a bit too fierce for the Terriers. Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points for BYU, the highest point total of the first day.
Wisconsin 72 Belmont 58 - Jon Leuer scored 22 points and Jordan Taylor had 21 to push the Badgers to the next round.

UCLA 78 Michigan State 76 - The Bruins built a 24-point lead only to give most of it away as Michigan State fought back in the second half. UCLA will face #2 seed Florida on Saturday.

Gonzaga 86 St. John's 71 - Gonzaga broke open a close game early on and kept the Red Stom at bay, cruising to a surprisingly easy first round win. Marquise Carter poured in 24 points for the Zags. Seeded surprisingly low at #11, Gonzaga faces #13 BYU in the next round.

Kansas State 73 Utah State 68 - Utah State's Tai Wesley got into early foul trouble and the Wildcats took advantage, building a working lead and staying safely ahead of the the Aggies. Jacob Pullen fought through flu-like symptoms to top the scorer's sheet with 22 points.

West


Connecticut 81 Bucknell 52 - Connecticut opened a big lead early, coasting to an easy opening round win. Kemba Walker led all scorers with 18 points, to go with 12 assists and 8 rebounds.

Cincinnati 78 Missouri 63 - Yancey Gates led all scorers with 18 points and ripped down 11 rebounds to lead the Bearcats over the Tigers. Gates was 7-for-8 from the floor, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers.

Steven Gray Electric in Gonzaga Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 12, 2010

Last season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs accomplished almost everything they set out to do, but almost wasn't good enough, as they lost the WCC tournament title game to up-and-coming St. Mary's and were bounced out of the NCAA tourney in the second round by Syracuse.

Steven Gray was a big part of the 2009-10 team and he's back for his senior year, expecting better from himself and his teammates. The Zags, 27-7 last year, opened this season's campaign by topping the century mark - something they did only once last year - with an impressive 117-72 win over Southern University.

Gray, the only senior on the team, displayed his enormous talents in 28 minutes of play, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 three-pointers. The 6'5" guard also grabbed seven rebounds, handed off nine assists and made three steals.

Harris Goes for Career-High 31 as Zags Top St. Mary's

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 14, 2010

Every year, the Gonzaga Bulldogs field a team worthy of inclusion in the NCAA tournament field. Over the last decade, the Zags have become a nearly-permanent fixture of the tourney, and have gone from being a novelty to being a perennial high seed. This year's squad is no different, taking on teams from all over the country, and beating some of them, in preparation for the annual March madness.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs won their 5th straight, and 3rd straight on the road, with an important victory over one of their West Coast Conference main rivals, the St. Mary's Gaels. Leading the way to the 89-83 win was freshman forward Elias Harris, who did it all with a career-high 31 points on 13-for-20 shooting, and 13 rebounds. Operating mostly in the post, Harris displayed some very un-freshman-like skills and even drifted out beyond the arc on occasion, hitting one of his two 3-point attempts. Harris, 6'7", is a 46% shooter from downtown.

With wins in their first two conference games on the road over their main rivals for the WCC title - beating Portland on Saturday, 81-78, the Bulldogs are tied for first place with Pepperdine and appear to have a team worthy of a high seeding and potential run deep into the tourney field come March. Gonzaga is 13-3, with the losses coming against Michigan State, Duke and Wake Forest.

Gonzaga and Siena Play Their Way In

West Coast Final: Gonzaga 83, St. Mary's 58

Gonzaga wasn't about to let a perfect 14-0 conference record be marred by one game and they opened full bore against the Gaels, scoring the first 8 points of the game.

St. Mary's didn't make a basket until nearly 6 minutes into the game. By then, the Bulldogs were off the leash and on the run. The Gaels pulled to within 5 points twice during the first half, but Gonzaga led by 13 at the break, 38-25. It got even worse as Gonzaga opened up a huge lead in the second half to secure their NCAA invitation.

Josh Heytvelt led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Micah Downs had a dozen points and the same number of rebounds.

St. Mary's Patrick Mills, in his second game back after sitting out since january with a broken wrist, wasn't a factor, hitting just 2 of 16 shots, including 0 of 7 from beyond the arc. His teammates didn't fare much better. The Gaels shot just 29% (19-66) for the game.

Metro Athletic Final: Siena 77, Niagara 70

The Siena Saints kept scoring, but they couldn't shake loose from the gritty Purple Eagles of Niagara. The score tied 50-50, with 8:39 left to play, Kenny Hasbrouck took matters into his own hands, scoring the next seven points for the Saints. When Ryan Rossiter scored to make it 59-51, the Saints were on their way to the NCAA tournament. Rossiter scored again and Hasbrouck added two more buckets in short order and Niagara could only respond with three points, making it 65-54 with 4:33 left.

Hasbrouck had 19 points. Rossiter finished with 16 points and 14 boards. Alex Franklin scored 16.

Niagara shot just 34%, but were busy on the boards, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds and 43 overall.

PAC-10: UCLA Only Team Capable of Tying Washington

After #22 UCLA beat Cal, 72-68, and #14 Arizona St. eliminated themselves from contention for the regular season PAC-10 title by losing at Washington State in overtime, 51-49, Saturday night, the Washington Huskies have already earned at least a share of the crown.

Only 11-5 UCLA can catch the 13-4 Huskies, and that's only if the Bruins win both of their remaining games - Oregon and Oregon St. - and the Huskies lose to Washington St. on Saturday, March 7. Might as well start etching the base and looking for a #2 or 3 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney for the Huskies.

Elsewhere Saturday evening, #1 Pitt cruised past Seton Hall, 89-78, improving to 26-3 and 13-3 in the Big East, setting up the showdown for the conference title in a March 7 contest with the UConn Huskies at Pitt. The Panthers have a little work before then, however, hosting #8 Marquette on March 4.

#25 Texas will no doubt be removed from the rankings after losing at Oklahoma St., 68-59. The Longhorns dropped to 8-6 in the conference, tied with Kansas St. and Oklahoma St. Those three teams each have 9 losses, so their performance in the Big 12 tournament will likely determine which one (or maybe two) get NCAA invitations.

One team certain to make the field of 65 is #17 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs completed an undefeated conference schedule with a 58-46 win over San Diego Saturday night. With a 14-0 record in the West Caost Conference, the Zags are sure to recived a low number in the NCAA seeding process, probably a #3 or 4 position.