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
2007–08 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 20 Gonzaga131 .929258  .758
Saint Mary's122 .857257  .781
San Diego113 .7862214  .611
Santa Clara68 .4291516  .484
San Francisco59 .3571021  .323
Pepperdine410 .2861121  .344
Portland311 .214922  .290
Loyola Marymount212 .143526  .161
2008 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Preseason

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

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for Departure
Sean Mallon32F6'9"223 Senior (Redshirt)Spokane, WAGraduated
Derek Raivio5G6'3"177 SeniorVancouver, WAGraduated
Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes4G6'0"182 JuniorMontreal, QCGraduated; Transferred to Marshall
David Burgess33F6'10"270 Sophomore (Redshirt)Irvine, CATransferred to Azusa Pacific
Jordan Mast13G6'2"180 Freshman (Redshirt)Hillsboro, ORLeft Team

Incoming transfers

NamePos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious
School
Years
Remaining
Date
Eligible
Ira BrownF6'4"235 JuniorConroe, TXPhoenix College2Oct. 1, 2007[2]

2007 recruiting class

[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:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/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:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/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:4/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/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

2007–08 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 31 Abdullahi Kuso 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)241 lb (109 kg) RS SrRimi
Rutgers
Tallahassee CC
Kaduna, Nigeria
G 22 David Pendergraft 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)223 lb (101 kg) SrBrewster Brewster, WA
F 42 Josh Heytvelt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)255 lb (116 kg) RS JrClarkston Clarkston, WA
G 11 Andrew Sorenson (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)172 lb (78 kg) RS JrOlympia Olympia, WA
G 22 Micah Downs 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrJuanita
Kansas
Kirkland, WA
G 2 Jeremy Pargo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)219 lb (99 kg) JrRobeson Chicago, IL
F 50 Ira Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)235 lb (107 kg) JrWillis
Phoenix College
Conroe, TX
G 20 Larry Gurganious 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)199 lb (90 kg) RS SoSaint Mary's Berkeley, CA
C 45 Will Foster 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)260 lb (118 kg) SoWhite River Bonney Lake, WA
G 15 Matt Bouldin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)214 lb (97 kg) SoThunderRidge Highlands Ranch, CO
F 34 Theo Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)207 lb (94 kg) RS FrLutheran Christian Academy Brampton, ON
G 32 Steven Gray 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrBainbridge Bainbridge Island, WA
F 5 Austin Daye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrWoodbridge Irvine, CA
C 21 Robert Sacre 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)255 lb (116 kg) FrHandsworth North Vancouver, BC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Tournament build-up

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

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/11/2007*
1:00 pm, FSN
No. 14 Montana W 7754  10
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/13/2007*
8:00 pm, FSN
No. 14 Idaho W 8043  20
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/17/2007*
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 14 UC-Riverside W 8448  30
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 7471  40
Sullivan Arena (8,383)
Anchorage, AK
11/23/2007*
9:00 pm, ESPN360
No. 14 vs. Texas Tech
Great Alaska Shootout
L 7363  41
Sullivan Arena (8,700)
Anchorage, AK
11/24/2007*
7:00 pm, ESPN360
No. 14 vs. Virginia Tech
Great Alaska Shootout
W 8264  51
Sullivan Arena (8,576)
Anchorage, AK
11/29/2007*
5:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 at Saint Joseph's W 7065 OT 61
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200)
Philadelphia, PA
12/01/2007*
12:30 pm, ESPN
No. 19 at UConn
Basketball HOF Challenge
W 8582  71
TD Banknorth Garden (18,007)
Boston
12/05/2007*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 17 No. 8 Washington State L 5147  72
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/08/2007*
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 17 Cal State Northridge W 8559  82
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/17/2007*
5:00 pm, FSN
No. 18 Northern Colorado W 7757  92
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/20/2007*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 vs. Oklahoma
All-College Challenge
L 7268  93
Ford Center (13,135)
Oklahoma City, OK
12/29/2008*
5:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 11 Tennessee
Battle in Seattle
L 8272  94
KeyArena (15,141)
Seattle, WA
12/31/2008*
5:00 pm, FSN
Utah W 6159  104
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/05/2008*
5:00 pm, FSN
vs. Georgia
Ronald McDonald House Charities
W 7567  114
Spokane Arena (12,064)
Spokane, WA
01/12/2008
5:30 pm, FSN
at Loyola Marymount W 9168  124 (10)
Gersten Pavilion (3,692)
Los Angeles
01/14/2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Pepperdine W 9257  134 (2-0)
Firestone Fieldhouse (2,954)
Malibu, CA
01/19/2008
1:00 pm, FSN
San Diego W 8070  144 (30)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/21/2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
San Francisco W 7264  154 (40)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
01/26/2008*
9:00 am, ESPN
at No. 1 Memphis L 8173  155
FedEx Forum (18,152)
Memphis, TN
01/28/2008
5:00 pm, FSN
Portland W 7941  165 (50)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/02/2008
4:00 pm, KHQ
at Santa Clara W 8782 2OT 175 (60)
Leavey Center (4,500)
Santa Clara, CA
02/04/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 21 St. Mary's L 8985 OT 176 (61)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
02/09/2008
5:00 pm, KHQ
Pepperdine W 10159  186 (71)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/11/2008
5:00 pm, FSN
Loyola Marymount W 8350  196 (81)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/16/2008
5:00 pm, ESPNU
at San Francisco W 8363  206 (91)
War Memorial Gymnasium (4,500)
San Francisco, CA
02/18/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at San Diego W 5955  216 (101)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
02/25/2008
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 24 at Portland W 7351  226 (111)
Chiles Center (4,527)
Portland, OR
03/01/2008
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 24 No. 25 St. Mary's W 8876  236 (121)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
03/03/2008
8:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 Santa Clara W 8854  246 (131)
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 5248  256
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
03/10/2008*
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 20 San Diego
Finals
L 6962  257
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 8276  258
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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