SPOKANE, Wash. – No. 16 Gonzaga men's basketball earned the five-seed in the Midwest Region in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Zags drew 12th-seeded McNeese State in the first round of the tournament. The Bulldogs and McNeese State meet for the first time ever.
 
Gonzaga and the Cowboys (30-3) will square off in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Thursday at 4:25 p.m. Pacific. The game will be broadcast on TBS with Brad Nessler on play by play, Brendan Haywood as analyst and Dana Jacobson as the sideline reporter.
 
Gonzaga is making its 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 26th in program history. The 25 straight berths to the tournament field ranks as the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas 34 and Michigan State 26). The Zags are 44-25 all-time in the 25 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with 13 trips to the Sweet 16, six trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
 
The Zags receive a five-seed for the first time in program history. GU plays in Salt Lake in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history. GU has played more NCAA Tournament games in Salt Lake City than any other site, winning eight of the 11 games played there.
 
McNeese State won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles and ride the nation's third-longest win streak into the matchup at 11 straight victories. McNeese captured its first Southland Conference Tournament title and NCAA bid since 2002 and just the third in school history after defeating Nicholls, 92-76, this past Wednesday. The Cowboys top the nation in scoring margin (18.9) and eighth in three-point percentage (38.8). One the best defenses in the country, McNeese State is third in field goal percentage defense (38.5), steals (10.4), and turnover margin (6.7), and fifth in scoring defense (61.5).
 
The winner of the GU and McNeese State first-round game will advance to a second-round game against the winner of Kansas versus Samford.