5-seed Gonzaga (25-7) vs. 12-seed McNeese State (30-3)
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 | 4:25 P.M. | DELTA CENTER | SALT LAKE CITY, UT
TELEVISION: TBS
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THE TIP OFF
- Gonzaga will meet McNeese State on Thursday in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, It's the Zags' first meeting with McNeese State.
- GU is making its 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 26th overall. The 25 straight berths to the field is 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.
- Gonzaga is the five seed, for the first time in program history, in the Midwest Region.
- The Zags are 41-23 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Few with a berth in all 25 seasons.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16. The Zags are the only program to appear in the last eight Sweet 16s.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 20-6, Kansas is next at 16-5. GU's 25 wins in the tournament since 2015 is also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21.
- Gonzaga has earned more NCAA Tournament "units" than any program in the country in the last six seasons.
- The Bulldogs are 35-19 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games.
- GU plays in Salt Lake in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history. Gonzaga has played more NCAA Tournament games in Salt Lake City than any other site, winning eight of the 11 games played there. The Zags last played in Salt Lake City in 2019, beating Fairleigh Dickinson and Baylor as a one seed.
- In 2022-23, third-seeded GU defeated 14th-seeded Grand Canyon (82-70) and sixth-seeded TCU (84-81) in Denver, Colo., advancing to the Sweet 16 in Las Vegas, where it beat second-seeded UCLA (79-76), before falling to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite Eight.
- Gonzaga clinched its 17th straight 25-win season, which is now the NCAA Div. 1 record.
- The Zags are 19-0 this season when scoring 80 points and 19-0 when shooting 50 percent from the field. GU is 22-0 this season when shooting 30 percent from behind-the-perimeter and 19-1 when making six or more threes.
- The Bulldogs have won 169 straight games when leading by 10 or more points at halftime.
- Gonzaga leads the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage (51.6, 2nd in NCAA Div. 1), scoring margin (15.9, 5th in NCAA Div. 1), scoring (84.9, 6th NCAA Div. 1), blocks (4.0) and assists per game (16.6).
- GU has clinched its 17th consecutive 25-win season, improving its own NCAA Div. 1 record with 17 straight.
- Mark Few currently boasts the best winning percentage among active head coaches at 83.3 percent, which also is the best in NCAA Div. 1 all-time with a minimum of 10 seasons.
- Few reached the 700 win plateau in his head coaching career at Pepperdine. Few ranks second in NCAA Div. 1 history behind Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (700-136) as the fastest to 700 wins.
- Few's 41 NCAA Tournament wins ranks fourth among active coaches Calipari (56), Self (55), and Izzo (53).
- Ryan Nembhard leads the conference, and is seventh in the nation, dishing out 6.7 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.03). His 215 total assists ranks fifth in the country and third most in a season ever at GU.
- Anton Watson moved to No. 2 in program history with 211 steals in his career, trailing only John Stockton.
 
ZAG FIRST ROUND MEDIA AVAILABILITY
- Thursday, March 21
2:05 - 2:20 pm   Student-Athletes Press Conference
2:20 - 2:35 pm   Coach Few Press Conference
2:45 - 3:25 pm   Open Practice
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Gonzaga is making its 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 26th overall.
- The 25 straight berths to the field are the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas and Michigan State), and the sixth-longest in NCAA Div. 1 history.
The Zags are 44-25 all-time in their 25 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.
- GU is 41-23 in the NCAA Tournament under Few with a berth in all 25 seasons of his head coaching career.
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 20-6, Kansas is next at 16-5. GU's 25 wins in the tournament since 2015 is also the most, with Villanova and North Carolina second at 21. Duke and Kansas both have 20.
- Gonzaga is one of only two teams to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 14 tournaments, Kansas is the other at 16.
- The Zags are 35-19 all-time as a single-digit seed, with a 16-2 record in first round games as a single-digit seed.
- Gonzaga is the five seed, for the first time in program history, in the Midwest Region.
- GU plays in Salt Lake in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history. Gonzaga has played more NCAA Tournament games in Salt Lake City than any other site, winning eight of the 11 games played there. The Zags last played in Salt Lake City in 2019, beating Fairleigh Dickinson and Baylor as a one seed.
- In 2022-23, third-seeded Gonzaga defeated 14th-seeded Grand Canyon (82-70) and sixth-seeded TCU (84-81) in Denver. The Zags then advanced to the Sweet 16 in Las Vegas, where it beat second-seeded UCLA (79-76), before falling to eventual national champion and fourth-seeded UConn (82-54).
 
FACT CHECKING
- During Few's coaching career, his GU teams are 31-9 (.775) as the higher seed, including a 24-5 mark since 2009.
- Since 2009, the Zags have lost only five games against a lower-seeded team, a span of 13 NCAA Tournaments.
- Few's teams have also pulled seven upset wins in his 24 previous NCAA Tournaments.
 
ABOUT THE COWBOYS
- 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 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 12-seed is the highest for a Cowboys' program and also matches the highest seed for a Southland team in the last 40 years (SFA in 2014 and 2015).
- McNeese is one of just four teams in the country with at least 30 wins (No. 1 Houston, 30; No. 2 UConn, 31; and James Madison with 31).
- Shahada Wells was named the league's Player and Newcomer of the Year, Christian Shumate the Defensive Player of the year, and head coach Will Wade as Coach of the Year.
 
SERIES INFO
- This is the first-ever meeting between Gonzaga and McNeese State.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 all-time versus current members of the Southland Conference.
- Gonzaga last meeting with a Southland Conference member was a 95-78 win over Northwestern State in Spokane Dec. 22, 2020.
 
UP NEXT
- With a victory, Gonzaga would advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Zags would play the winner between fourth-seeded Kansas and 13th-seeded Samford.