3-seed Gonzaga (30-3) vs. 14-seed Kennesaw State (21-13)
THURSDAY, MARCH 19 | 7 P.M. PT | PORTLAND, OR | MODA CENTER
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THE OPENING TIP
- Gonzaga will meet Kennesaw State in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in Portland, Ore. The first-ever meeting between the programs will be in the Moda Center Friday at 7 p.m.
- GU is making its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearance and 28th overall. The 27 straight berths to the field ranks as the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas 36 and Michigan State 28).
- The Zags are 47-27 all-time in the 26 previous NCAA Tournament appearances with 14 trips to the Sweet 16, six trips to the Elite Eight, two Final Fours and two appearances in the national championship game.
- The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Tournament after beating three-seed Santa Clara in the WCC Championships, 79-68, in Las Vegas on March 10. Mario Saint-Supéry made six threes and led GU with 21 points. Tyon Grant-Foster added 20 points, Graham Ike had 15, and Davis Fogle finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
- GU won the WCC regular season title for the 27th time and the league's tournament title for the 23rd time in program history. The Zags were in the WCC Tournament Final for an NCAA record 29th straight time.
- Gonzaga reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in program history, and first since 2022-23. The Bulldogs have reached 30 wins in a season eight times, all coming in the last 14 years; 32-3 in 2012-13, 35-3
in 2014-15, 37-2 in 2016-17, 32-5 in 2017-18, 33-4 in 2018-19, 31-2 in 2019-20, 31-1 in 2021-22.
- Graham Ike was the WCC Player of the Year, and named the conference tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second straight season. He was also named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.
- Ike became the 86th player in NCAA Div. 1 history to score 2,500 points in a career.
- Ike is first in the nation among active scorers in NCAA Div. 1 with 2,531 points. His 1,133 rebounds also ranks second among active players. He is the only active player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
- The Zags currently lead the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9, 4th in NCAA), assists (18.3, 10th), bench points (34.73, 5th), effective field goal percentage (.563), fast-break points (15.24, 20th), field goal percentage (51.0, 7th), field goal percentage defense (39.5, 11th), defensive rebounds per game (27.94, 13th), scoring margin (19.1, 4th), scoring offense (85.1, 18th), three-point percentage defense (30.8), turnover margin (4.8, 5th), and turnovers (9.7). GU tops the nation in points in the paint at 44.7 per game, and has outscored its opponents by 352 points inside-the-arc, which leads the country (Arizona 2nd, 201). The Bulldogs have also made 316 more shots from the field than their opponents (Houston 2nd, 218).
- Head Coach Mark Few returns as a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Eight different Zags have led the team in scoring in a game this season. Seven GU players have scored at least 20 points in a game, and 11 have reached double-digit scoring. Six Bulldogs are 1,000-point scorers.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
- Gonzaga is making its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 28th overall.
- The Zags also auto-qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled as the WCC champion, which would have been 28 straight appearances and 29 overall. GU was No. 2 in the NET with a 31-2 record.
- The 27 straight berths to the field are the third-longest current streak in the nation (Kansas and Michigan State), and matches the fourth-longest in NCAA Div. 1 history (North Carolina, 1975-2001).
- GU is 44-25 in the NCAA Tournament under Few with a berth in all 27 seasons of his head coaching career.
- Mark Few's 44 NCAA Tournament wins is fourth among active coaches; Calipari (58), Izzo (57), Self (56).
- The Bulldogs have the most wins in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, going 23-8, Duke and Houston are second with 19 victories. Gonzaga's 28 wins in the tournament since 2015 (28-10) are also the most in the nation, with Duke second with 27, and UNC third at 24.
- Gonzaga is the only team in the country to win its opening-round NCAA Tournament game each of the last 16 tournaments, dating back to a 73-66 loss to Wyoming in 2002.
- The Zags are 38-21 all-time as a single-digit seed, with an 18-2 record in first round games.
- Gonzaga is a three seed, for the fourth time in program history, in the West Region. The Bulldogs play in Portland in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history, where it is 4-0 all-time in the event.
- In 2024-25, eighth-seeded GU cruised past ninth-seeded Georgia (89-68) in the first round in Wichita, Kan., before falling to top-seeded, and eventual national runner-up, Houston in the second round (81-76).
 
FACT CHECKING
- During Few's coaching career, his Gonzaga teams are 33-9 (.786) as the higher seed. Since 2009, the Zags have lost only five games against a lower-seeded team, a span of 14 NCAA Tournaments (26-5, .839).
- Few's teams have also pulled eight upset wins in his 26 previous NCAA Tournaments.
 
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
- The Owls are making their second-ever trip to March Madness overall, previously earning selection in 2023, when 14-seeded KSU fell 72-67 to No. 3 Xavier in the first round in Greensboro, N.C.
- KSU, out of Kennesaw, Ga., earned an automatic bid to this year's NCAA Tournament after claiming its first-ever Conference USA Tournament Championship, defeating LA Tech, 71-60, on March 14 in Huntsville, Ala. The Owls won three games in historic fashion in the Rocket City under third-year head coach Antoine Pettway. The 21 victories also are the second-most wins in school history (D1 era).
- In the tournament championship win, Kennesaw State played one of its best defensive games of the season, holding Louisiana Tech to 22-of-72 (26.3%) for the night from the field, including 2-of-28 (7.1%) from three-point range. Jaden Harris finished with a game-high 18 points making 4-of-6 from three-point range. RJ Johnson was named the Tournament MVP after his third-straight double-figure scoring game in the tournament, as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Amir Taylor joined on the all-tournament team, as he scored in double-figures for the sixth straight game with 17, and went 9-of-11 from the line, adding six rebounds.
- Johnson averages a team-high 14.5 points per game, making 55 threes at 43.3 percent. He's dishing out a team-best four assists per outing as well.
- Braedon Lue adds 11.1 points, while Frankquon Sherman scores 10.3 points per game. Sherman grabs a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game.
- Johnson was named First Team All-Conference USA. Lue was on the conference's All-Defensive Team, and Trey Simpson was All-Freshman. Lue is second in CUSA in blocks per game with 1.5.
 
SERIES INFO
- It is the first meeting between Gonzaga and Kennesaw State. The Zags are 4-0 all-time against current members from Conference USA, beating New Mexico State (2013), Sam Houston State (1992), and Western Kentucky (2007 and 2009). The 2009 meeting with Western Kentucky was an 83-81 GU win at the buzzer in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Portland's Moda Center.
- For the second straight year GU opens the NCAA Tournament against a team from the state of Georgia, after easing past Georgia last season in Wichita's first round game, 89-68. The Zags rolled past Georgia State in the first round of the 2022 tournament in Portland, 93-72.
- Gonzaga and Kennesaw State have one common opponent, Alabama. The Bulldogs beat Alabama in the first game of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on Nov. 24, 95-85. KSU fell to the Crimson Tide, 92-81, in Huntsville, Ala., on Dec. 21.
 
UP NEXT
- With a victory, GU would advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 17th straight time.
- The Zags would advance to play the winner of sixth-seeded BYU vs. 11-seeded Texas or NC State contest on Saturday. Texas and NC State faceoff in Tuesday's First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
- Gonzaga is 25-7 all-time versus former West Coast Conference member BYU. The Bulldogs are 3-1 against Texas and 1-0 versus NC State all-time.
 
AMONG THE ELITE
- Gonzaga's Mark Few has won 44 NCAA Tournament games, which ranks among the all-time greats.
- It ranks fourth among active head coaches John Calipari (58), and Tom Izzo (57), Bill Self (56).
 
ZAGS AND THE ROSE CITY
- Gonzaga returns to the Moda Center for the second time this season. On Dec. 21 the Bulldogs beat Oregon in the arena, 91-82, in the Northwest Elite Showdown. Braeden Smith scored 21 points and Braden Huff had 20 points for No. 7 Gonzaga. Graham Ike added 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Steele Venters scored 14 points, and Tyon Grant-Foster had 10.
- The Zags to Purdue in the semifinals of the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy tournament in the Moda Center.
- The Moda Center will host first and second games in the NCAA Tournament March 19 and 21.
- The Bulldogs won first and second round matchups inside the arena as the top-seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament over Georgia State and Memphis.
- The Zags are 6-2 all-time inside the Moda Center and formerly named Rose Garden.
- Gonzaga has a history of players from Portland and its surrounding area.
- Former GU standouts Nigel Williams-Goss, Kyle Wiltjer, Ben Gregg, Mike Hart, Silas Melson and Matt Santangelo are all from the Portland area.
- Richie Frahm (Battle Ground, Wash.), Derek Raivio (Vancouver, Wash.), Dan Dickau (Vancouver, Wash.) and Zach Gourde (Vancouver, Wash.) are from just on the other side of the Washington border.
- Assistant Coach Brian Michaelson starred at Jesuit High School before playing at Gonzaga.
- Head Coach Mark Few is from Creswell, Ore., 120 miles south of Portland.
- Former Zag Zach Collins was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017, and Dickau had two stints with the Blazers, before working for them as a player development assistant.