NCAA basketball

College basketball non-conference scheduling is always a work in progress, but Gonzaga’s came together fairly late on the shot clock, err, calendar for this season. The final product: No complaints, especially with the Zags playing in the premier matchup on opening night and essentially closing day of the non-conference slate.

It’s a line of questioning Mike Roth got frequently during a 24-year tenure as Gonzaga’s athletic director. Probably more times than he can count.

Mychel Thompson was a four-year player at Pepperdine who started 114 games from 2007-11. Early in his college career, the Waves tried recruiting his younger brother. Klay, the Thompson family's middle child, took an official visit to campus in Malibu, Calif. In an attempt to get him to commit, Pepperdine called in one of the city's famous residents: Reggie Miller.

Our list of the best players on the best West Coast Conference teams isn’t packed with future All-Americans, projected lottery picks and two-time national champions like the one we compiled months ago highlighting the top players on Gonzaga’s non-conference schedule. Do not take that to mean the WCC is down or lacks individual star power.

A few days before Gonzaga’s nonconference home swing against Nicholls State and Bucknell, Graham Ike and Braden Huff decided to get in some extra work on their short game after practice at the Volkar Center.

Gonzaga senior forward Ben Gregg is a featured fixture on televisions throughout the Northwest.

Bruins, Bulldogs face off Saturday at 1 p.m.

Gonzaga had mixed results in the AP college basketball poll after winning two home games by a combined 51 points. The Zags received 757 points from the media panel, a 20-point increase from last Monday, but still dropped one spot to a season-low No. 14.

College basketball players and the populace probably would agree: There’s just never enough time around the holidays. No. 13 Gonzaga took care of business with a pair of comfortable home victories this week and now most players are in hurry-up mode to squeeze in as much time as possible with loved ones.

From staff reports

From staff reports

It probably wasn’t everything Mark Few had on his wish list, but Gonzaga’s home nonconference finale against Bucknell served the only purpose it needed to before Bulldogs players began a brief holiday break.

PULLMAN – Every hour or two in the past few days, Washington State men’s basketball coach David Riley would get a sinking feeling in his stomach.

When he was younger, Andrew Cook got plenty of doses of what others might call “reality checks.”

Here are three observations from No. 13 Gonzaga’s 86-65 win over Bucknell on Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Gonzaga and Bucknell don’t share too much in common with each other and, in a more general sense, college basketball these days. The transfer portal, as well as name, image and likeness (NIL), have changed college sports, particularly basketball and football. However, both the Zags and Bison boast loads of familiar faces and rank among NCAA Division I’s oldest teams.

Saturday marks the first meeting between Gonzaga and Bucknell, but this won’t be the first time GU standout Ryan Nembhard and Bison point guard Josh Bascoe have faced each other. Both are from Ontario, Canada, and their hometowns are separated by an hour’s drive. Bascoe is a year older, but Nembhard’s Vaughan Panthers and Bascoe’s Milton Stags, coached by Josh’s dad, Shane, tangled several times before embarking on their college careers.

Shooting betrayed the Gonzaga women’s basketball team Thursday, especially in the first half.