PORTLAND – As expected, an influx of Gonzaga Bulldogs fans raided the Moda Center during Thursday’s Boise State-Memphis NCAA Tournament first round game to cheer on former GU assistant coach Leon Rice.

Drew Timme, All-American.

PORTLAND – Usually sporting a Sony 4K camcorder, Dave Holmgren had built up a cult following for his old-school antics while following his son Chet on his basketball journey.

As Mark Few headed to the Moda Center locker room at halftime in the Zags’ opening-round NCAA Tournament game with Georgia State, he had to stop to complete a mandatory television interview.

The Nebraska women can do a lot more than make long shots.

Mark Few thought Georgia State was undervalued by the NCAA’s selection committee, earning a No. 16 seed when the Panthers probably deserved better by the Gonzaga coach's estimation.

The Bulldogs used an 18-0 run in the second half to finally pull away from the physical 16th-seeded Panthers.

Gonzaga and Arizona, the top two programs in the West, were well represented on the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District IX teams. Gonzaga junior Drew Timme, senior Andrew Nembhard and freshman Chet Holmgren earned first-team honors and Timme was voted players of the year.

Leon Rice has been the head coach at Boise State for 11 seasons. Before that, he was an assistant coach under Mark Few at Gonzaga for 11 seasons. During Rice’s press conference Wednesday, his connections to both programs overlapped several times. Rice mentioned GU walk-on Joe Few, Mark’s son, a couple of times, once in recapping the recruitment of Mt. Spokane High’s Tyson Degenhart, and he also dropped Jeremy Pargo’s name discussing what makes Boise State standout Abu Kigab’s game so special.