Jim Meehan

We connected with 247sports’ Ben Moore for a Q&A to learn more about the Panthers. He’s covered Georgia State basketball for 15 years and, in his words, attempted to walk-on in 1999-2000 when Lefty Driesell was the head coach.

Gonzaga’s frontcourt tandem of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren received a pair of honors Tuesday. Both were named second-team Associated Press All-Americans. The pair also earned National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) first-team All-District 9 honors.

For this article, we quizzed Flemming and Farnham last month on opponents that could present problems – and why – for Gonzaga in March Madness.

Przemek Karnowski endured nearly three years of injuries, surgeries, rehabilitation, setbacks and more rehab. The former Gonzaga center’s resilience and hard work paid off last week when he played in his first professional basketball game since May, 2019.

Drew Timme hasn’t surveyed the rosters of every team in the NCAA Tournament but he made a fairly safe prediction.

Gonzaga was No. 1 in the AP preseason rankings and ended up in the same spot in the final poll of the season. The Zags, who enter the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed, had three different stints at No. 1 this season, including the last five weeks. Kentucky, in 2012, was the last team to win the national championship after being No. 1 in the final AP poll.

For the second straight year, Gonzaga earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. For the second straight year, the Zags are the favorite in a bracket with several familiar faces or foes as potential opponents down the road. For the umpteenth straight year, Gonzaga coach Mark Few isn’t thinking about possible Sweet 16 or Elite Eight opponents as he zeroes in on the first weekend of March Madness.

The Zags have some potential concerns, but name a team that doesn’t have a perceptible flaw or two. The NCAA Tournament feels more unpredictable than last year when Baylor and Gonzaga separated themselves at the top. Here’s the top four reasons Gonzaga could be cutting down the nets in New Orleans next month.

There doesn’t seem to be much mystery regarding the Zags on Selection Sunday. Farnham closed his remarks by flatly saying Gonzaga is the top overall seed, and there’s virtual consensus on that from in most mock brackets. The Zags are expected to be the No. 1 seed in the West Region and open the NCAA Tournament in Portland. Gonzaga would need two wins to advance to the regional semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco.

From 2-22 to 26-3. From the last-place team in the Big 12 Conference to the top-ranked team in the country. As always, fleet-footed Rasir Bolton has covered a lot of ground in a short period of time.

Marquis “Mookie” Cook, one of the top players in the 2023 recruiting class, has narrowed his list and Gonzaga again has made the cut.

There may not be two teams in the country that know each other as thoroughly as Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. They’re the only teams in the West Coast Conference that have won regular season and tournament titles since San Diego’s breakthrough in the conference tournament in 2008.

Andrew Nembhard dribbled toward the midcourt line with a huge smile on his face as the final seconds ticked away. He tossed the basketball to the side and soared into the air for a celebratory bump into a teammate as his teammates poured onto the court. He was quickly joined by the rest of the Zags, fittingly, at center court after a hard-fought win over Saint Mary’s. The senior backcourt of Andrew Nembhard and Rasir Bolton delivered in the game’s biggest moments to carry the Zags to the finish line.

Drew Timme

With USF’s All-WCC center Yauhen Massalski sidelined due to a knee injury, even more of the offensive burden fell on the talented backcourt tandem of Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz. Bouyea, who joined Massalski as a first-team All-WCC selection, had one of the worst nights of an otherwise outstanding senior season. He was limited to five points, made only 1 of 11 shots and misfired on all seven of his 3-point attempts.

Gonzaga’s frontcourt duo of Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren on Monday earned the first of what figures to be numerous All-American team honors. Timme, the 6-foot-10 junior forward, and Holmgren, a 7-foot freshman, were named second-team All-Americans by The Sporting News. Timme earned the same designation last season from The Sporting News.

This is home for Gonzaga sophomore Julian Strawther and something of a second home in early March annually for thousands of Zags fans. After a one-year hiatus – fans weren’t permitted at last year’s WCC men’s and women’s tournaments in Las Vegas due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Gonzaga followers are back in full force, filling hotel rooms and restaurants. They typically occupy about 5,000 seats for GU games at Orleans Arena.

The texts and phone calls fly back and forth, checking in on each other’s programs, families and kids in this season like no other for the Zag coaching tree. It’s what four college coaches and close friends do, except that’s not quite an accurate description. “It’s not just some buddies,” Dan Monson said. “It’s truly brothers.” They have collected regular-season titles at four conferences in the West when the preseason polls favored only one, Gonzaga.

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme is among five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday.

Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren has added another name, image and likeness (NIL) deal, this one breaking new ground promoting Yahoo Sports’ NCAA tournament bracket contest. Holmgren and Duke freshman standout Paolo Banchero will be co-ambassadors supporting Yahoo Sports’ Tourney Pick’em best bracket contest.

Former Gonzaga standout Kevin Pangos recently signed with CSKA Moscow, but Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine put his travel plans on hold.

The honors keep coming Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren, who was named one of five finalists for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday.

Run it back? Gonzaga wrapped up the regular season by handling San Francisco 79-63 last Thursday before falling to Saint Mary’s 67-57 on Saturday. The Zags would run into the same two teams if the seeding holds up at the West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament.

Rasir Bolton didn’t sugarcoat the factors that led to the upset or his thoughts on what the top-ranked Zags should be focused on during an extended break prior to Monday’s semifinals at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.