Jim Meehan

Anthony Black, the only uncommitted five-star recruit in the 2022 class, narrowed his list to five schools, including Gonzaga, and the NBA G League.

As the 2022 season speeds toward Selection Sunday on March 13, Gonzaga and Arizona appear to be the top contenders for the No. 1 seed in the West Region, provided they continue at their current pace.

Domantas Sabonis has played in exactly 400 games in six NBA seasons, the last 319 with the Indiana Pacers. No. 401 will come in a Sacramento Kings uniform. Sabonis, the former Gonzaga standout and a two-time NBA All-Star, was traded Tuesday to the Kings in a six-player swap between two teams with nearly identical records.

More on Zags freshman phenom Chet Holmgren, how Saturday’s domination compared to Gonzaga’s level of play in impressive wins over then top 5 Texas and No. 2 UCLA and the reeling Cougars in our latest GU takeaways.

The Marriott Center, with nearly 19,000 energetic fans, is one of the loudest venues in college basketball. It was again Saturday night – during pregame introductions, when BYU won the opening tip and for the first 75 seconds when the Cougars went on top 5-0. Then No. 2 Gonzaga hit the mute button with one of its finest stretches of basketball this season, a lengthy, dominating performance at both ends of the court that generated a 90-57 rout and a rare opportunity for a largely stress-free evening on BYU’s home court.

Gonzaga junior Drew Timme on Friday was named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.

BYU, coming off a brutal road swing last week with losses by a combined four points to Santa Clara and Pacific, held player-only meetings and lengthy coach-player conversations earlier this week trying to get back on track. Things only got worse when San Francisco clipped BYU’s 12-game home winning streak with a decisive 73-59 win on Thursday.

BYU’s Alex Barcello is typically at the top of every opponent’s scouting report. It’s no different for second-ranked Gonzaga.

CHET HOLMGREN

Matthew Lang was hanging out with his parents after Gonzaga’s win over Loyola Marymount last Thursday when Mark Few spotted the walk-on guard. The coach came over and informed Lang and his parents that Matthew was going on scholarship for spring semester.

There’s little debate currently about the projected top three in the draft. Three versatile freshmen forwards – Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Duke’s Paolo Banchero – appear to have created space at the top of the draft, much like they do on a basketball court. The order? That’s where the debate comes in.

Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard is among 10 candidates for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Monday.

Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren on Monday earned his third straight WCC freshman of the week award and seventh this season.

Auburn and Gonzaga continued their winning ways last week and maintained the top two spots in the AP college basketball poll. The big movement in the rankings came just below the Tigers and Zags as No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Baylor and No. 5 Kansas all dropped games last week.

Word traveled fast when four former Gonzaga Bulldogs were pictured sharing an NBA court at the same time Saturday. Washington, with Rui Hachimura and rookie Corey Kispert, and Memphis, with Brandon Clarke and Killian Tillie, tipped off at the Grizzlies’ FedEx Forum at 5 p.m. PST.

Portland gave Gonzaga plenty of space on the perimeter, so the Zags hit five 3-pointers in the first 4-plus minutes. The Pilots never really strayed from that strategy and the Zags didn’t stop making 3s.

Legans left EWU shortly after the first-round loss to the Jayhawks – the Eagles led by 10 in the second half – for the head coaching job at Portland. It’ll be a homecoming of sorts Saturday for Legans when he guides the Pilots against the second-ranked Zags at the Kennel.

Portland’s balance – four players averaging in double figures – offers multiple key-matchup candidates, but sophomore wing Tyler Robertson gets the nod. Why? The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Australian native has a diverse skill set and can fill up several columns on the stat sheet.

DIFFERENCE MAKERSCHET HOLMGREN

Dan Dickau will work roughly 20 college basketball games as an analyst for CBS Sports Network this season, which usually means flights to numerous locales in the West.

Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren has added another name, image and likeness (NIL) deal to his portfolio. Holmgren will be part of the inaugural Candy Sweet Futures college basketball collection with a series of NFTs coming out in late February, digital collectible company Candy Digital announced Thursday.

The Gonzaga-Pepperdine men’s basketball game is on the move again. The contest is now scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, the WCC announced.

Fast forward, beginning with Gonzaga dropping a season-high 13 3-pointers on nearly 42% shooting in a 69-55 win over the Red Raiders, and the Zags have been dialed in from long distance. In that seven-game span, the Zags (15-2, 4-0 WCC) have produced five of their top six 3-point percentages of the season. They had a string of three straight games with at least 110 points and two more in the 90s.

More on Timme’s second-half turnaround, Chet Holmgren’s best effort of the season and the Dons’ inspired play in our Gonzaga-San Francisco takeaways.