March Madness Memories: Zags choose their favorite NCAA Tournament moments

One of Adam ‘Ace’ Miller’s favorite NCAA Tournament moments as a fan/spectator probably aligns closely with a sizable chunk of Gonzaga’s fan base.

The Zags’ senior guard kept a close eye on the 2021 NCAA Tournament as unbeaten Gonzaga marched to the championship game before falling to Baylor in Indianapolis.

Miller was a freshman starter at Illinois – GU assistant Steven Gentry was an assistant coach – but the Fighting Illini, who joined Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan as No. 1 seeds, was upset by Loyola Chicago in the second round.

That turned Miller from a March Madness player to spectator and he saw something he’ll never forget when Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs banked home a game-winning 3-pointer from 40 feet against UCLA in the Final Four.

“When he hit that 3 …,” Miller said shaking his head, shortly after GU landed on the three-seed line on Selection Sunday. “I was also in the tournament. We’d lost before. I was watching it live. We were in the same high school class. That was insane. That was amazing.”

Miller, who hasn’t been back to the NCAA Tournament until this season, scored 10 points in each of the Illini’s two tournament games.

His favorite tournament memory as a player?

“Everything was starting to click for me that season,” he said. “Kind of growing up and realizing I wasn’t a freshman anymore. I started to understand how to score. My defense was ahead of my offense at that time, but things were just clicking. We were only two games in and I really started to understand it and get it.”

We posed those same two questions to Graham Ike and Braeden Smith, players with tournament experience, and asked Jalen Warley, Davis Fogle and assistant coach R-Jay Barsh for their favorite NCAA Tournament memories.

Ike’s first season as a Zag resulted in easy tourney wins over McNeese State and Kansas before Purdue ended GU’s run. Ike scored 49 points in three games.

“After we beat Kansas my first year here, my goodness, I have never felt that feeling of being so elated,” Ike said of his favorite memory. “It felt like I was just floating in the locker room with joy and excitement because we’d reached the Sweet 16 and I’d never felt that before. That was the last one with Anton (Watson) and it was me and Ryan Nembhard’s first year together.

“Oh man, that was a special team.”

His favorite memory watching March Madness?

“Villanova-North Carolina (in the 2016 title game), Kris Jenkins’ shot, 3-pointer, that’s the one. That’s really where I started to notice the NCAA Tournament and become aware of it.”

Jenkins’ game-winning 3 also resonated with Warley, a Pennsylvania native.

“Just growing up in Philadelphia and Villanova, that Jenkins’ shot was pretty big time,” Warley said. “And it was a great game. (North Carolina’s) Marcus Paige (hitting a 3-pointer to tie the score with 4.7 seconds left). That’s probably my fondest memories.”

Smith led Colgate to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before transferring to Gonzaga. Colgate was a heavy underdog in each of its openers, falling to No. 2-seeded Texas in 2023 and third-seeded Baylor in 2024.

Texas defeated Colgate 81-61 but the margin was much closer well into the second half.

“My favorite NCAA moment as a player was when we cut the lead to like six against Texas,” Smith said. “We were in Des Moines, Iowa. Everybody wants to see the upset and you get a Colgate chant from the crowd with 8 minutes to go against a two seed. That was a very cool experience.”

Favorite memory as a fan/spectator?

“Just the crazy buzzer beaters, the upsets,” the junior point guard said. “The Virginia upset against UMBC, the 1-vs.-16 matchup. I just remember being in school, having my phone and computer with me, trying to watch (games) in class. Everyone has filled out their brackets. It’s a great time of the year. It’s the best.”

UMBC’s 74-54 shocker over top-ranked Virginia in the 2018 opening round was the first victory by a 16 seed in 136 attempts. The Cavaliers were the top overall seed.

Fogle, who will make his NCAA Tournament debut Thursday against Kennesaw State, cited two favorite moments: UMBC and Julian Strawther’s game-deciding 3-ball against UCLA to propel Gonzaga to a 79-76 win in the 2023 Sweet 16.

“Growing up watching, honestly people talk about the Suggs’ shot. I loved the little Villanova play (for) Strawther and he shoots it from the logo. That was awesome,” Fogle said. “All the upsets were super cool.

“When UMBC beat Virginia, I was watching that one. Pretty crazy game. You obviously want to see something shake it up. I bet you 99% of the people had Virginia filled in on their bracket so it was cool to see a team that’s really good go down. But that’s what March is about.”

Barsh joined Gonzaga’s staff in 2023 after one season at Florida State and three at Boise State. Prior to that, he was highly successful in seven seasons as head coach at NAIA Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida.

Barsh, a Tacoma native, had several favorite moments, including fellow Tacoman Casey Calvary’s tip-in the closing seconds in Gonzaga’s win over Florida in the 1999 Sweet 16.

“Boise State, the first time making the tournament (in 2022 during his stint with head coach Leon Rice, a former GU assistant). Seeing our name called, just seeing how it galvanized the community and seeing the players’ faces. Being able to watch (the selection show) and knowing we were in because we won the Mountain West Tournament.”

His other favorite?

“Florida State vs. Xavier, because I trained (FSU’s) Dwayne Bacon and (Musketeer) Trevon Bluiett and they played each other in the second round (of the 2017 tournament). We trained hours and hours all summer when I was coaching at Southeastern. Great seeing two of the guys I helped develop play on that stage.”

Bluiett had 29 points and Bacon scored 20 in Xavier’s 91-66 win. Two rounds later, Gonzaga throttled Xavier 83-59 to advance to the Final Four for the first time.

Miller believes the current Zags are capable of making additional memories with an extended tournament stay.

“I remember the feeling I hated, which was losing (at Illinois in the 2021 tourney),” he said. “Now I have another chance. It’s a rebirth. Hopefully we go into this, put it all together and make a deeper run.”