Trio of Zags making NCAA Tournament debuts rose to occasion in Kennesaw State win | Gonzaga notebook

PORTLAND – Experience can play a big role once you get to the NCAA Tournament.

Or it can be a complete nonfactor.

In Thursday’s 73-64 victory over Kennesaw State, Gonzaga got contributions from players with anywhere from two to eight tournament games under their belt, but a group of NCAA newcomers also had a massive role in what Mark Few’s team did on both ends of the floor to win its 17th straight opener.

Three Gonzaga players made their NCAA Tournament debut on Thursday: two 19-year-old freshmen and a 23-year-old senior playing at his third school in his fifth college season.

Davis Fogle and Mario Saint-Supery both made a splash for Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game and didn’t seem phased by the heightened stakes in Thursday’s NCAA opener.

Fogle gave the Zags a lift with his scoring, opening with six points and 11 more in the second to finish with 17 on 6 of 13 shooting and 4 of 5 from the free -throw line. Saint-Supery scored seven points on 2 of 11 from the field but was at his best as a distributor, finishing with eight assists.

“I thought they played great. They showed a lot of confidence,” Gonzaga senior Graham Ike said of Fogle and Saint-Supery. “They just stuck with it throughout certain things maybe not going their way. They still made plays. Next-play mentality, which was huge. Also came out with a dub. They had a big part in that.”

Unlike Fogle and Saint-Supery, Jalen Warley had experienced the NCAA Tournament from a courtside seat, watching Gonzaga go 1-1 last season in Wichita, Kansas, during his redshirt season. Warley’s 74th college basketball game doubled as his first NCAA Tournament game.

The senior wing came through in multiple areas for Gonzaga, recording 12 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. The senior made 5 of 7 shots from the field and also had five assists to go with three steals.

“Huge performance from J-War,” Ike said. “I’m glad to see him as close to 100% as possible. He just makes a huge difference for our team when he’s out there on the floor, whether it’s through leadership, offensive end, defensive end. Man, he does it all for us. I’m just glad he’s out there. Great performance from him tonight with a double-double.”

Fogle missed his first three shots from the field and didn’t settle in offensively until his final shift in the first half. The freshman wing converted an and-one sequence with 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining, then knocked down a 3-pointer on the final possession of the first half to send Gonzaga into the break with a six-point lead.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it felt like a regular-season game, there’s more at stake,” Fogle said. “I wouldn’t say I was nervous, just went in and tried to do my thing, just keep my preparation the same. But it feels good to get the first win out of the way.”

Hard no on expansion

Mark Few has opined on NCAA Tournament expansion in the past, but the subject came up again earlier this week as college basketball’s governing body continues to weigh the possibility of adding anywhere from four to eight more teams.

“I mean, I think this year is just a great example of why we should not expand,” Few said. “It’s perfect where it’s at right now. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

NCAA senior vice president Dan Gavitt said last month expansion talks would remain on hold until after this year’s tournament concludes, but NCAA President Charlie Baker told reporters he “would like to see it expand.”

“I mean, there’s other things that are broke obviously within college basketball,” Few said. “But the one thing that isn’t, the shining light of everything in college athletics, is the NCAA tournament. I don’t know why they would ever mess with that, especially with everything else that’s so tragically messed up.”

Gonzaga players didn’t harbor the same feeling as their coach when asked to share their thoughts on expansion rumors Tuesday afternoon.

“I think that’s a cool idea, especially a lot of the games in March are a lot of fun to watch,” Jalen Warley said. “Like you said, we see upsets and Cinderella stories. Any type of more basketball, especially in the month of March, I’m all for it.”

“I believe with what Jalen said,” Emmanuel Innocenti said. “We’re on the same page.”

“I think it would be cool,” said Adam Miller.

Staying juiced

A photo posted Tuesday on Gonzaga’s social media platforms depicted Ike walking off the team bus with a large cardboard box.

Its contents?

Bottles of juice from Spokane-based Wellness Tree, a juice bar Ike has been frequenting since he first arrived at Gonzaga from Wyoming three years ago.

“It’s a good lifestyle, fresh-pressed juice with no preservatives, no added sugar,” Ike said. ” I live for it.”

Ike arrived to Portland with 10 juice bottles but was down to five after finishing one before the Zags arrived to the Moda Center for shootaround and media obligations on Friday.

Juice was a daily staple for Ike growing up in the Denver area and quickly identified Wellness Tree when he moved to Spokane. The All-American now has a name, image and likeness deal with the juice bar, which has locations near Gonzaga’s campus on Hamilton Street and in the Perry District.

“Every day, every day,” Ike said. “That’s just how I grew up, so when I found the spot in Spokane, it was just like going home.”

Few weighs in on OSU hire

It’s too early to think about next season, but that didn’t stop an Oregon-based reporter from asking Few about one of the new coaches his team will have to face as a first-year member of the Pac-12 in 2026-27.

Oregon State recently announced the hire of Michigan assistant Justin Joyner, who replaces 12th-year coach Wayne Tinkle, a Ferris High graduate who saw his run with the Beavers come to an end with a WCC Tournament semifinal loss to Gonzaga.

Few and the Zags are no strangers to Joyner, who had a big hand in building the scouting report Michigan used to thump Gonzaga 101-61 earlier this season at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Before joining the Wolverines, Joyner was a director of basketball operations, assistant and associated head coach at Saint Mary’s and had more than a dozen run-ins with the Zags from 2017-24.

“I have experiences both with him at Saint Mary’s and then Michigan,” Few said. “We played Michigan this year. He’s a really, really solid, good, young head coach. Obviously worked in two great programs, had two great mentors. Yeah, I mean, he’s a very, very solid individual.”