2008–09 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs are members of the West Coast Conference, were led by head coach Mark Few, and played their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center on the Gonzaga campus in Spokane, Washington. The Zags finished the season 28–6, 14–0 in WCC play to claim the regular-season championship. They advanced to the championship game of the 2009 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament where they won the championship game against Saint Mary's. They received an invitation to the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning 4 seed in the South Region. They defeated 13 seed Akron and 12 seed Western Kentucky before losing to the 1 seed and eventual champions North Carolina in the sweet sixteen.

2008–09 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
WCC tournament champions
WCC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 10
Record28–6 (14–0 WCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcCarthey Athletic Center
Seasons
2008–09 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 Gonzaga 14 0   1.000 28 6   .824
Saint Mary's 10 4   .714 28 7   .800
Portland 9 5   .643 19 13   .594
Santa Clara 7 7   .500 16 17   .485
San Diego 6 8   .429 16 16   .500
Pepperdine 5 9   .357 9 23   .281
San Francisco 3 11   .214 11 19   .367
Loyola Marymount 2 12   .143 3 28   .097
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Preseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Abdullahi Kuso 31 F 6'9" 241 Senior (Redshirt) Kaduna, Nigeria Graduated
David Pendergraft 25 G 6'6" 223 Senior Brewster, WA Graduated
Larry Gurganious 20 F 6'5" 199 Sophomore (Redshirt) Berkeley, CA Transferred to UC Riverside
Theo Davis 34 F 6'9" 198 Freshman (Redshirt) Brampton, ON Transferred to Binghamton

2008 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Andy Poling[1]
PF
Portland, OR Westview 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Aug 2, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 87
Grant Gibbs[1]
PG
Marion, IA Linn-Mar 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jul 17, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Demetri Goodson[2]
PG
McKinney, TX Klein Collins 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Oct 2, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 93
Michael Hart
SG
Portland, OR Jesuit 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 201 lb (91 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  247Sports: NR  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2008 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  • "2008 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  • "2008 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  • "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  • "2008–09 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 1, 2008.

Roster

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2008–09 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 42 Josh Heytvelt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Sr Clarkston Clarkston, WA
G 11 Andrew Sorenson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 172 lb (78 kg) RS Sr Olympia Olympia, WA
G 22 Micah Downs 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr Juanita
Kansas
Kirkland, WA
G 2 Jeremy Pargo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Robeson Chicago, IL
F 50 Ira Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Willis
Phoenix College
Conroe, TX
C 45 Will Foster 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) 273 lb (124 kg) Jr White River Bonney Lake, WA
G 15 Matt Bouldin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Jr ThunderRidge Highlands Ranch, CO
G 4 Chris Pontarolo-Magg (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Quincy Quincy, WA
G 32 Steven Gray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) So Bainbridge Bainbridge Island, WA
F 5 Austin Daye 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Woodbridge Irvine, CA
C 21 Robert Sacre     7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 247 lb (112 kg) So Handsworth North Vancouver, BC
G 3 Demetri Goodson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Fr Klein Collins Spring, TX
F 14 Andy Poling   6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Fr Westview Portland, OR
G 10 Grant Gibbs   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Fr Linn-Mar Marion, IA
G 30 Michael Hart (W)   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Fr Jesuit Portland, OR
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
11/15/2008*
4:00 pm, KHQ
No. 10 Montana State Billings W 83–52  1–0
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/18/2008*
6:00 pm, KHQ
No. 9 Idaho W 80–46  2–0
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
11/27/2008*
6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 9 vs. Oklahoma State
Old Spice Classic
W 83–71  3–0
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex (4,644)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
11/28/2008*
2:30 pm, ESPN
No. 9 vs. Maryland
Old Spice Classic
W 81–59  4–0
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex 
Lake Buena Vista, FL
11/30/2008*
4:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 9 vs. No. 12 Tennessee
Old Spice Classic
W 73–64  5–0
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex (3,914)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
12/06/2008*
10:30 am, Big Ten Network
No. 5 at Indiana
Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge
W 70–54  6–0
Lucas Oil Stadium 
Indianapolis, IN
12/10/2008*
7:00 pm, KHQ
No. 4 at Washington State W 74–52  7–0
Beasley Coliseum (10,984)
Pullman, WA
12/14/2008*
3:00 pm, FSN
No. 4 vs. Arizona
Duel in the Desert
L 64–69  7–1
US Airways Center (6,207)
Phoenix, AZ
12/18/2008*
6:00 pm, KHQ
No. 8 Texas Southern W 84–42  8–1
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/20/2008*
1:00 pm, CBS
No. 8 vs. No. 2 Connecticut
Battle in Seattle
L 83–88 OT 8–2
KeyArena (16,763)
Seattle, WA
12/23/2008*
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 7 Portland State L 70–77  8–3
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
12/31/2008*
5:00 pm, CBS College Sports
No. 16 at Utah L 65–66  8–4
Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,571)
Salt Lake City, UT
1/7/2009*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 15 Tennessee W 89–79 OT 9–4
Thompson-Boling Arena (22,326)
Knoxville, TN
1/10/2009
5:00 pm, KHQ
Portland W 67–50  10–4
(1–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
1/15/2009
6:00 pm, KHQ
Santa Clara W 95–53  11–4
(2–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
1/17/2009
5:00 pm, KHQ
San Francisco W 85–51  12–4
(3–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
1/22/2009
6:00 pm, KHQ
No. 23 at Pepperdine W 83–69  13–4
(4–0)
Firestone Fieldhouse (2,342)
Malibu, CA
1/24/2009
5:00 pm, KHQ
No. 23 at Loyola Marymount W 93–60  14–4
(5–0)
Gersten Pavilion (3,796)
Los Angeles, CA
1/29/2009
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 20 No. 22 Saint Mary's W 69–62  15–4
(6–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
1/31/2009
3:00 pm, ESPN
No. 20 San Diego W 64–47  16–4
(7–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
2/5/2009
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18 at Portland W 93–78  17–4
(8–0)
Chiles Center (4,987)
Portland, OR
2/7/2009*
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 18 vs. No. 14 Memphis
ESPN College GameDay & Ronald McDonald House Charities Classic
L 50–68  17–5
Spokane Arena (11,339)
Spokane, WA
2/12/2009
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 19 at Saint Mary's W 72–70  18–5
(9–0)
McKeon Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
2/14/2009
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 at San Francisco W 78–73  19–5
(10–0)
War Memorial Gymnasium (3,367)
San Francisco, CA
2/19/2009
6:00 pm, KHQ
No. 17 Loyola Marymount W 91–54  20–5
(11–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
2/21/2009
8:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 17 Pepperdine W 92–58  21–5
(12–0)
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
2/26/2009
8:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 17 at Santa Clara W 81–73  22–5
(13–0)
Leavey Center (4,700)
Santa Clara, CA
2/28/2009
4:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 17 at San Diego W 58–47  23–5
(14–0)
Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100)
San Diego, CA
3/3/2009*
6:00 pm, KHQ
No. 14 USC Upstate W 90–40  24–5
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
WCC Tournament
03/8/2009
6:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 14 vs. Santa Clara W 94–59  25–5
Orleans Arena (7,845)
Las Vegas, NV
03/9/2009
6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 12 vs. Saint Mary's W 83–58  26–5
Orleans Arena (7,845)
Las Vegas, NV
NCAA tournament
3/19/09*
4:25 pm, CBS
No. 10 (4) vs. (13) Akron
First Round
W 77–64  27–5
Rose Garden 
Portland, Oregon
3/21/09*
5:30 pm, CBS
No. 10 (4) vs. (12) Western Kentucky
Second Round
W 83–81  28–5
Rose Garden (18,794)
Portland, Oregon
3/27/09*
6:57 pm, CBS
No. 10 (4) vs. No. 2 (1) North Carolina
Sweet Sixteen
L 77–98  28–6
FedExForum (17,103)
Memphis, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

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