2016–17 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team
The 2016–17 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 18th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. The Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags) played in their 37th season as a member of the West Coast Conference.
2016–17 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball | |
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Conference | West Coast Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 2 |
AP | No. 2 |
Record | 37–2 (17–1 WCC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | McCarthey Athletic Center |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Gonzaga † | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 37 | – | 2 | .949 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 22 Saint Mary's | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 29 | – | 5 | .853 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BYU | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
San Francisco | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Santa Clara | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loyola Marymount | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
San Diego | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 13 | – | 18 | .419 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pepperdine | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 9 | – | 22 | .290 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pacific | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 11 | – | 22 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 11 | – | 22 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll |
The 2016–17 season was arguably the greatest season in Gonzaga's 109-year basketball history. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 32–1 record, only blemished by a loss to BYU on February 25. They finished ranked second in the AP Poll, the highest final national ranking in school history prior to the 2020–21 season. They won both the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the first NCAA National Championship game in the school's history—the deepest NCAA Tournament run for a WCC team since San Francisco advanced to its third consecutive Final Four in 1957. With a victory over South Carolina in the regional semifinal, the Bulldogs tied the NCAA Division I record for the second-most wins in a season. They lost in the NCAA National Championship game to North Carolina.