The 2020–21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

, located in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, in the

2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 25, 2020 and concluded on March 14, 2021. The 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 18 and concluded on April 5. Season ...

. The team was led by head coach

Mark Few Mark Norman Few (born December 27, 1962) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Gonzaga University since 1999. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines through ...

, in his 22nd season as head coach. This was the Bulldogs' 17th season at the on-campus

McCarthey Athletic Center McCarthey Athletic Center (MAC) is a 6,000-seat indoor arena on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Opened in November 2004, it is home to the university's Bulldog basketball programs, members of the West Coast Conference (W ...

and 41st season as a member of the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

. The Bulldogs became the first undefeated team to advance to the national championship game since

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

in 1979. Gonzaga lost to fellow 1-seed Baylor in the championship game 86–70, denying the Bulldogs a

perfect season A perfect season is a sports season, including any requisite playoff portion, in which a team remains and finishes undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the ...

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 31–2, 15–1 in WCC play to be WCC regular-season champions. They then defeated

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and Saint Mary's to be champions of the WCC tournament. They earned the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, all postseason play, including the NCAA Tournament, was cancelled amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Bulldogs finished #2 in the final AP and Coaches poll.

Offseason

Coaching changes

Departures

Additions to staff

Player departures

Incoming transfers

Recruiting classes

2020 recruiting class

2021 recruiting class

Roster

* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons. * Andrew Nembhard was initially ruled as a redshirt prior to the start of the 2020–21 season. However, on November 24, 2020, the NCAA granted him immediate eligibility. Additionally, the NCAA has granted an additional year of eligibility to all individuals who participate in winter sports during the 2020–21 school year. Nembhard will thus have 3 years of eligibility remaining at the start of the 2020–21 season. * Ben Gregg joined the team on December 17, 2020, after graduating high school early.

Coaching staff

Schedule and results

Until the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

, Gonzaga was the only NCAA basketball team, either men's or women's, to remain undefeated in every game (within and outside its conference) during the 2020–21 season. During the championship game,

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

became the season champions after defeating Gonzaga 86–70. , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, WCC Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, WCC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament Source

Rankings

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball seasons Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs p ...

Gonzaga NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons