The 1976–77 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I basketball season. Members of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

, the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

were led by fifth-year head coach

Adrian Buoncristiani Adrian Buoncristiani (born c. 1940) is a former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach for six seasons at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, from 1972 to 1978. Early years Buoncristiani grew up in San Francisco, San Franc ...

and played their home games on campus at Kennedy Pavilion in

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

. They were in the regular season and in conference play. Gonzaga was third in the regular season standings and qualified for the four-team conference tournament, hosted by

Idaho State Idaho State University (ISU) is a public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idaho ...

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, containing the city's airport. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metro ...

. The Bulldogs lost by a point in the semifinals to favored ISU won the tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight, upsetting #2

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the Sweet Sixteen. It remains the best-ever showing in the NCAA tournament by a Big Sky team. This was the Zags' sole appearance in the postseason while in the Big Sky, narrowly missing the next two conference tournaments. They joined the

West Coast Athletic 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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCA ...

(WCAC, now WCC) in the summer of

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, and its

tourney A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

debuted in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. Senior forward Jim Grady was on the all-conference team, and center Willie Moss was honorable mention.

Postseason result

, - !colspan=9 style=, Big Sky tournament

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Gonzaga Bulldogs: 1976–77 basketball season {{DEFAULTSORT:1976-77 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball seasons

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...