The 2012–13 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs (also informally referred to as the Zags), were in their 33rd season as a member of the West Coast Conference, and were led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 14th season as head coach. In the previous season, the Zags gained a record of 26–7 and reached the third round of the 2012 NCAA tournament.
On March 4, 2013, Gonzaga was the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs were the fifth team to be ranked number one during the 2013 season.Gonzaga tops in AP poll for 1st time.
Preseason
In 2012–13, the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team were in their 33rd season as a member of the West Coast Conference. Since 2004, the team has played their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. In their previous season, a West Coast Conference Preseason Poll predicted that the Gonzaga Bulldogs would finish atop of the conference. Despite the high expectations, the Zags finished second place behind Saint Mary's in the West Coast Conference Standings with a 13–3 conference record, causing its eleven-year run as regular season champions to come to an end. The Bulldogs lost in the championship game of the West Coast Conference tournament to Saint Mary's, who claimed their second tournament title in three years. The team drew a seven seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament, where they lost to two seed Ohio State in the third round, 73–66, and finished with a record of 26–7.
Before the 2012–13 season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team lost two seniors from the previous year to graduation: starter Robert Sacre and transfer Marquise Carter. Sacre was the team's third-highest scorer, with an average of 11.6 points per game, and averages of 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. In his final season, he was selected for the all-conference team and finished his career with 1,270 points, 679 rebounds, and 186 blocks. He would go on to be selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 60th overall pick in the second round of the 2012 NBA draft. Carter was a guard off of the bench, and averaged 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
Four players left Gonzaga voluntarily: freshmen Chris Sarbaugh and Ryan Spangler, as well as sophomores Mathis Mönninghoff and Mathis Keita. Sarbaugh redshirted in 2011–12 after coming out of high school from Gonzaga Prep, and transferred to North Idaho College. Spangler played in 22 games and averaged 6.6 minutes per game before transferring to Oklahoma. Mönninghoff was a reserve wing for the Zags and played an average of about six minutes per game before he left to play professionally in Germany. Keita played in 23 games, averaging 9.4 minutes and 2.7 points per game before he transferred to Indiana University of Pennsylvania the following season.
On October 29, 2012, the Bulldogs were voted by other West Coast Conference coaches as the preseason favorite to win the league, receiving seven of the nine votes. Sophomore guards Gary Bell Jr. and Kevin Pangos were selected for the All-Conference Team, as well as junior center Sam Dower and senior forward Elias Harris. Harris and Pangos were listed on the preseason Naismith Award 50-man watchlist, while Harris was also listed on the Wooden Award preseason top 50 list.
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure 00 C 260 North Vancouver, BC Graduated; declared for 2012 NBA draft; selected 60th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers 2 G 178 San Diego, CA Graduated 25 G 190 Thionville, France Transferred to IUP 22 F 189 Ibbenbüren, Germany Signed a Pro Contract with TBB Trier 15 F 232 Blanchard, OK Transferred to Oklahoma 14 G 195 Spokane, WA Transferred to North Idaho College
Incoming transfers Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown PreviousSchool YearsRemaining DateEligible G 195 Memphis, TN Memphis 2 Oct. 1, 2012 G 174 Boston, MA Providence 2 Oct. 1, 2013 F 200 Bronx, NY Louisville 2.5 Dec. 21, 2013
2012 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule
!colspan=12 style="background:#002965; color:#FFFFFF;"| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style="background:#002965; color:#FFFFFF;"| Regular Season
!colspan=12 style="background:#002965; color:#FFFFFF;"| 2013 WCC Tournament
!colspan=12 style="background:#002965; color:#FFFFFF;"| 2013 NCAA Tournament
Season
Preconference season
The Gonzaga Bulldogs started their season with a 103–65 home win against Southern Utah on November 9. They led Southern Utah at halftime 44–27, and started the second half with a 12–2 run. The Zags shot nearly 55 percent from the field, but only outrebounded the Thunderbirds 36–33. Freshman Przemek Karmowski led the Bulldogs with 22 points, while senior Guy Landri Edi scored a career-high 16 points. Three days later, Gonzaga played West Virginia as a part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon, where they would go on to rout the Mountaineers 84–50. They held West Virginia to 21 percent shooting in the first half, and led 45–18 at halftime. Matt Humphrey's steal and dunk cut Gonzaga's lead to 50–32 with 14:45 left, but Elias Harris responded with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 20. Gary Bell Jr. led the Bulldogs with 15 points, as four other players scored in double figures. On November 18, the Zags played at home against South Dakota, where they would beat the Coyotes 96–58. Despite having 16 turnovers and making 4 of 15 free throws, the team outscored the Coyotes 38–9 in the paint. After a slow start, the Bulldogs went on an 18–4 run midway through the first half. Karnowski had a team-high 20 points, while Harris had 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in the victory.
During Thanksgiving weekend, the Bulldogs travelled to Lake Buena Vista, Florida to participate in the 2012 Old Spice Classic. On November 22, Gonzaga went on to beat Clemson 57–49 in the first-round game of the tournament. After being behind by as much as eight, the Zags responded with the help of David Stockton, who had a career-high seven assists. Kelly Olynyk, coming off of a redshirt year, played in his first game of the season after being suspended for the previous three games for violating the student code of conduct. The next day, the Bulldogs went on to beat Oklahoma 72–47. The Sooners never had a lead in the game, as Harris scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. In the Old Spice Classic championship game two days later, the Zags would hold on beat Davidson 81–67 to capture its second tournament title and remain undefeated on the season at 6–0. After Davidson was ahead by as much as nine, Kevin Pangos connected on a three that made it 58–53 with eight minutes to play and scored another three two minutes later to make it 64–57. Harris finished with a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Pangos added 23 points, five assists, and two steals.
The team returned home to play Lewis-Clark State on November 29. They routed the Warriors 104–57, and were led by freshman Kyle Dranginis, who had a career-high 30 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Despite sitting starters Harris and Bell, the Zags forced 20 turnovers and had a 46–20 rebounding advantage. In the teams' first meeting since 1976, the Bulldogs defeated Pacific 85–67 two days later. Despite an early 18–10 Pacific lead, Gonzaga replied with a 10–0 run later in the first half to take a 49–34 halftime lead. The frontcourt accounted for 64 of the team's points, as bench player Sam Dower scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. After this, the Zags faced their first true road game of the season as they travelled to play at Washington State. Down 67–69, DaVonte Lacy made a layup for the Cougars to tie the game. With the game tied at 69, Pangos drove up the court to make a layup with two seconds left to secure the 71–69 victory. Olynyk made 10 of 14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds to keep Gonzaga in the game in the second half, while Harris led the team with 23 points. The victory gave the Bulldogs their best start to a season in Division I history with a 9–0 record.
Gonzaga suffered their first loss of the season against #13 Illinois on December 8, falling 85–74. Tied at 41 at halftime, the Zags shot 38 percent in the second half after shooting 60 percent in the first half. A free throw by Pangos cut Illinois' lead to 75–71 with 2:51 left in the game. However, the Illini responded with an 80–71 advantage to take control of the game. The Bulldogs recovered from their first loss of the season by beating Kansas State in the annual State Farm Battle in Seattle game, 68–52. The team outscored Kansas State in the paint 38–12 and limited the Wildcats to 33 percent shooting. Olynyk led the team with 20 points, while Bell added 11 points. Four days later, Gonzaga returned home and beat Campbell 74–52. The team finished with 33 points from the bench and 44 in the paint, while scoring 18 points off of 15 turnovers. Karnowski led the Zags with 14 points, while Harris put up 11 points and a career-high six assists.
With over a week to prepare for their next game at home, the Bulldogs beat Baylor 94–87 on December 28. The team was unable to hold a lead until there was 4:53 remaining in the first half. At that point, the game went back and forth, and the Zags led by as many as 12. Pangos led the team with 31 points, while Olynyk and Harris added 21 and 17 points, respectively. Gonzaga then went back on the road to play at #22 Oklahoma State, where they got a 69–68 win. With 35.7 seconds left in the game, Mike Hart set a screen for Bell, who made a three-pointer to give the Zags the 67–65 lead. On the following play, Olynyk fouled out and sent Marcus Smart to the free throw line. Smart missed both free throws and Pangos rebounded the ball, and subsequently was sent to the free throw line, where he made both free throws. The win made Gonzaga undefeated against the Big 12 for the season with a 5–0 record.
Conference season
To begin the conference season, the Bulldogs travelled to Firestone Fieldhouse on January 3 to play Pepperdine, where they would beat the Waves 78–62. David Stockton came off the bench and keyed the Zags with four steals to hold off a Pepperdine team that was down two with 12 minutes left. Despite scoring a season-low 43.4% from the field, Elias Harris scored 18 points and Kelly Olynyk added 16. Two days later, they went to Santa Clara and beat the Broncos 81–74. The team managed to withstand a Santa Clara rally late when Olynyk made a key putback with 1:55 remaining. He led the team with a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Harris added 14 points for the Zags. After this, Gonzaga would go back home to play conference rival Saint Mary's, whom they would beat 83–78. Saint Mary's would have one field goal in the final minutes of the first half to help the Bulldogs to a 46–28 halftime advantage. However, Stephen Holt would hit three shots and two free throws in a 90-second span to cut the lead to 55–44. With 26 seconds left, Kevin Pangos missed and fouled Matthew Dellavedova, who made it 79–78. Gonzaga held on for the win and was led by 31 points from Olynyk.