GameDay replay: A look back at the previous five times Gonzaga basketball was featured on the ESPN show
Feb. 23—ESPN's College GameDay brings out the passion in fans.
With creative signs and rowdy students and cheerleaders, GameDay is seen less as a buttoned-up show and more like a lively, tailgate-style party.
A staple of college athletics, the basketball version — which debuted in 2005 — is a spinoff of the original GameDay show that was introduced for football in 1987.
Rece Davis hosted the debut on Jan. 25, 2005, at the University of Connecticut, taking the lead for the first four episodes of the inaugural season. Chris Fowler took over for the final four weekends of the first season, but Davis returned as host in 2006 and has been in that position since.
Davis will be behind the GameDay desk on the Kennel floor come Saturday morning. He is joined by Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and LaPhonso Ellis.
Gonzaga has been featured five previous times on the premier college basketball show — with Saturday's Saint Mary showdown being its third time as host.
Memphis, Syracuse and Virginia have each appeared six times on the show.
Duke and North Carolina lead with 27 appearances apiece — with their rivalry series featured 17 times.
Feb. 11, 2006
No. 5 Gonzaga 80, Stanford 76: The Bulldogs first took the GameDay spotlight against the Cardinal at home. It was the 13th edition of the show and the first trip to a midmajor.
Davis, Bilas, Digger Phelps and Andy Katz made that trip as the show began with talk of Adam Morrison and his mustache, showing his highlights for the opening 20 seconds.
The junior forward responded with 34 points, including 12 in the final 3 minutes as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs escaped with an 80-76 win over the Cardinal.
J.P. Batista added 24 points, shooting 10 for 17 from the field.
Chris Hernandez led Stanford with 17 points in 22 minutes.
With the win, GU extended its nation-leading home winning streak to 36.
"It felt like an NCAA Tournament game," GU head coach Mark Few said . "It felt like the whole world was focused on us."
GameDay can do that.
Feb. 8, 2009
No. 14 Memphis 68, No. 18 Gonzaga 50: While GameDay was back at the McCarthy Athletic Center, the game itself was hosted by the Spokane Arena as part of the Ronald McDonald Charities Classic.
The larger venue did nothing to distract John Calipari — who was in his final season for Memphis — and the Tigers, who were hungry to continue their dominance over the Bulldogs.
In their fourth consecutive win over GU, Memphis controlled every facet .
Freshman Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and Robert Dozier added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
The Zags' 50 points were a season low and 29 points below their season average. Josh Heytvelt, the team's leading scorer, was held to 11 points. Matt Bouldin scored six and Jeremy Pargo two.
Micah Downs came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points, but Memphis was too much for the Bulldogs to handle.
"They dominated us in every phase of the game," Few said. "We didn't have an answer for them."
Jan. 19, 2013
No. 6 Butler 64, No. 13 Gonzaga 63: In what will be remembered for Roosevelt Jones' winner, Gonzaga seemingly had the game in hand, up one point with 3.5 seconds remaining.
David Stockton — son of Basketball Hall of Fame member John Stockton — just had to inbound the ball to the tallest player on the court, the almost 7-foot center Kelly Olynyk.
Instead, the airmailed pass landed in the arms of Jones, who raced down the court and tossed up a floater from the elbow over Olynyk for the buzzer beater.
With Dick Vitale screaming, "Oh, oh, oh," the Zags avoided the onrushing Butler students storming the court of Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
"I've never consistently seen anyone make so many floaters from 10 to 12 feet," Few said of Jones' history of unconventional shots.
Jones finished with 20 points for the Brad Stevens-coached team.
Elias Harris and Sam Dower Jr. led Gonzaga, which saw its six-game winning streak snapped, with 20 points apiece. Olynyk scored 14.
Feb. 8, 2014
No. 24 Memphis 60, No. 23 Gonzaga 54: In one of the larger collapses in Bulldogs history, host Memphis scored the final 10 points and erased a 12-point second-half deficit to upset the Zags in front of a sold-out FedEx Forum.
"We just didn't execute and didn't do a good job making plays," Few said.
Kevin Pangos, the team's leading scorer, hit a jumper to make it 54-50 with 3:20 remaining, his seventh and final point of the game.
It was the Bulldogs' first attempt at a ranked opponent that season and they couldn't capitalize.
"Big time," Pangos said. "We blew a golden opportunity."
Chris Crawford and Michael Dixon Jr. led the Tigers with 11 points apiece.
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner spent the week preparing to defend the Zags from behind the arc.
The Tigers did just that, holding one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country (42%), to 2 of 16 from behind the arc.
Dower scored 18 points to lead Gonzaga. Przemek Karnowski and Gerald Coleman added 12 apiece.
Feb. 11, 2017
No. 1 Gonzaga 74, No. 18 Saint Mary's 64: In the Gaels' only previous GameDay appearance, the Bulldogs went into Moraga, California, and won their 18th consecutive game by double digits en route to a 26-0 record.
The Zags had four games remaining to finish the regular season undefeated, but a loss to BYU on Senior Night spoiled that aspiration.
It was the first time Saint Mary's has hosted a No. 1 team since 1955, against Bill Russell and San Francisco .
Four Bulldogs reached double figures with Karnowski scoring 19, Johnathan Williams 17 and Nigel Williams-Goss 14.
Jack Landale was the only consistent performer for Saint Mary's, scoring 24 points .
"There was a lot of hype about this game," Karnowski said. "We knew we had to come here and play aggressive."
As it was six years ago, Saturday's game promises massive fanfare, with the GameDay party starting at 7 a.m. after the doors to the Kennel open at 6 a.m.
It will be the 11th matchup in 112 chances between the teams both ranked inside the AP Top 25.
