Northwest Notes Oct. 18, 2024

Gonzaga men again picked to win WCC; WSU picked fifth

LAS VEGAS – For the 22nd time in the last 24 seasons, the Gonzaga men's basketball team was selected as favorites in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches' poll. The annual poll, along with the WCC Preseason Team, was released at the eighth annual #WCCHoops Tip-Off event at the Resorts World Resort.

Michael Ajayi, Nolan Hickman, Graham Ike, and Ryan Nembhard were all named to the conference's preseason team. Ike and Nembhard earned the recognition for the second straight season. Ajayi, Ike, and Nembhard were all named First Team All-Conference last season, while Hickman was second team.

It's the third time four GU players were named to the same WCC preseason team, and the first since 2018.

Washington State, playing as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference for the next two seasons, was voted fifth. The Cougars were selected to finish 10th in last year’s Pac-12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, going on to finish second in the Pac-12 en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.

WSU senior forward Cedric Coward, a transfer from Eastern Washington, was voted a unanimous Big Sky First Team All-Conference selection last season. The Fresno native averaged 15.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2023-24, starting all 32 games to lead EWU to the conference regular season title.

Except for last season and in 2017-18, the Zags have been first place in every West Coast Conference preseason poll since 2001. GU received nine of the league's 11 first-place votes in this year's poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own program. Saint Mary's and San Francisco collected the other two first-place votes in this year's poll. The Zags had 99 points in the poll, while Saint Mary's was second with 86, and Santa Clara was third with 81. San Francisco and Washington State rounded out the top half of the league.

The Bulldogs have won 24 of the last 27 WCC regular season championships, 20 of which have been won outright. GU has 26 WCC regular season titles overall, including 22 of the last 24. Gonzaga has appeared in 27 straight WCC Tournament Championship games, which is the longest streak of its kind in the nation. The Zags have won the conference tournament title 10 times in the last 13 years.

Ajayi, a transfer from Pepperdine, led the West Coast Conference in scoring last season as a junior at 17.1 points per game, and was second with 9.9 rebounds per outing. 

Hickman paced the West Coast Conference in 3-pointers made per league games at 2.9. He was also second in the WCC making 45.5 percent from behind the arc in conference play. The senior was 10th in the conference scoring 14 points per game. 

Ike led the West Coast Conference in scoring during league play at 18.4 points per game at a WCC-best 64 percent shooting from the field. The redshirt senior was third in the conference averaging 16.5 points per game, and was fifth in the league pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game.

Nembhard topped the West Coast Conference in assists per game at 6.9, including 6.8 in league games, and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9, 4.0 in WCC play). He was 15th in the conference averaging 12.6 points per outing, and sixth in the conference averaging 1.4 steals per league game. 

Gonzaga's first exhibition against USC in Palm Desert, Calif., is on Oct. 26. The first regular season game against Baylor in the Spokane Arena on Nov. 4.

The Cougars, led by first-year head coach David Riley, begin the season Nov. 4, hosting Portland State at Beasley Coliseum. Wazzu welcomed eight transfers this offseason, including Coward and three additional Eastern Washington transfers.

2024-25 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

First-place votes in parenthesis

1, Gonzaga (9), 99 points. 2, Saint Mary's (1), 86. 3, Santa Clara, 81. 4, San Francisco (1), 77. 5, Washington State, 62. 6, Loyola Marymount, 60. 7, Oregon State, 44. 8 (tie), Portland, San Diego, 28. 10, Pacific, 23. 11, Pepperdine, 17. 

2024-25 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Team

Michael Ajayi, Sr., G, Gonzaga; Adama-Alpha Bal, Sr., G, Santa Clara; Cedric Coward, Sr., G, Washington State; Nolan Hickman, Sr., G, Gonzaga; Graham Ike, Sr., F, Gonzaga; Augustas Marciulionis, Sr., G, Saint Mary's; Ryan Nembhard, Sr., G, Gonzaga; Jevon Porter, Jr., F, LMU; Mitchell Saxen, Sr., C, Saint Mary's; Carlos Stewart, Sr., G, Santa Clara; Marcus Williams, Sr., G, San Francisco.

Boise State picked to win Mountain West in men's basketball

For the first time in program history, Boise State men’s basketball was picked as the favorite in the Mountain West Conference, the conference office announced on Thursday.

The conference’s preseason accolades also included Bronco senior forward Tyson Degenhart (Mt. Spokane High) being selected as the 2024-25 Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year. BSU senior forward O’Mar Stanley and newcomer guard Alvaro Cardenas were also named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team.

Degenhart is the third Bronco to earn the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year honor and first since Derrick Alston, Jr. in 2020-21. Chandler Hutchison picked up the award in 2017-18.

Degenhart enters this season 13th on Boise State’s all-time scoring list with 1,361 career points.

The Broncos received 19 first-place votes and compiled 276 points. New Mexico (233 points), Nevada (219) and San Diego State (213) rounded out the top four. UNLV was picked fifth, followed by Utah State, Colorado State, San Jose State, Wyoming, Fresno State and Air Force.

Boise State, under the direction of head coach Leon Rice, the former Gonzaga assistant who is entering his 15th year with the Broncos, is coming off three straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive NCAA appearances.