Mar. 9—LAS VEGAS — After four years, it’s hard to poke many holes or identify too many cracks in Ryan Nembhard’s glimmering college basketball resume.
The body of work so far includes an Elite Eight run with Creighton in 2023, a Sweet 16 appearance with Gonzaga in 2024, Big East Freshman of the Year honors, All-West Coast Conference recognition and a growing number of program and league assist records.
With things winding down for the senior point guard in his final year of eligibility, Nembhard is more concerned about what’s missing at this point.
“I really haven’t won nothing in my college career,” Nembhard said after Gonzaga’s 95-75 win over San Francisco last Saturday in the regular-season finale. “So I’m trying to win something in my college career. I haven’t really won anything, so definitely trying to get a conference tournament, for sure. Especially in Vegas, that would be a good time.”
That’s not only driving Nembhard, but multiple players as second-seeded Gonzaga (23-8) prepares for a WCC Tournament semifinal matchup against third-seeded San Francisco (24-8) at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2) on Monday at Orleans Arena.
Graham Ike’s been involved in multiple NCAA Tournament runs — one at Wyoming, one at Gonzaga — and the senior forward will have plenty of awards, certificates and mementos to display once his career is over, earning AP Honorable Mention All-America honors last season to go with all-league in the Mountain West and WCC.
But Ike, and every member of Gonzaga’s core rotation not named Ben Gregg or Nolan Hickman, has never won a conference tournament championship. The Zags’ top scorer had come up short in two championship games, losing 68-61 to Boise State in the 2022 MWC title game and falling 69-60 to Saint Mary’s in last year’s WCC championship tilt.
“It’s a huge goal, something that (Nembhard) and I actually talked about before,” Ike said. “Just winning the whole thing as a team, as a collective. That’s really what matters. We play a team sport, it’s not an individual sport. The individual accolades are cool, but it really comes from winning. That’s what we’re looking forward to, that’s what my mindset is on. I know the guys are there as well. So that’s the focus right now.”
Gonzaga’s path to a 28th straight WCC title game appearance sets up favorably, at least on paper.
The Zags entered Sunday preparing for one of two opponents: WSU, a team that would be playing its third game in as many days with a trip to the semis, or USF, which traveled to the conference tournament with a shorthanded backcourt after losing All-WCC First Team guard Marcus Williams to a NCAA rule violation.
The Dons prevailed 86-73 in Sunday’s nightcap, leaning on sophomore guard Ryan Beasley, who scored a career-high 29 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field, 4 of 8 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the free throw line.
Beasley, who went to the hospital with an ankle injury in the first half of last weekend’s game against Gonzaga, was considered a game-time decision before making his second career start in the Sunday’s quarterfinal game.
Malik Thomas, the WCC’s leading scorer, registered 18 points on 6 of 17 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free throw line while sophomore forward Barry Wang scored 10 points to go with a career-high 10 rebounds.
Williams didn’t travel with USF to the conference tournament after the school announced Thursday he was being withheld from team activities due to an unspecified NCAA rule violation.
Gonzaga won both regular-season meetings against San Francisco by double digits, outscoring the Dons 50-39 in the second half of an 88-77 win at McCarthey Athletic Center before cruising to a 95-75 win last Saturday at the Chase Center.
The Zags have won 32 consecutive games against the Dons dating back to the 2012 season, including each of the last three WCC semifinals.
Clinching a top-two seed at the WCC Tournament came with a few more incentives than usual. Quarterfinal games at the annual tournament have traditionally taken place on Saturday, giving winners a day off on Sunday before competing in Monday’s semifinal round. BYU’s exit prompted the tournament to bring back its previous format, holding quarterfinal games on Sunday this year.
“For sure, I think it definitely gives us a little more time and an advantage on our end,” Hickman said. “Yeah, I think it is beneficial.”
The Zags are 66-17 all-time at the WCC Tournament, winning 21 championships and making 30 title game appearances. GU hasn’t lost a WCC Tournament opener since the event moved to Las Vegas, winning 16 in a row.
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