Gonzaga’s Few open to team joining a tougher conference
SALT LAKE CITY — Gonzaga got the credit it deserved this year — in the form of a No. 1 seed — for making its schedule as challenging as it could.
Maybe it shouldn’t be so hard, though.
Preparing for today’s secondround game in the West region against Northwestern, coach Mark Few says “we don’t have our head in the sand” when it comes to the conference realignment that has shaken up college hoops over the past decade, and how those changes could eventually come to the campus in Spokane, Wash.
“I think about it. I’m always talking to that guy about it,” Few said, as he pointed toward Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth.
Few said Gonzaga, now in its 19th straight tournament and onto the second round for the ninth straight year, has no problem scheduling pretty much any team it wants. This season’s nonconference schedule included tournament teams Florida, Iowa State and Arizona. Still, once January rolls around, conference opponents overtake Gonzaga’s schedule and the Bulldogs roll. Their conference record over the last five seasons: 80-8. Only two of those losses have come to teams other than St. Mary’s or BYU.
Asked if he secretly wished there were a few more UCLAs and Arizonas on the schedule every year, junior guard Silas Melson responded: “Honest answer, yes. We’re totally fine with the competition we play. But watching on TV, the Big Ten games, Pac12, we want to be among the best like that.”
If Gonzaga was really going to move, it would have more in common with teams in a conference such as the Big East, where having a football team is not a prerequisite to joining.
Of course, playing an entire schedule against teams on the other side of the country would be a stretch. Bottom line: Few isn’t ruling out anything.
“I’ve got nothing concrete for you, but we don’t have our head in the sand,” he said. “We’re going to do what’s best for us. Our entity and our brand are national now.”
MURRAY: Bill Murray was like every other proud parent with a son in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But when you’re a world famous actor/comedian, you have a tendency to stand out.
And he did, cheering, rooting and fist-pumping every Xavier highlight on Thursday during its win over Maryland in support of son Luke, an assistant coach for the Musketeers.
“I think just like anyone, to have the support of your family, particularly your parents with what you do for a living is obviously a great feeling,” said Luke Murray, a second-year assistant on Chris Mack’s staff. Xavier faces Florida State today. NORTH CAROLINA STATE: UNC Wilmington’s Kevin Keatts has been hired to take over as head basketball coach.
The school announced Keatts’ hiring in a news release Friday night, one day after his Seahawks lost to Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Keatts is a former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville and two-time Colonial Athletic Association coach of the year who led UNC Wilmington to a 72-28 record and two NCAA Tournaments in three seasons there.
The 44-year-old Keatts replaces Mark Gottfried, who was fired after the Wolfpack’s season.
In a statement, Keatts said he has “incredible respect” for the program’s tradition and said there’s an “unbelievable commitment to basketball in Raleigh.”
FLORIDA A&M: The school is searching for a head coach after deciding not to renew Byron Samuels’ contract.
Athletic director Milton Overton said on Friday that Lamont Franklin will serve as the interim coach while a search for Samuels’ replacement takes place.
Samuels was 17-71 in three years, including 7-23 this season. He was hired from the University of Georgia, where he had served as the basketball operations coordinator.