Gonzaga's Men's and Women's basketball teams end their season in the Sweet Sixteen. Were they successful? We'll address the past, present, and future of Gonzaga Basketball. We'll recap the losses to the number one seeds, and look back on our top 3 moments from the season.

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Both the Gonzaga men and the Gonzaga women reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The men for the 9th (10th) time in a ROW! That's as hard as we were watching them win.

We'll spend some time celebrating those wins before looking ahead to some difficult match-ups against Purdue and Texas.

Go Zags!

In a marvelous turn of events, the Gonzaga Men earned a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. In an even more impressive feat, the Women's team earned a 4 seed and will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Women's Tournamen at the McCarthey Athletic Center. 

How excited are we? Very. How confident are we? Unreasonably. 

We'll tell the tale of the opening round match-up and spin the yarn of a hopeful second round opponent as well.

It's the most wonderful time of the year on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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Ick. 

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Gealtears. That's enough, except for the algorithm requires me to mention that the Gonzaga Men's Basketball team defeated the St. Mary's Geals. We'll bathe in their tears, then discuss the way the lads have shown true grit and resilience throughout this season.

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After a routine road win at Portland and supreme revenge against Santa Clara last week, our attention turns to the biggest, and final weekend of the season. Gonzaga travels to the Bay Area to face WCC hopefuls, San Francisco, in the Chase Center and to Moraga to end Saint Mary's nation-leading winning streak. 

With so much at stake, we thought it best to bring in GU Basketball expert, Steven Karr to discuss. 

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Two comfortable wins against the Loyola Marymount Lions and the Pacific Tigers keep Gonzaga on track for an at-large NCAA tournament bid. The Zag train keeps on rolling with Portland and Santa Clara on the clock and the men will try hard to avoid anymore rat-tailed freakshow performances. 

Speaking of rolling, the Gonzaga women continue to roll all over the WCC. 

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Gonzaga gets a statement win down South as they manhandle the young wildcats with middle ball screens galore! We're excited! And you are too!

Next up, them men head to Hank's house to hand the Lions yet another beat down at Gersten. 

The women continue to embarrass WCC opponents on their way to a high tournament seed. 

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It's a hard knock life for us here at Free Ira Brown, with the Zags suffering a devestating loss at home to their long time rivals. We try to look on the bright side as we review the game and look ahead to a week with another WCC also-ran, and KENTUCKY? Ok. let's go then.

The Gonzaga Men return to the MAC after racking up two more wins over some So Cal beach bums. USF will aim to hand Gonzaga a rare home conference loss, and Pacific will roll over like a submissive puppy. We'll preview those games and do so much more on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. 

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Another unworldly performance by Anton Watson is squandered by a 10 percent shooting performance from deep. Gonzaga has no good wins and is looking at the bubble. Mard is not doing well. Is there a light? We'll discuss it this week on Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

The Gonzaga Women, on the other hand, are on track for a protected seed in Spokane come March. Mard is doing well, after all.

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Gonzaga's shooting woes cont . . . wait, what? They DON'T? The Free Ira Brown boys will talk it out, let you know if we should expect the hot shooting to continue on the road against the Santa Clara Broncos.

The Zag Women embark on their tour of WCC dominance with a win over Portland and we remember our favorite things from 1999. Some of them don't involve slippers.

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Oh man, is it bad? I can't look! Tell me, dude, how bad is it?

We'll tell you. And then we'll look ahead to the conference slate. 

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The Zags go down to another group of Huskies while building a wall of bricks from beyond the arc. We'll go over the particulars while handing out Christmas gifts. Then, the Aztecs come to town to give the Zags one last chance at a good win in the non-conference. 

Then we give you our top three Christmas villians!

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Gonzaga lets a solid road win slip away during a ten minute mind warp in which they forget that the ball is supposed to go IN the hoop. Anyway, we'll dissect the loss and decide not to panic.

From one husky dog-fight to another, the Zags head back to Seattle to play the other Huskies in their best opportunity to beat a top ten opponent all season. Can we do it? Yes we can! (or maybe not), tune in to find out.

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Will Gonzaga continue it's Pac-12 domination? Washington will do its best to defend the defunct conference of champions. We'll talk about the whooping of the Trojans, the anticipated whooping of the Dawgs, and we get a visit from the East!

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The Zags make short work of The Bakersfield Roadrunners in a final tune-up before launching a thousand ships off to Vegas to face Troy in another battle for West Coast supremacy. We'll tell you what to expect. 

We'll finish with some crazy/not crazy. 

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After a bit of a cold open in the first round of the Maui Invitational against Purdue, the lads crushed Syracuse and then Anton "liquid hot magma" Watson got McCronin hot under the collar.

All in all, a successful showing in the Pacific. We'll take a look back at the week that was in Gonzaga Basketball (including some major offense from the ladies) on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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Gonzaga takes care of business against Yale, with Dusty and Braden stepping up nicely in the face of an experienced opponent. Our takeaways from that game, PLUS the Free Ira Brown! Maui Invitational (Honolulu) Preview Spectacular! We also welcome the incomparable Steven Karr to get his reactions on the young season.

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The Yale Bulldogs come to town looking to pull off the early season upset. We'll break down their chances. Will they get the girl in the funhouse? Or go home with wedgies? Find out on this episode of Free Ira Brown!: THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

Celebrating a Decade of Gonzaga Hoops Podcasting By Fans, For Fans!

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Join the FIB boys as we break down the Gonzaga men's and women's basketball schedules this season. What game has you the most riled up? We're looking at as challenging a non-conference schedule as we've ever seen in the Mark Few era. How will the lads come through it? We'll tell you, on this episode of Free Ira Brown: THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

By fans, for fans. @freeirabrown

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Adam, Chris and Marty return for the tenth(!) season of Free Ira Brown with your complete player preview for the 23-24 Gonzaga basketball season. There are a lot new faces, and some big shoes to fill, but as Mard will tell you, through song, we believe in a coach called Few.

All that and our Halloween movie picks on this episode of Free Ira Brown: THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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In which we over-react to lovely fall afternoon in Spokane. We're back BA-BY! 

Your Gonzaga summer update. All the news, the ins, the outs, the mystery! All that and stuff we love and love to hate about summer on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

Gonzaga Alumni and Superfans Chris, Marty and Adam discuss the upcoming season of Gonzaga Basketball with a focus on the non-conference schedule and the expectations of the frontcourt.

We also take a look at some of our favorite memories of Gonzaga Fandom.

Free Ira Brown takes some time to review the season that was and look ahead to the season that will be. A Timme tribute, a Harris lament, and thoughts on what the starting line-up will be. See you all in season 10. 

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The Free Ira Brown boys recap that last game, much to everyone's chagrin, but end with a discussion of our favorite moments from an up and down season of Gonzaga Basketball. 

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In which we lose our shit.  Drew Timme is a legend.

Gonzaga advances to the Sweet Sixteen for the eighth straight year and Drew Timme leads the way again. We break down the first weekend victories and look ahead to the Vegas showdown against the Wieners from Westwood. We'll also review all the upsets from another exciting weekend in the NCAA tournament and discuss our fantastic weekend in Spokane. patreon.com/freeirabrown

Gonzaga wins another WCC tournament title with a wire-to-wire drubbing of the Gaels in Las Vegas. We celebrate, we deliberate, we masticate on another fantastic WCC Tournament showing by the Gonzaga men. 

The ladies suffered a setback, but will look to make some NCAA noise anyway. 

We close with a look ahead at some possible NCAA opponents as we anxiously await Selection Sunday.

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Gonzaga closes out their 11th WCC Regular Season Championship with their strongest defensive effort of the year. Oh and they dropped 77 on the Gaels.

We laugh a lot at SMC, and how they're terrible. Also, they are some tough dudes we are likely to face in the WCC tournament title game YET AGAIN. Join us for some revelry in the tears of a Gael and a preview of the WCC Tournament.

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Back in January, the LMU Lions handed Gonzaga its first home loss in a dog's age. This week, the Bulldogs look to return the favor. The Free Ira Brown boys break down the revenge game, but not before basking in the glow of a home victory over the Cougars of BYU by hitting a ton of free throws?! We'll take it.

Also on the pod, the ladies whoop Portland, Vandersloot's jacket game, and why a 6 seed is better than a 4 seed.

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We discuss the frustrating loss to SMC in Moraga, but find enough silver linings to look forward to the Zags' homecoming against USF and BYU. Also, we rap for a bit about epic badass, Courtney Vandersloot and her contribution to Gonzaga Basketball.

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After an ultimately comfortable win over the Portland Pilots in the Chiles Center (Thanks, Ju), the Zags welcome Santa Clara on Thursday, and jump in the jet to Moraga on Saturday to take on the Gaels. This is a biggie, folks. We'll break down these games and discuss the state of the conference with special guest, Will Maupin, of the The Inlander.

Also, Mard shares his special feelings about St. Mary's in the only way he knows how.

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Excerpts now available on YouTube!

Don't be intimidated by the run time on this one, Zags, because after we get down in the dumps talking about the LMU loss, out spirits are lifted by the one and only Greg Heister. We discuss the Zags, expectations, fishing, dog-sledding and Mark Few's surprising genetic fly fishing disadvantage.

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Gonzaga overcomes some uncharacteristic Timme troubles to eek out a victory on the hilltop, thanks to some Bolton heroics. We break it down, along with the win at Santa Clara. Was this the toughest road stretch of the season? Will BYU have anything to say about that?

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Gonzaga opens the conference season with a dominant performance by Drew Timme and the lads in a 111-88 dissipation of the Waves. Next up is a tough road trip to the Bay Area for visits to USF and SCU. Adam, Chris and Marty give you all the info you need to predict Gonzaga winning those games. All this, and we are visited by a famed visitor from the East, Karno-ac the Magnificent! Support the show! Patreon.com/freeirabrown.

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After a brief discussion about the tune up against Eastern Oregon, the Free Ira Brown boys take a long look back at the year that was, sharing the best and worst, the flyest and the driest, and the most wonderful memories from 2022. We also take some time to look ahead at the WCC schedule and dare to make some predictions as to how this will turn out in 2023.

Do join us, will you?

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Gonzaga's gauntlet of a non-conference schedule has finally come to an end. We've laughed, we've cried, we've yelled at the TV until we've passed out, but most of all, we've learned a lot about this Gonzaga team. They are growing before our eyes into a formidable basketball outfit. What better way to celebrate the season than to welcome friend of the show, Steven Karr, to discuss the highs and lows of the non-con season? We promise he's not replacing Marty permanently (unless he wants to).

We close the show with a reading of the Night Before Christmas before giving out our annual FIB Christmas presents.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

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Gonzaga takes care of business in the Kennel with two home wins over top 100 opponents extending their home winning streak to 70. Lots of positive takeaways from this one folks, and the FIB boys discuss them all before sharing our favorite obscure Christmas tunes.

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Gonzaga's tilt against Baylor seemed like it was in hand, but it wasn't. Are GU's recent frustrations indicative of the entire season to come? Or does the sky remain the limit for this team? Chris faces existential dread in this uplifting episode of Free Ira Brown. Also, we rag on the Huskies.

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Gonzaga climbed some green Cascade peaks and dropped into some Portland valleys during feast week's  PKI or was it L? In any event, the Free Ira Brown boys review the consistent inconsistencies of this year's Gonzaga season so far and look ahead to a big bear of a match up later this week against Baylor.

We'll also discuss Nolan Hickman's turnover turnaround and Timme's continued badassery.

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Drew Timme drops 22 points and the Bulldogs ran the Wildcats right out of Spokane. Does this win wash away the bad taste of the Texas game? Hell, yes it does! We'll tell you why on this episode of Free Ira Brown! We'll also look ahead to the Phil Knight Legacy field and a possible tilt with Huggy bear himself!

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Gonzaga f's around down in Austin and finds out that 20 turnovers is no way to play a basketball game. We discuss our concerns with our usual mild temperament and grace. After that, we attempt to forget about all of that and preview the Kentucky game. Join us for some lively discussion about colonel's, wildcats and national players of the year.

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Spokesman-Review Gonzaga beat writer, Theo Lawson, joins the show! We exhaust all of our maritime puns, wax poetic about tingling Timme senses and generally gush about the lads' second half comeback on the USS Abraham Lincoln. If only the Persians had Drew Timme, they may have conquered Greece after all.

With the Spartans vanquished, we look ahead to a big road challenge agains the Texas cows. Will Drew remind them of his 37 points in last year's match-up? We discuss that, before going on one final voyage on our top three boats.

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The SS Gonzaga weighs anchor and embarks on its 2022-2023 campaign and we here at Free Ira Brown can't wait to see them off. Will GU say "bon voyage" to the WCC and seek rougher waters in the Big 12? The F  IB boys discuss the stops along the way, pick the winners and losers and preview the outdoor tilt against the Spartans. Go Zags!

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Did you let an exhibition game scare you? The Free Ira Brown boys chime in on whether this not-so-secret scrimmage should hellraise any concerns for our heroes going forward. We'll also go down the roster, share our thoughts and expectations and terrify you with our top three halloween memories!

Shout out to Patreon Patron of the week, Nancy, who pledged $3 per episode! Thanks, Nancy!

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The long dark . . . Summer . . . is over! Gonzaga Basketball is BACK BABY! And so is Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. We react to the Kraziness, the Timme talk, the Hickman smoothness, and the schedule.

All that, plus Marty's season-opening hype song and an intriguing Top Three.

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The Zag faithful thought his time was over, they thought they had seen the last spin cycle, the last mustache, the final pump fake, but NAY! Timme time rolls on!

And not only Timme, but Bolton and Strawther too. We talk returns and transfers on this special edition of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops podcast!

The Cruelty of the NCAA Tournament rears it’s head once again as the Overall number one seed Bulldogs fall in the Sweet Sixteen to the Razorbacks. At least this GU fanbase is known for keeping everything in perspective . . . right? RIGHT?!

Well if you're a listener to Free Ira Brown, you know that we keep a measured, reasonable state of mind about these things.

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The boys discuss their weekend in Portland, Marty's level of depression during the Memphis halftime, and how Drew Timme brought the Zags back from the brink (with a LOT of help from one Andrew Nembhard).

Then listen to us try to figure out how Arkansas could possibly challenge this Gonzaga team on Thursday.

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The Bracket is set. The die is cast. We examine the limitless possibilities.

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The lads and the ladies leave sin city with some hardware. That's TWO WCC championship trophies returning home to Spokane.

We review those games and enter the bracketology lab to study some futures.

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Adam, Chris and Marty can only hold off talking about the St. Mary's loss for so long, so eventually we'll take our "alibi hour" and discuss that frustrating night against the bald baby and his band of shaggy Aussies.

We'll then take a look back at the regular season and a short look ahead to the WCC tournament. Finally, the lads share some songs that pump us up for March (and other things).

You can now SEE the show at Gonzaga Nation SI at www.si.com/college/gonzaga/. Go Check us out!

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After a couple of sleepy games, Gonzaga takes their show on the road to the two toughest locations in the WCC: War Memorial Gymnasium, and whatever they're calling that disgusting sweat box in Moraga. Is this the toughest weekend of the season?

We bring on KREM 2 Sports Director, Brenna Greene to discuss her own demons from War Memorial, as well as some things she wouldn't let our kids do.

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St. Mary's manages to ruin a perfectly good game of basketball, making their ultimate failure at the hands of our man Timme all the more satisfying. Without Chris to keep them in check Marty and Adam unabashedly bash the Gaels from Randy all the way on down to Logan.

We'll finish with a look ahead at Santa Clara, the bubble, and an appearance from our famed visitor from the East, Karno-ac the magnificent!

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After a ZagFam shoutout, we dive deep into Gonzaga's dismantling of the BYU Cougars behind 20 and 17 from the freshman phenom Chet Holmgren, who is finding his considerable stride in conference play.

Our St. Mary's preparation kicks off with the tale of the tape followed by a special tribute to Randy.

All that and more on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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Gonzaga crushes two WCC also-rans LMU and UP. Will the hot shooting continue on the longest road in the WCC? (The one from Spokane to San Diego to Provo). We look past the Torreros to the final WCC duel in the Residence Inn by Marriott Center against the desperate Cougars of BYU. Can the Cougars do it? We doubt it.

All that plus, farewell Tom Brady, we hate your guts.

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Gonzaga pulls away from the Dons after a brilliant game plan falls short in the face of Holmgren's dominance. We'll discuss how it went down and look ahead to games against WCC bottom dwellers LMU and UP.

Free Ira Brown uses a lot of statistics that we frankly, barely grasp. To help with that, we welcome Jack Gilles of @JGTrends to explain how college basketball teams use analytics to squeeze every last bit of efficiency from players.

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The Gonzaga Men rode the waves, crushed the Cougars and Broke the Broncos, all by triple digits. We'll go through each game and illuminate the superlatives.

Will the Dons of USF put up more of a fight? Or will Gonzaga continue to drop hundos on the WCC?

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A thorough review of the 42nd consecutive shellacking of Pepperdine University sets the tone for another season of WCC dominance. Next up? The Cougars of BYU. Has Caleb Lohner poked the bear? Could we clean dishes with his hair? The answers to these questions, PLUS, are we more concerned about Santa Clara?

We'll close with unveiling the FIB All-time Gonzaga Freshman team.

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Omicron can take our Gonzaga games, but it will never take Free Ira Brown's ability to talk about basketball for and hour and a half!

We spend some time discussing the non-conference scheduling and what the WCC also-rans have been up to. We look ahead to the conference schedule and finish up with some New Year's resolutions.

Happy F-ing New Year!

Concerned about turnovers and three point shooting? Well GU is here to put them to rest with two outstanding performances that hopefully indicate a return to form on the turnover front and a whole new form on the three point front. We discuss the wins over Texas Tech and Northern Arizona and look ahead to North Alabama before noting some of our favorite Christmas subtleties.

 

A lackluster team performance against the Merrimack Warriors last week had us yearning for another tune-up game before Texas Tech on Saturday. A game the Huskies ruined.

We recap the Merrimack game, discuss the ups and downs, and give you the 411 on the Red Raiders.

We close with the inagural FIB Gonzaga Hall of Fame Class! With a surprise guest. (It's Steven Karr).

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Listen here for Free Ira Brown's guide to navigating a frustrating loss and ultimately returning to hope.

We point out some areas of improvement for the lads, and then discuss the upcoming games against the Merrimack Warriors and the a team of adorable sled dogs.

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Gonzaga suffers it's first loss on the season in Vegas to a solid Duke team, primarily due to turnover issues, which somehow continued against Tarleton State on Monday.

Should we be worried? Should we panic? Listen to find out! (But probably not).

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Gonzaga CRUSHES three teams no one has heard of to continue their undefeated start to the season . . . wait, one of those teams was UCLA; YIKES!

We revel in the walloping of Westwood and Chet, the Wonderboy, coming into his own in front of Dickie V and a National audience on Tuesday.

We then preview the game against a team that failed to make last year's NCAA tournament. Coached by some guy named Chichevsky (or something). Marty sends him on his way with a song. (58:34).

Drew Timme is now the undisputed king of Texas. We recap his tremendous performance against the Longhorns, Andrew Nembhard's eight (!!) assists and the return of the Mark Few seven man rotation.

Meanwhile, the Ladies' sweep big sky country and look ahead to a big opportunity with Stanford coming to town.

You should also expect a lot of UCLA talk.

Lastly, we discuss all the wonderful things we're thankful for. ( 1:10:00 ).

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Can you believe it’s been seven months since Gonzaga last played a game?

Thankfully, that interminable wait is about to end.

Gonzaga will shake off the rust and actually get back on the court Tuesday in a meaningful game, and Free Ira Brown is here to get you prepped for big game … or at least, the game before the big game!

We’ll tell you everything we know about Dixie State (did you know former BYU coach Dave Rose went there?), look at what we expect from Gonzaga and wonder if this game is enough to get us prepped for Texas.

Those stories, plus we engage in a little Overreaction Theater as we look back at the exhibition games (Holmgren is the best play ever! Will our guards ever hit a 3 again?!), look deeper to see if any players are trending down, who is Zagging Up heading into the first official game and Marty gets the score for the Gonzaga women’s exhibition almost exact.

And finally, we finish by looking back at some of the players in Gonzaga’s history who came into a season with some hype and whether they lived up to it. This one was a lot of fun (and had some painful memories).

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come prep for the regular season with us, won’t you?

There’s nothing quite like a season tip-off on Halloween.

Well, a kinda-sorta-mostly season tip-off. Exhibition games, at least. But hey, it’s games! And soon! Really soon!

And Free Ira Brown is back to make sure our brains are full and ready to go. Not to fight off a zombie apocalypse (brrrraaaaaaaaaaaiiiins), mind you, but to finally fight off the final dregs of the preseason. And to help with that we brought in the great Brenna Greene to lend her expertise to the proceedings.

Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast returns for its 8th season with our pre-season player preview extravaganza! In which we run down the roster discussing our expectations, our loves, our "mehs" and our predictions for each of the lads.

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There’s nothing quite like a good off-season podcast, is there? No games to distract you, no sudden or breaking news to divert your attention.

Just three hosts, three microphones and a blank canvas.

And just like that, Free Ira Brown is back! Yes, dear FIBbers, we are back with our (slightly delayed) summer pod.

We go thoughts on Gonzaga’s schedule (at least what we know of it), we share our feelings on Duke and Coach K (we’re super positive...!), we join in on the heat wave in the northwest by firing off some hot takes (OK, some medium-to-warm takes), we’ll check in with where the Gonzaga players went in the draft and peak at some of the NBA summer league action.

We’ll also give a parting word to Mike Roth, the legendary Gonzaga athletic director who is retiring after this season.

All this and more on the world-famous summer episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come have some summer fun with us, won’t you?

We turn from the open sore of the Baylor loss to reflect on an unprecedented Gonzaga Basketball season before saying our goodbyes to those who won't return next year, especially newly-minted legends, Ayayi, Suggs and Kispert. Do raise a glass to lads with us!

All that and more including, Do you believe in life after Lloyd?

We close with some sports history shenanigans.

Emergency final four squeaky bum victory time is now. Brain function compromised. Apologies for lack of word-smithing.

The Free Ira Brown Boys break down Gonzaga's demolition of another NCAA tournament team as they crushed the much ballyhooed upstart Trojans of USC. Turns out even Evan Mobley wasn't long enough to slow down this juggernaut of an offense.

Congrats to Drew Timme on most outstanding player in the West Regional. 

We also take a look ahead to another PAC12 opponent in the UCLA Bruins, breaking down our expectations for the upcoming tilt.

All this and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown! THE INDEPENDENT Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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Dude! Sweet!

Gonzaga crushes Creighton in a Sweet Sixteen match-up that turned forever sour for those other Jesuits. We celebrate the win and break down the bad-assery that was Gonzaga's latest victory. 

We also look ahead to an imposing defensive squad in the Trojans of USC. We'll let you know what to look out for, and what not too on this BONUS episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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In the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, we celebrate the ongoing brilliance of the Bulldogs. A comfortable win over Suffolk Norfolk St. followed by an at-arm’s-length victory over Oklahoma (NOT gifted to GU by the refs, like many Sooners fans would have you believe) extends the nation’s longest Sweet 16 streak, and we have it all covered.

Those stories, plus our thoughts on the NCAA Tournament in general, from the Pac-12’s dominance to the Big 10’s, uh, something less than dominance to the which matchups gave us the highest scoring on the Schadenfreude Meter.

We also say hello to some of our friendly derps, check in with the Gonzaga women and the disappointment of their loss to Belmont, get prepared for Creighton and touch upon the USC/Oregon matchup.

And finally, since most of our brackets are in shambles and we proved, once again, we aren’t any good at picking games, we decide to look into what world-class abilities we’d like to have. If we couldn’t make any money off it, where would we still like to shine?

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come share our sweet tooth with us, won’t you?

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In the past year, we haven’t had a ton of good news as a society. The same has held true for the sports world.

But now, finally, after two long years, the NCAA Tournament is back.

And we here at Free Ira Brown couldn’t be happier. In our latest episode, we look at the #1 overall seed (spoilers: it’s Gonzaga…perhaps you’ve heard of them?) and the Bulldogs’ route to the Final 4. Did we like the bracket? How does Gonzaga’s bracket compare to the other #1 seeds? Do we HAVE to play the same teams again?

Those stories, plus we look back at the conference tournaments, what stood out to us, what surprised us and who else we’re rooting for.

And finally, it’s time for a little bracket fun of our own. We’ll take a trip down memory lane, discussing the 16 most memorable Gonzaga NCAA Tournament games, Sweet 16 style. Like many Gonzaga runs, there were upsets galore.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. For the first time in two years, do come review some brackets with us, won’t you?

Admit it: It’s a bit more fun when there are some nerves attached, right?

If Gonzaga had just waltzed through things, blown BYU out of the water, of course it would have been fun and enjoyable.

But having taken a punch, having withstood the best BYU had to offer, to come back and not just win, but win by double digits, THAT was a lot more fun.

And we’re all about fun on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown. So much so, that we brought in Will Maupin, writer extraordinaire for The Inlander, to help us review what was maybe the biggest test Gonzaga has had all season and put all the fun numbers (26-0, 30 consecutive wins, 23 straight by double digits, etc.) in the proper perspective.

Those stories, plus Gonzaga’s women take home the WCC Tournament title in about the most difficult way possible, Jill Townsend hitting a buzzer-beater to give the Bulldogs the crown.

We’ll also get into a bit of point-counterpoint and look ahead to what matchups we’d like to see and avoid in the NCAA Tournament.

And finally, we’re once again blessed to be visited by the great seer from the east, Karnoac the Zagnificent.

All this and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come luxuriate in yet another WCC Tournament title, won’t you?

A perfect regular season. Twenty-four games, 24 wins.

The first time in the 116-year history of Gonzaga basketball the Bulldogs have finished the regular season unbeaten. It’s not everything, obviously the goal is still a national title.

But it’s certainly not nothing, and here at Free Ira Brown, our latest episode celebrates this weirdest of seasons. From Jalen Suggs’ first basket against Kansas to Corey Kispert’s 3-point barrage on Senior Night, we look back on a season most memorable.

Those stories, plus don’t know if you heard, but Michigan got thumped by Illinois on Tuesday night. Luckily, Adam was on the front lines to send back missives for us. There are also some WCC awards to discuss, the WCC Tournament is starting shortly and the Gonzaga’s women reacted pretty well to the loss to BYU last week.

And finally, we finish with some Crazy/Not Crazy looking ahead to the weekend’s games, the NCAA Tournament and who knows what else.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come celebrate with us, won’t you?

Do you remember when the Gales were actual rivals?

Not really sure Gonzaga does, as the Bulldogs smacked around the artist formerly known as Saint Mary’s with ease, their 20th win in the past 24 matchups with SMC. Some rivalry.

But that doesn’t stop us at Free Ira Brown from enjoying yet another Bennett bashing.

It also won’t stop Adam from having a go at some of the Gonzaga haters across this great land.

Those stories, plus we now know who Gonzaga plays the last week of the season, so we’ll look ahead to the matchups with Santa Clara and LMU (why even is LMU? What’s the point?). There’s also a check-in on the Gonzaga women’s team, some overall news and Chris has a belated Valentine’s Day gift for everyone.

And finally, apropos of nothing at all, we finish by sharing some random sounds we enjoy and some we definitely do not. This one goes all over the place.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come join us in dismissing SMC out of hand, won’t you?

The Gonzaga Men's Basketball Team is MUCH better than San Francisco's. This much was made obvious by the dominating performance of one Drew Timme, who scored 28 points in 22 minutes of play.

We look ahead to the *gasp* final two games of the season, and what may become of the WCC tournament.

Finally, we'll close by discussing the top three individual single game performances in Gonzaga Basketball History.

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We here at Free Ira Brown have long held belief in a theory: Not all conference games will be pretty.

Some will be the no-doubt-about-it waltzes to victory, others will be slogs as teams give Gonzaga their best shot each and every week.

See, for example, Gonzaga’s victory over Pacific last week. Slow, mucky, at times downright ugly. What was Pacific doing which caused so much angst? In our latest episode the FIB crew looks at that very question. What were the Tigers doing which took the Bulldogs out of their game for so long?

Things got much better Monday…well, for the five minutes anyway. Gonzaga jumped out early over BYU in Provo, but the Cougars hung around until Jalen Suggs was actually allowed to play for a bit and turned in an outstanding second-half performance. That part, at least, was fun to re-live.

Those stories, plus the Santa Clara game has been cancelled for the third time, leaving Gonzaga with only a weekend clash in San Francisco (as of the time of recording). We examine how the Bulldogs will handle Todd Golden and USF’s focus on the 3-point line.

There is also a shoutout to the Gonzaga women’s team (who moved up in the polls despite not playing last week), Marty expresses his (relative) pessimism with the way Gonzaga’s offense has looked the past few weeks and what can the Bulldogs and/or the WCC do about the conference tournament?

And finally, given the bummer of a Super Bowl last week, we look at title games which left us wanting.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do have fun at BYU’s expense with us, won’t you?

Now that we’re fully immersed in winter, it would stand to reason the car might occasionally take a few clicks to get going, right?

And when it does finally start, it needs some time to warm up. Maybe other cars get out of the driveway a little earlier, maybe they get down the road a bit quicker to start before the car gets warm and blows by them. Maybe we’re torturing this analogy just a bit.

Regardless, on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, the crew takes a look at whether we should, in fact, be worried about the slow starts (four out of the last five games!) or if it’s just a matter of needing to find a way to get engaged in the games before returning to full speed.

When Gonzaga did finally get warmed up, San Diego and Pepperdine stood no chance as Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Cook and the usual performances from Corey and Timme helped the Bulldogs cruise to two more wins.

Those stories, plus the Gonzaga women got a big win on Tuesday and we brought in the great Steven Karr to help us break it down. And since there are, at the time of recording, no games to preview this week, we discuss which teams we would LIKE to play, given our druthers.

And finally, Steven sticks around to help us wrestle with one of the biggest questions ever asked: Who would win a Gonzaga-based Royal Rumble? It’s quite a journey.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come rumble with us, won’t you?

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The WCC doldrums are here folks! And we're hear to enjoy them as much as possible. We recap the thrashing of Pacific and preview the anticipated thrashing of USD and Pepperdine.

What do we want to see? What DON'T we want to see?

Do we see an undefeated future? We'll tell you on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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This week we welcome Slipper Still Fits personnel Peter Woodburn and Kieth Ybanez to talk slow halves, Corey's . . . ahem . . . "efficiencies", and stuff about sports that annoys us.

We also look back on the week that was in Gonzaga Hoops and look ahead to the game of the week (there's only one) Pacific v. Gonzaga.

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Gonzaga dispatches two more WCC challengers, including BYU, who has been a thorn in the past, in two run away victories last week.

We discuss the Joel Ayayi triple-double, what he means to this squad and we just can't stop gushing about this offense.

After taking a look ahead to the next WCC lambs to the slaughter Marty serenades us once again.

Stick around for shenanigans, in which we share our top three singing voices of all time. All that and more on this episode of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast.

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Support the Show! www.Patreon.com/freeirabrown

Corey Kispert is the lead object of our affection on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown. We break down the win over San Francisco, from our first-half struggles (curse you, Todd Bolden!) to the second-half surge.

And since there’s no second game to review, we digress and have a little fun with a current recent Twitter trend, looking at our favorite players, the most underrated and more.

Those stories, plus COVID is having another go at Gonzaga’s schedule, as Thursday’s opponent switches from Santa Clara to BYU. A better opponent, a higher-rated game, and yet another lesson to teach us not to record on Mondays. We look at what issues BYU presents Gonzaga and how we can keep out of Haarms’ way.

Oh yeah, we play Portland, too.

And finally, ever wanted to have a beer with a college coach? So did we. So we brought back the Top 3 to list who we would love and hate to have a beer with.

All this and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. To come gawk at Corey with us, won’t you?

At some point, what do you say?

Not that we’ve ever really found it hard to keep on talking here at Free Ira Brown, but sometimes you do worry about Gonzaga being so good saying anything becomes superfluous.

So to break up the monotony of the FIB crew praising Gonzaga, we asked KREM2 Sports Director Brenna Greene to help us…uh…praise Gonzaga.

We do start, of course, with the vanquishing of Virginia. What was billed as a clash of styles quickly became another notch on Gonzaga’s hit list as the Bulldogs outraced and outpaced the Cavaliers.

After the Virginia game came the story which seemed to come out of nowhere prior to the Northern Arizona and Dixie State games: the injury to Jalen Suggs. We don’t know much more at the time of recording, but we ran through how the team did without their prized recruit (unsurprisingly, it was just fine).

The turn of the calendar year, of course, means we can turn our attention to West Coast Conference play. How have the other teams done? (Meh) Anyone impress or disappoint? (Rooooooommmmaarrr) Will anyone give us any sort of challenge? (Not o n your life).

And finally, with the new year comes another visit from the seer of all things: Karnoac the Zagnificent.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come ring in the new year with us, won’t you?

On this, a very special Christmas edition of Free Ira Brown! THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast, we discuss how Marty is directly responsible for GU's three point barrage on Iowa, the dangers of a feisty Deamon team and give out some Christmas presents.

Also featuring, yet ANOTHER amazing holiday song from Mard and his worst guest ever.

All that and much, much more on this episode of Free Ira Brown!

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What promised to be a busy, exciting week turned into about as quiet a week as could be: all four of Gonzaga’s games canceled and quite a hole left in the schedule.

But if you feared we here at Free Ira Brown wouldn’t have anything to talk about, we both congratulate you on not having much to worry about in your life and also say: fret not! Gonzaga may not have played any of their four scheduled games last week, but that won’t stop us from reviewing them.

Of course, we spend much of our time examining Gonzaga’s next major opponent, the third-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes and their star center Luka Garza. Among the nation’s statistical leaders in several categories, the senior will be a nightmare to defend (and, if you’re Chris, pronounce). We’ll run through Gonzaga’s options on both ends of the floor (will Strawther and Harris be back?) and how we might go about slowing down the most productive player we’ve seen since Zion.

And finally, before we have a little fun by re-casting some of the most well-known holiday TV and movie roles with WCC personalities, we are lucky enough to get a new holiday tune: A visit from the patron saint of Gonzaga Christmas.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come kill some time with us, won’t you?

We know what you were thinking. We thought the same thing.

Less than 13 minutes into the first game of a Big 12 double-header, Gonzaga’s star recruit injures his…well…we weren’t really sure what Jalen Suggs injured, but we here at Free Ira Brown feared the same thing as everyone else.

Which made the energy drop immediately after understandable and his return to play in the second half equal parts remarkable and terrifying (come to think of it, equal parts remarkable and terrifying is a pretty good tagline for the podcast.

Not surprisingly, Suggs and his health dominated much of the conversation in our latest episode, but we still found time to discuss Nembhard’s brilliant performance (Nemb-V-P! Nemb-V-P!), Ayayi’s penchant for making just the right play at just the right time (#a11aboard!) and Timme now being required to play with a headband.

Then we turn our attention to the other big story from the weekend: the Baylor game getting postponed after more positive tests in the Gonzaga program. We discuss when the game might get rescheduled and what it means for us going forward.

We also take a brief look at the four games originally scheduled for this week (we recorded before it was announced the games were canceled).

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come breathe a sigh of relief with us, won’t you?    

What a wild few days in the world of Gonzaga basketball.

A comfortable win over Kansas -- where the Bulldogs casually dropped a 100(!) points – and a demolition of SEC stalwart Auburn highlight the positive while reports of positive tests for COVID-19 in and around the Gonzaga program raise questions about the school’s actions and whether two monster games this week should be played.

Sound like a lot to get through?

Don’t worry, Free Ira Brown is here to help navigate you through the tidal wave of information. In our latest episode, we’ll go deep into the swamps of Florida, where we’ll find incredible performances from Jalen Suggs (welcome to college basketball!), Drew Timme, Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi as the Bulldogs brush aside those pesky upstarts from Lawrence. We’ll also discuss the drubbing of Auburn and a weirdly bearded Bruce Pearl.

Once we’ve finished exulting and not overreacting at all, we’ll turn our attentions to South Dakota, as the Gonzaga women fought valiantly against the nation’s top team in South Carolina.

Then we’ll look toward Indianapolis (we think…we hope) as the men prepare for a huge game against Tennessee West Virginia before the titanic clash against No. 2 ranked Baylor. We’ll walk you through the Mountaineers and Bears match up.

And finally, we’ll finish with some more positive thoughts: some things we’re looking forward to as the holiday season has officially begun.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do join in the roasted Jayhawk with us, won’t you?

It’s the time of year when we all give thanks: for family, friends, health, a comfy couch and a tryptophan-induced nap.

This year, in the year to end all years, we get to give thanks not just for Gonzaga basketball, but while watching Gonzaga basketball. And what better way to prepare yourself for some mid-morning holiday hoops than the latest episode of Free Ira Brown?

Yes, the FIB crew is back, and we thought given the excitement around the game with Kansas (Kansas!) we’d bring in someone smarter than us to lend a hand. Enter: Steven Karr from The Slipper Still Fits. Karr helps us break down how Gonzaga matched up with the Jayhawks and what we can expect from a team which lost two second-team All Americans and is still ranked in the top 5 (a note: we recorded this before the news broke about Tennessee and Andrew Nembhard).

We’ll also turn our attention to a re-tooling Auburn team, Gonzaga’s second matchup in Fort Myers, and look ahead to the Gonzaga women taking on the nation’s top-ranked team, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

And finally, we’ll share a few things we’re thankful for as we edge ever closer to piles of mashed potatoes, spoonfuls of gravy and hopefully some roasted Jayhawk.

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come give thanks with us, won’t you?