Best first-round games in 2024 NCAA Tournament

Two games featuring former Gonzaga coaches headline the best first-round matchups of the 2024 NCAA Tournament

The Gonzaga men's basketball coaching tree is rooted throughout the 2024 NCAA Tournament field.

In the West Region, former assistant coach Tommy Lloyd and the 2-seed Arizona Wildcats face Mark Few's predecessor in Dan Monson and 15-seed Long Beach State. Monson, who was fired by the program last week, guided his team to a Big West Tournament championship and will face the graduate assistant he hired at Gonzaga in Lloyd.

Before that, a pair of Few's disciples square off in the First Four, as Leon Rice and his Boise State Broncos face the Colorado Buffaloes with Bill Grier on the sidelines as an assistant coach. Rice and Grier were on Gonzaga's coaching staff together from 1999 to 2007.

Former Gonzaga All-American Dan Dickau and Gonzaga Nation reporter Cole Forsman share their favorite first-round matchups of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

Produced by Christian Pedersen.

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