Gonzaga's seniors reflect following loss vs. Houston in NCAA Tournament: 'These are my brothers for life'

Ben Gregg and Nolan Hickman shared what playing at Gonzaga has meant to them after losing to Houston in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament

Mar 22, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; The Gonzaga Bulldogs walk on the court against the Houston Cougars during the first half at Intrust Bank Arena. / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

As the Houston Cougars celebrated the program's sixth straight appearance in the Sweet 16, a few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs' seniors let the final buzzer on their college careers sink in for a moment.

But as he sat in front of his locker, well after the final horn had sounded on the 81-76 loss to the Cougars, Ben Gregg still had a feeling of disbelief — like the Zags still had a chance to keep their season alive, despite the triple zeros that read on the scoreboard. Gonzaga had rallied from down 10 points in the final 2:30 of the second half to make it a one-point game with under 30 seconds to play, breathing life back into a team that had been dealt so many close letdowns throughout the first three months of the season.

The comeback attempt fell just short, though, as Houston smothered Gonzaga's last effort to tie the game and send it to overtime. Gregg watched from the sideline as his team, and his time in a Bulldogs uniform, came to an end.

"I was standing next to Nolan [Hickman] — we've been here for four years now, me him and Joe [Few] — we just kind of embraced for a quick second," Gregg said after the game as to what was going through his mind when the buzzer sounded. "Everybody's walking around and hugging each other. That was one of the saddest things I've ever been a part of. But these are my brothers for life, and I wouldn't want to do it with anybody else."

Here's more from Gregg and Hickman following the loss to Houston.

On the team's fight toward the end of regulation:

The Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of their game against the Houston Cougars at Intrust Bank Arena. / Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

Gregg: "I think it just kinda shows who this team has been all year. We're resilient. When we face hardship we're going to battle back, no matter the circumstance. Mike [Ajayi] came in there and made some big plays, Emmanuel [Innocenti] made some hard plays so, I was just proud of that last group that was in there and showing our resiliency."

Hickman: "It was dope. Just this group of guys, man; it's never a dull day with them. Practice, going out to eat — everything man. And I think a lot of the heart show tonight. So tonight, during the end of it, the guys who were in, they gave us a real good shot at winning it toward the end, and they just couldn't pull through. But these are my guys, so I'm just so happy I could make this run with them."

Gregg's takeaway on the 2024-25 Zags:

Gonzaga men's basketball team. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"I think just the way that we handled adversity. We were one of those teams — my whole time here, really — was the number one team in the country, just kind of eased through everything. And we had to battle through a lot of adversity, and just grateful we had these four years, just something to be proud of. Obviously didn't win the national championship, that's always the goal here at Gonzaga, but we fought every game. I'm just proud of these guys."

Hickman on the lessons he'll take with him during his post-college career:

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) and guard Nolan Hickman (11). / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

"Well, I don't think I'm gonna have a family-oriented team like this again. Everybody was just so close to each other. Now everything becomes a real deal, you know, with a job so, that's just how life goes. You get older, you grow — but yeah man, it's gonna be tough."

Gregg on the team's growth throughout the season:

Gonzaga men's basketball team. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

"A lot of growth man. We had some new guys coming here that nobody knew, and they were big, key contributors. It took a while for us to gel. We lost a lot of games that we shouldn't have lost early on in the season. But I mean we fought, we were resilient throughout the whole year, and I don't know, man; it's just hard to kind of put into words. Now doesn't really feel real yet, and it's over. But I'm so proud to be a part of this program, this community and to have all these guys with me for life."

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Heartbreaking end for the Zags: 3 takeaways from Gonzaga’s loss to No. 1 seed Houston in March Madness

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after loss vs. Houston in NCAA Tournament

• Houston's Kelvin Sampson after NCAA Tournament win vs. Gonzaga: 'They were not an 8-seed'

• Gonzaga Bulldogs come up short to Houston Cougars in NCAA Tournament