Ford return gives GU fond memories
Time has only reinforced Gonzaga head coach Mark Few’s opinion.
When the Bulldogs knocked off then-No. 3 Oklahoma State 78-75 in the All-College Challenge at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City in 2004, Few called it as “impressive a regular-season effort as we’ve ever had. In lieu of where we were and who we played, it was probably as good as anything we’ve ever done.”
The 18th-ranked Bulldogs (9-2) return to the Ford Center to face unranked Oklahoma (8-3) tonight in the nightcap of the O’Reilly’s All-College Challenge. Oklahoma State meets Oral Roberts in the opener.
Earlier this week, Few recalled the 2004 win as “the greatest win we’ve ever had in the history of our program,” pointing out that Oklahoma State had John Lucas, brothers Joey and Stephen Graham and Ivan McFarlin, not to mention future NBA draft pick JamesOn Curry.
On paper, the Sooners don’t rival the OSU team Gonzaga encountered three years ago, but they’re coming off an impressive win over Arkansas and they’ll have the backing of the majority of the expected 18,000 fans.
“They have a physical front line and their guards are knocking down shots, which I think people questioned at the start of the year,” Few said. “It’s going to be a real test for us.”
Gonzaga is dealing with health issues again. Starting guard Matt Bouldin (ankle, calf) didn’t practice Wednesday and he’ll likely be a game-time decision. He didn’t play in Monday’s win over Northern Colorado.
Larry Gurganious was listed as a tentative starter in a Gonzaga release. There is a chance forward Josh Heytvelt (stress fracture) could play for the first time since last February.
Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye and Abdullahi Kuso suffered minor injuries during practice last week, but all three played Monday.
The Sooners appear to be healthy and energized after beating Arkansas, which followed a home setback to Stephen F. Austin.
“Just like that (Stephen F. Austin) game didn’t make or break our season, everything isn’t all right just because we beat Arkansas,” second-year coach Jeff Capel said. “We’re trying to become a consistently good team and we’ve shown flashes.”
The difference in the last two games was that “we made shots,” Capel said. “Everything looks better when you make shots. If you look at the contrast, our guards shot 6 of 27, had four assists and eight turnovers (against SFA). I don’t know the exact stats, but they played a lot better (versus Arkansas), which gave us a lot of energy.”
Oklahoma starts three guards, led by 6-foot-6 Tony Crocker, who has made 23 of 46 3-point attempts and averages 12.1 points.
“Games are won with good guard play, in high school, college and the pros,” Capel said. “If you look at Gonzaga over the years, that’s why they’ve been successful. They’ve had good guards.”
The Sooners’ front court is formidable with 6-11 Longar Longar (12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds) and 6-10 true freshman Blake Griffin (13 points, 7.8 rebounds).
Griffin was replaced in the starting lineup by his brother, Taylor, a 6-7 junior who had four points and eight rebounds against Arkansas.
“They (Longar and Blake Griffin) are different players,” Capel said. “Longar is more experienced being a senior. Blake is more of a physical guy. Longar is not as physical and he probably shoots it better than Blake.”
Oklahoma’s five starters are shooting 52.7 percent from the field and the team averages 74.3 points per game. The Sooners have held opponents to 36.8 percent shooting and they yield 59 points per game (No. 31 nationally). Arkansas is the only team to score more than 66 points against OU.
“We have to be able to defend them at a high level and get to shooters because they do such a great job in their motion with screening,” Capel said. “Another big thing for us is rebounding. We didn’t do well with that (outrebounded 42-35) against Arkansas.”
GU, which has never faced Oklahoma, is plus-6.5 per game in rebounding.