GU takes on Fredette-led Cougars

Good evening from Denver. A quick post of the GU-related material that will run in Saturday’s S-R.

Here’s my game preview , John Blanchette’s column and a Gonzaga notebook . There’s a quick capsule look at tomorrow’s contest below. UPDATE: Dan Pelle’s photo gallery here .

You can find the Salt Lake Tribune’s BYU coverage here .

GONZAGA

Region: Southeast

Coach: Mark Few

Record: 25-9

Top scorer: Steven Gray 13.8

Top rebounder: Robert Sacre 6.3

Keys to victory: The Zags will attempt to contain or at least limit the damage of scoring machine Jimmer Fredette by making him take tough, contested shots. On offense, Gonzaga will try to exploit an advantage inside with Robert Sacre, Elias Harris, Sam Dower and Kelly Olynyk. The Cougars often play a 2-3 zone and they’ll probably double-team GU’s bigs, which could open up perimeter shots for Steven Gray and Marquise Carter. Those two combined for seven 3-pointers in Thursday’s win over St. John’s.

BYU

Region: Southeast

Coach: Dave Rose

Record: 31-4

Top scorer: Jimmy Fredette, 28.6

Top rebounder: Noah Hartsock, 6.0

(Brandon Davies, 6.2, suspended).

Keys to victory: Without forwards Davies and Chris Collingsworth, out for the season after having microfracture surgery on his knee, BYU’s inside options are limited. The Cougars put the ball in Fredette’s hands and try to free him up with screens. He’s a deadly long-distance shooter, but he hurt Wofford by driving and scoring, or drawing fouls. He also finished with seven assists, helping others get involved, another key to success against Gonzaga.