Junior forward Jordan Minor major part of Merrimack’s offense, defense

The key matchup in all likelihood will be Gonzaga’s offense vs. Merrimack’s 2-3 zone defense.

On an individual level, the Zags should be aware of junior forward Jordan Minor, the only Merrimack player scoring in double figures.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Minor scored 21 points in a season-opening win over Division III Emerson, but was held under 10 points in the next four games. He scored 14 points against Virginia Tech and followed that up 25, 16, 19 and 16.

Minor does nearly all of his damage inside. He’s only made three career 3s, none in 10 games this season, but he’s hit 50.5% inside the arc. After making 57.1% at the free-throw line in his first two years, Minor is hitting 81.3% this season. He’s averaged three offensive rebounds in the past four games.

Minor does a little of everything for the Warriors with a team-leading 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 26 blocks while ranking fifth in minutes per game (25.5).

The Warriors’ next two top scorers are senior point guard Mikey Watkins (9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 steals) and junior guard Mykel Derring (8.4 points, 24 3-pointers). Minor and Watkins were third-team All-NEC last season.

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme will likely line up against Minor while GU 7-foot freshman Chet Holmgren guards 6-6. 235-pound Ziggy Reid, who is second on the team with nine 3-pointers.