Gonzaga-San Francisco takeaways: Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme show off versatility to keep Zags unblemished on road

SAN FRANCISCO – Albeit playing in conferences that offer tougher challenges and serve up ranked foes on a more regular basis than the West Coast Conference, nine of the country’s top 10 teams (AP Top 25) – all but No. 1 Gonzaga – have absorbed at least one road loss in conference play as college basketball approaches the end of another regular season.

No. 2 Arizona dropped a late-January game at No. 7 UCLA; No. 3 Auburn has a pair of SEC losses at Arkansas and Florida; and No. 4 Purdue and No. 5 Kansas have five combined road losses in the Big Ten and Big-12. The teams ranked Nos. 6-10 have lost 13 total road conference games.

Even in a conference that may not stack up top to bottom with the major ones, Gonzaga’s unblemished record in road games is impressive. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in such games, with three of those coming against teams that rank No. 74 (Santa Clara), No. 48 (BYU) and No. 25 (San Francisco) in KenPom.

Gonzaga is also winning road WCC games by an average margin of 26.2 points with its smallest road margin coming in Thursday’s 89-73 victory over San Francisco at War Memorial Gym.

“They’re a great team. They’ve proven over the course of their work so far this year (to) not only be the most elite team, but to be the most consistent team,” Dons coach Todd Golden said. “They’re incredibly consistent, and I think that’s the one thing that separates from the other national-title contenders. … This team is elite every night. They don’t go into opposing gyms and struggle. … They win every night consistently, and I think that’s what separates them.”

More on why the Zags have been so good on the road, Drew Timme’s “point-forward” audition against the Dons and why the Ukraine-Russia conflict hits close to home for USF and former Washington State center Volodymyr Markovetskyy.

Road warrior

Chet Holmgren opened his college career with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double that also saw him block seven shots, but Gonzaga’s freshman phenom has evolved since then – seemingly in every game – and has the numbers to back that up.

Holmgren is playing especially well in road games, where opposing student sections have made a habit of chanting “overrated” at the 7-footer. Many of the signs that have shown up at road WCC venues have targeted Holmgren with witty and at times, foul, handwritten messages.

The Minnesota native has taken it all in stride and submitted another one of his top all-around performances this season, scoring 21 points to go with 17 rebounds, six blocked shots and a season-high 13 steals during Thursday’s game.

“I played in sold-out NBA arenas in high school, gyms bigger than this one,” Holmgren said. “So yeah, it’s nothing new, but you always love to see standing-room-only crowds, for sure.”

In terms of stats and overall impact, Holmgren’s best outings have come on the road.

On Feb. 3 at San Diego, he posted 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks before scoring 20 points with 17 rebounds, six assists and five blocks two days later at BYU. Last Wednesday at Pepperdine, Holmgren had 18 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.

“He’s been shooting the laces off the ball lately,” Golden said. “… I think he’s a generational player. I don’t think that’s a reach to say that. With his size and his skill, there are very few people on this planet that can play basketball like that. And on top of his skill, he has great IQ and feel.”

Holmgren’s rim protection continues to be his best asset for this Gonzaga team and the freshman’s six blocks on Thursday bring his season total to 93, a number that ranks fourth nationally. Holmgren’s 3.58 blocks per game are also good enough for fourth in the nation.

“This team has great rim protection with Chet,” USF guard Jamaree Bouyea said. “He sits down there and it’s kind of hard to score. … He kind of just covers the paint.”

Drew dishing

Timme’s led the Bulldogs in scoring 26 times throughout his three years in Spokane. For just the eighth time in 91 games at Gonzaga, the junior forward led them in assists on Thursday night, setting a career high with eight.

Timme’s previous career high of six assists came earlier this season against Alcorn State, but he had no shortage of opportunities in a game that saw the Zags shoot 54% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line.

Operating in the low post, Timme has shown the ability to pass out of double teams, but he’s also adept at playing the “point forward” position and pushing the ball up the floor when the Zags are on the fastbreak.

“Drew’s always been good when he’s facing up and (we) let him lead the break and (he’s) probably not doing as much of that this year as he has in the past,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “But he grew up handling the ball, so he’s an excellent passer and if we can facilitate offense with him and Chet, that’s a good thing.”

Timme’s distribution may be an underrated aspect of the junior’s skill set, and one of the many reasons Gonzaga leads the country in scoring average, at 89.5 points per game, and adjusted offense according to the KenPom system.

The Texas native is averaging a career-high 2.7 assists per game, second on Gonzaga’s roster behind Andrew Nembhard, and ranks No. 14 in the WCC. Among WCC forwards, Timme’s 2.7 apg rank third behind Loyola Marymount’s Eli Scott and Santa Clara’s Josip Vrankic.

“It’s just so hard to game plan for a team that has five options on the court at all times,” Holmgren said. “Drew takes a lot of pressure off me and vice versa. I feel like we’re a great tandem, great duo and we feed well off each other.”

Close to home

Former Washington State center Markovetskyy had a brief stint for the Dons during Thursday’s game, taking the court amid difficult circumstances away from it.

The WSU transfer is a native of Truskavets, Ukraine, and was preparing for Gonzaga while simultaneously learning of Russia’s attack on his home country.

“I know our team, for sure, is tighter and they’re supporting Vova,” Golden said. “… Vova is an awesome kid. His father is in law enforcement in the Ukraine. He’s going to be involved in what’s going on.

“I can only imagine what he’s going through and the way he was able to get through walk-through today and be ready to play. For a 21-, 22-year-old kid to be able to do that I think it speaks volumes for him.”

According to the Associated Press, Markovetskyy’s father stayed in the Ukraine to help with law enforcement while his mother and 11-year-old sister fled the country for Lithuania.

“It was tough,” Markovetskyy told the AP of preparing for Thursday’s game.

Golden told reporters he’s been in touch with Markovetskyy’s mother to assure her the Dons are looking after the third-year sophomore.

“I can only imagine what he’s going through and the way he was able to get through walkthrough today and be ready to play,” Golden said.

“… To be able to do that, I think he speaks volumes for him.”

Markovetskyy spent two seasons in Pullman before making a move to the WCC. WSU coach Kyle Smith spent four seasons holding the same position at USF, where Golden was his top assistant before taking over as Dons coach when Smith left for the Pac-12.

The transfer center has played in 22 games for USF, averaging 1.9 points and 1.2 rebounds.