Gonzaga rewind: Zags have work to do to compete with title contenders like UConn and Purdue

SEATTLE – This was the second time Gonzaga has taken on a top-five opponent that roughed up the Zags last season.

Gonzaga was closer in round two, but not enough to throw a real scare into Purdue, which beat the Zags 73-63 last month in Honolulu, or UConn, which rolled 76-63 Friday after ending GU’s season nine months ago with an 82-54 blowout in the Elite Eight.

In other words, there’s a gulf between the Zags and college basketball’s best teams. There’s still time to play catch-up as the Zags continue blending their new-look roster.

“The hope is it helps,” Zags coach Mark Few explained of facing elite competition. “It’s a fine line, right. You don’t want the lack of not coming out on the positive side to affect your conference. It certainly shows you when you fight like that, the level it takes to compete and physically battle.

“The other side of it is how (the Huskies) execute and how they play to their roles. They remind me of our 2017 team (that lost in the national championship game). Everyone knows their roles, they play to it, they have great size.”

In our latest Gonzaga rewind, we examine the Zags’ defensive breakdowns, Graham Ike’s tough night and why UConn coach Dan Hurley predicts the Zags will look a lot different come March.

Inside-outside issues

The Huskies were nearly unstoppable in the first half. They put up 45 points, hit 7 of 9 3-pointers – against a GU defense that had limited foes to 27.9% – and had the best of both worlds, a dominant post in 7-foot-2, 280-pound sophomore Donovan Clingan and sharpshooters toeing the 3-point line.

The Zags mixed up their coverages, but nothing bothered the Huskies in the opening 20 minutes.

“Early on, we really got it into Donovan and really kind of punished them around the rim,” Hurley said, “and that started to open up some really good looks from 3.

“They were switching ‘1’ through ‘4’, then they weren’t, they were blitzing ball screens and then they were in a drop (coverage). They were jamming ball screens. They did so many things defensively to try to slow us down. We had a great rhythm, and the inside-outside balance was great.”

Clingan said he’s feeling 100% after dealing with a foot injury. His 21 points were his second-highest total of the season.

Asked to compare UConn’s current team to the one that captured the national championship last season, Gonzaga forward Anton Watson said, “There’s not really too much of a difference, besides some of the players they had (a year ago). It’s kind of the same offense. You know they’re going to run a lot of sets and it’s kind of hard to defend. They have a lot of shooters, all the pieces really.”

Paint battle goes to UConn

Add Gonzaga’s Ike and Braden Huff to a long list of bigs that have struggled at both ends of the court against Clingan.

Clingman established post position deep in the lane on Ike and had four buckets and fed Tristen Newton for a 3-pointer in the game’s first 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

“I thought it was a heck of a performance and particularly Donovan against that front line, to have that type of game,” Hurley said. “That’s as good a frontline as there is in the country in terms of that four-man rotation they have.”

Ike attempted one shot in 11 first-half minutes. His first made field goal came early in the second half. He added a three-point play a few minutes later but finished with just five points, nine below his team-leading 14.2 average entering the game, and five boards in 18 minutes.

The 6-10 Huff has been Gonzaga’s best 3-point shooter at 47.6%, but he misfired on all three attempts and scored just one point in nearly 13 minutes.

UConn didn’t do anything special on defense against Ike, Few said. “He just had a tough night.”

Better days ahead?

Gonzaga finished with just five assists, its first game below 10, and 11 turnovers, its fifth game with more turnovers than assists. Ryan Nembhard, who had 15 points and shared team-high honors with six rebounds, and Nolan Hickman were the only Zags with assists, but they also combined for seven turnovers.

GU has scored in the 20s in three of 22 halves this season, all in the second half of losses – 28 vs. Purdue, 25 vs. Washington and 29 vs. UConn. The Zags have scored more points in the first half than the second in nine of 11 games.

The stats weren’t great, but Hurley was effusive in his praise of the Zags and what they might become.

“Gonzaga is always one of best offensive teams in the country,” Hurley said. “If your ball-screen defense isn’t on point, they’ll just shred you. (Nembhard) is a big add, Ike is a huge add. It’s going to take these guys some time to gel and get really comfortable.

“That backcourt of (Nembhard) and Hickman is tremendous, Stromer is a tremendous shooter, their frontcourt is tremendous. Obviously, they’ve got some depth issues at guard, but they’re going to be a brutal team to deal with in March in the NCAA Tournament.”