Gonzaga enters much-needed holiday break after beating Jackson State

Gonzaga’s last game before the Christmas break always tests the players’ concentration levels.

The Kennel doesn’t have the same atmosphere with the students and the band already on holiday break. Many players have flights to catch the next morning to join their families at home for Christmas.

Add in an underdog opponent in Jackson State and the Zags could be excused if their minds wandered at times Wednesday night.

No. 15 Gonzaga wasn’t always sharp, but the Zags stayed on task for the most part in handling the visiting Tigers 100-76 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

“They’re tough, coming of an emotional (loss Friday to UConn), I mean we put a lot into that UConn game, so I was really happy with our guys’ effort,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. “Our guys did great.”

The break affords Gonzaga its first chance at multiple days off before the team returns Christmas night to begin preparations for San Diego State’s visit on Dec. 29.

“We need a break, we’ve been going hard here,” Few said. “We’ve logged a lot of miles and travel, the three back-and-forth weekends kind of add up. They need a break.”

It’s a much-needed physical break for players like Ryan Nembhard, who has averaged 34.1 minutes through 12 games, and Nolan Hickman, who is second on the team at 33.9 minutes.

Fifth-year forward Anton Watson has experienced five games leading into the holiday break during his career.

“I think the mindset was the same, it’s just a different vibe with the whole gym,” Watson said. “When we have students, there’s a lot more energy, but we had to build our own energy. We kept telling ourselves that.”

Junior forward Graham Ike is returning home to Colorado for a few days.

“It’s always good to see family and friends back home and enjoy the Christmas spirit,” he said, “but we still have to stay locked in. We have a big one on the 29th. We’ll take a couple days off, but still get back to work as well.”

Few stressed the importance of players taking a mental and physical break from basketball.

“The mental aspect of this has become so important,” Few said. “We’ve been spending more and more time, and more and more resources on that with our guys, but there’s nothing better than just going home. None of them have been home since probably Aug. 30 or something.”