Gonzaga-Portland key matchup: Tyler Robertson does it all for Pilots

Gonzaga’s West Coast Conference games, particularly the past three on the road, have been anything but boring.

Same goes for the talented individuals GU has encountered, including Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis, San Francisco point guard Khalil Shabazz, Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski and BYU forward Foussenyi Traore.

The Zags yielded some stats to each while still achieving the end goal: earning a win while not letting the opponent’s top player take over the game. Even Lewis, who finished with 20 points in 23 minutes, was in foul trouble and a nonfactor as the Zags built a 56-40 halftime lead.

Next up: Portland’s versatile, skilled guard/wing Tyler Robertson, who has regained his form following an injury. Robertson hit two 3-pointers, all nine of his free throws and scored 23 points to go with five assists in a 92-87 win over San Francisco on Thursday.

Robertson, who followed former Eastern Washington head coach Shantay Legans to Portland after the 2021 season, is a problematic matchup with his 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame and an ability to do damage with a 3-pointer, drive, dish, rebound or pass.

Gonzaga saw it firsthand last year. Robertson had 17 points, three 3-pointers, six rebounds, three steals and two assists in GU’s blowout win in Spokane. Robertson had a smaller role in the 2019 meeting won by Gonzaga, finishing with five points and four rebounds in just 11 minutes.

“He’s like super glue,” Legans said. “He can play the post or point, two guard, he can drive, catch-and-shoot, post up. He does anything we ask him to do. He just wants to win.”

The Australian native earned second-team All-WCC honors last season. He averages 14.6 points, 5.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds, but his shooting accuracy has slipped from a year ago. He makes just under 40% from the field, including 30.6% on 3s.

The Pilots have one of the bigger starting units in the WCC, which means the Zags will probably have to turn to a shorter defender on Robertson while Drew Timme, Anton Watson and Julian Strawther deal with forwards Kristian Sjolund, Moses Wood and Alden Applewhite.

Senior guard Rasir Bolton is the probable option on Robertson with Nolan Hickman assigned to another EWU transfer, Jack Perry, if the Pilots stick with the same starting five from Thursday’s win.

Gonzaga has the flexibility to move Strawther onto Robertson or use Hunter Sallis or Malachi Smith off the bench. Watson is another possibility and again demonstrated his ability to defend guards when he shut down BYU’s Spencer Johnson on the last play of Thursday’s 75-74 win.