Analysis: No. 7 Gonzaga’s nonleague blitz concludes with 91-82 victory over Oregon

PORTLAND – Gonzaga’s loaded nonconference schedule served up a handful of quality opponents and marquee matchups that could’ve knocked Mark Few’s team down on the wrong night.

Even after an unusual number of early-season setbacks, Few felt strongly the Oregon team Gonzaga faced Sunday fit into the category of teams that could humble the seventh-ranked Zags if they weren’t on their A game.

Oregon was the latest opponent to learn those occasions are few and far between for this iteration of Gonzaga, which closed one of the most impressive nonconference runs it’s had under Few with a 91-82 win over the Ducks at the Portland Trail Blazers’ Moda Center.

Gonzaga, now 12-1 entering West Coast Conference play, won eight nonleague games against high-major programs for the first time in school history. The Zags were on track to win 12 nonconference matchups by double figures until the Ducks closed Sunday’s final margin to nine points on Dezdrick Lindsay’s layup in the final three seconds.

“The teams put on a great show,” Few said. “Quite frankly, those are two high-level teams going at it. Listen, Oregon’s had some injuries to some key players but when they’re full strength like that, they’re a heckuva team. Their coaching staff’s done such a good job, they’ve put them in some great stuff that really taxed our defense.

“We were scrambling around changing defenses quite often just to try to get some stops.”

A deep rotation has allowed Few’s team to win a handful of different ways as the Zags blitzed through a nonleague schedule that included three wins over the Big Ten, three against the SEC and one each against the Big 12 and Big East.

Sunday’s recipe involved big-time play from the big men, a steady drizzle of 3-point shooting and huge bench contributions from a backup point guard.

Braden Huff and Graham Ike combined to score 37 points, Braeden Smith delivered a season-high 21 points off the bench and Gonzaga connected 10 times from behind the arc to pull away from Oregon in the second half.

On Sunday, it was the 3-point shooting – something that had been inconsistent for Gonzaga earlier in the season – that opened up everything else.

Huff buried a 3-pointer from the right corner on Gonzaga’s opening possession and the Zags had eight triples by halftime, with three from Adam Miller and two more from Steele Venters. The percentage dipped slightly in the second half, but Venters made two more 3s to give Gonzaga 10 for the game, on just 23 attempts.

“Our guards have been great. When they demand attention from the perimeter the way they’re shooting it makes my job a lot easier,” Huff said. “I’m able to get more one-on-one matchups and attack that rather than double teams and stuff. So the way they’ve been shooting, they stepped up big time and I expect more of that throughout the year.”

Even with resistance from Oregon big man Nate Bittle, Huff and Ike were still able to produce for the Zags, combining to make 13 shots from the field. Coming off a career-high 37-point outing against Campbell, Huff scored 20 points on 9 of 16 from the field – his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points.

Ike didn’t make a shot from the field until late in the first half, but still finished with his seventh double-double, scoring 17 points to go with 11 rebounds. Ike was 4 of 14 from the field, but made 9 of 11 shots from the free -throw line.

Smith, who started in GU’s first four games before moving to the bench in favor of freshman Mario Saint-Supery, was productive in 26 minutes, making 7 of 10 shots from the field. The junior transfer had seven assists with zero turnovers and tallied two steals. Gonzaga finished plus-13 with Smith on the floor Sunday.

One week after UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau dropped 16 points in the first half of GU’s 82-72 victory in Seattle, Oregon’s Bittle caused many of the same issues for the Zags’ defensive frontcourt, totaling 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting with six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

Bittle, a former Gonzaga target, continued his scoring eruption in the second half to finish with 28 points on 10 of 19 shooting, 3 of 8 from the 3-point line and 5 of 5 from the foul line. He also had five assists and four blocks.

Gonzaga withstood Bittle’s buckets and a sluggish offensive stretch near the end of the first half – the Zags missed seven straight shots and went 4 minutes, 49 seconds without a field goal – to take a 42-39 halftime lead on Tyon Grant-Foster’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“They can score. They average 90 points a game but we sure didn’t take much away,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said.

The Zags have a six-day layoff before returning to the court on Dec. 28, when they begin their 36th and final season in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga opens against Pepperdine (5-8) at Firestone Fieldhouse before visiting San Diego (5-6) two days later at Jenny Craig Pavilion.