‘Throw the record out the window’: Gonzaga coach Mark Few wary of underdog Tigers

STOCKTON, Calif. – Thursday’s 73-53 win over Loyola Marymount was a split decision for the mood of Gonzaga followers who witnessed the team’s impressive 5-0 start to the season and the bumpy 12-7 mark over the past two-plus months.

The game was a microcosm of GU’s inconsistencies thus far and the final score wasn’t indicative of the choppy first 30 minutes.

The Bulldogs were smooth early, scoring on their first six possessions. Then they lost their way on offense and trailed near the midpoint of the second half. They recovered with 10 quality minutes to put away the Lions. Essentially up, down and up on a bar graph.

Perhaps more of the same is in store Saturday when Gonzaga visits Pacific at the Spanos Center, where the Zags have been tested frequently by sub-.500 Tigers teams over the years.

“Throw the record out the window,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I’ve taken at least two No. 1-ranked teams there and we’ve been down at halftime, and many other games we’ve eked out in the last three to four minutes. We’re expecting the same.”

Few’s Spanos Center memories are pretty much spot on. The 2021 Zags, who were unbeaten before losing to Baylor in the national title game, trailed by one at half and by one with 12 minutes, 15 seconds remaining before responding for a 76-58 win. The 2017 Zags, who also reached the championship game, were down by eight in the second half before rallying for a 20-point win.

GU’s last two teams dug out nine-point wins after being down or tied at half. Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half in a 99-90 win two years ago.

Add in the fact that Pacific is under the guidance of first-year head coach Dave Smart and the Zags enter with some unknowns about the Tigers and themselves. Smart was enormously successful at Carleton University in Ontario, Canada, before assisting at Texas Tech last season.

Smart has close ties to GU senior point guard Ryan Nembhard and several former Zags from Canada.

“He did a great job up there (in Canada) over the years and would always beat (U.S.) college teams when they went up for exhibitions,” said Few, who is 21-0 against Pacific. “Excellent coach and has a really interesting system with what they do on the defensive end.”

Nembhard will try to navigate the Tigers’ defense – 279th nationally at 75.2 points allowed per game – and make history in the process. The Canadian native handed out nine assists in Thursday’s win to bring his season total to 238. He’s five away from matching the school record he set last season in his first year at Gonzaga.

Nembhard is seventh on GU’s career list. The nine others on the top 10 all played at least four seasons while Nembhard has compiled 493 assists in just 60 games (8.2 per game).

Offense is generally on the lower end of the Zags’ concerns, but they had a few lengthy scoring droughts against LMU and struggled over the final nine minutes of a 62-58 loss to Saint Mary’s last Saturday.

GU was a frigid 2 of 18 on 3-pointers versus LMU and finished with 13 assists, matching its season-low total against UConn.

Gonzaga’s defense has enjoyed a solid four-game stretch, holding opponents to 59.3 points after allowing 200 points in consecutive losses to Oregon State and Santa Clara.

Few likes how the defense has rebounded but wants to see more consistency.

“It wasn’t good (for defense) in first half against Saint Mary’s, certainly for the first 10-12 minutes, but we were able to switch to the zone and get it going,” Few said. “In the other games our man defense was really good.

“Yeah, it’s a little like everything else. It’s been kind of hit or miss. I’m not ready quite ready to write songs about it, but crossing my fingers and hoping it continues on its upward trend.”

The Tigers, on paper, don’t appear to be much of a threat, averaging 69.7 points (284th nationally) and 43.3% shooting (257th), but eight of their top-nine scorers are guards, wings or small forwards. Gonzaga has had issues defending bigger guards and sizable wings at times.

Elijah Fisher, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward from Toronto, leads the way at 16.2 points, followed by Elias Ralph (6-7, 212) at 15.7. Junior guard Lamar Washington is next at 12.7 points.

Gonzaga (17-7, 8-3 West Coast Conference moved within two games of first-place Saint Mary’s (20-4, 10-1), which lost to San Francisco 65-64 on Thursday. The Dons (19-6, 9-3), who visit GU on Thursday, are a half-game in front of the Zags in second place.

Pacific (8-18, 3-9) shares ninth place with Portland.