Dave Boling: Zags hit jackpot in opening game of Players Era in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS – The Zags looked like a million bucks Monday night.

Of course, they would have raked in that much just for showing up at the Players Era Championship tournament.

But their stock is certainly on the rise, and if they play the next couple days as they did in their 95-85 win over No. 8 -ranked Alabama, they might come home with another million on top of that, because another million bonus is kicked in to the winner.

Leaving Vegas with money in your pockets is a rarity, but the value of this win is going beyond the bucks.

The Zags played better than their No. 12 national ranking might have suggested. And this is a game that will likely resonate all the way until March when the NCAA honchos sit down to seed the tournament bracket.

Gonzaga had made it look so easy in the early games, in wins over Creighton (by 27) Oklahoma (15), and Arizona State (12), that fans might have suspected that early season opponent flaws had contributed to the blowouts.

But No. 8 Alabama? This was the Real Deal. The Crimson Tide has wins over St. John’s (No. 5 at the time) and No. 8 Illinois, along with a seven-point loss to No. 1 Purdue.

Monday night, in front of a half-filled Grand Garden Arena, the Zags looked absolutely combustible.

A scouting report from one coach to another last week regarding Gonzaga’s frontcourt duo of Graham Ike and Braden Huff likened them to Boston Celtic greats Robert Parish and Kevin McHale.

Yeah, right, a couple Hall of Famers.

Maybe, someday. For right now, they’ll have to settle for a more reasonable description: the best big-guy tandem in college basketball.

They certainly put on a show against Alabama.

The Zags started out struggling. Especially Ike. The Tide game plan obviously was to sag on him whenever he got the ball on the low block. At times, three defenders built a tall fence around him.

Once, after having missed his first five shots, Ike could barely get the ball up to his head before it was swiped away. Apparently, when three guys hit you with six hands, the officials have trouble apportioning the foul, so they just let it stand.

But Huff snapped them out of it, making a balletic, spinning drive up the lane – yes, driving Kevin McHale-ishly. He then backed in and scored with a short bank shot.

Inspired by Huff, Ike hit his first basket 12 minutes into the game to close the ’Bama lead to 25-22. He then hit a free-throw-line jumper, another at closer range, and slammed home a fast-break dunk for his fifth straight basket.

Ike continued to put up All-American stats: 21 points, 11 rebounds. Huff added 18 with eight rebounds – four on the offensive end.

Nobody could slow down Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr., who led the Tide with 29.

In what should be terrific foreshadowing for the Zags the rest of the season, they didn’t just rely on their big two, Ike and Huff.

Again, forward Tyon Grant-Foster was a force of nature, scoring 21 and adding 11 rebounds. He seemed to be everywhere, long arms, springy legs, leaping, flying, making himself a nuisance to the opponents.

The Zags owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the legal system and all the attorneys that injuncted for all they were worth to get this guy eligible. He adds so much to this team.

This, too, was a long-forestalled reward for super-veteran wing Steele Venters. Sidelined by injuries the past two seasons, Venters not only saw valuable minutes in a heated contest, he hit 4 of 8 3-point attempts for 12 points.

Point guard Mario Saint-Supery couldn’t hit a field goal, but hit 10 of 11 free throws with six assists and five rebounds. He played an aggressive floor game, as well.

They tip it off again Tuesday against a Maryland team that played UNLV in the late game Monday night.

Maryland, and everybody else around the country, will swallow hard when they look at the films of this Zag team.

They have so much depth. They are long, tall, talented, and play with aggressiveness.

And after this week, they’ll all be rich.