No. 11 Gonzaga runs winning streak against San Francisco to 35 with routine 80-59 victory | Analysis
SAN FRANCISCO – When “the streak” is brought around Gonzaga’s basketball program, it usually demands a follow-up question.
“Which one?”
Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is the presumption, but the Zags have compiled so many others in 27 seasons under Mark Few that it doesn’t hurt to ask for clarification.
That wasn’t necessarily required when “the streak” was brought up in a question to San Francisco’s Chris Gerlufsen during a postgame press conference Wednesday night at the Chase Center.
In this context, it referred to Gonzaga running total of victories against San Francisco – a number the Zags impressively stretched to 35 with a routine 80-59 victory over the Dons in what was potentially the last meeting between the West Coast Conference foes.
“Whatever the records say, I’m going to be personally disappointed to not have the opportunity to compete against them in the regular season and the conference tournament,” Gerflusen said. “… I’m going to miss those opportunities as a competitor. Their program’s been so good around college basketball, what they’ve done the last 20 years. Everyone associated should be super proud of that, from the players to the coaches.”
The 11th-ranked Zags should also take pride in how they handled the 101st all-time meeting between the programs.
As Mark Few’s team veers toward the end of the regular season, the coach’s rotation is beginning to create a handful of potential problems for its opponents in the WCC.
Beyond the obvious one wearing No. 15 and scoring 20 points per game for the 11th-ranked Zags.
Graham Ike paced Gonzaga once again, but San Francisco also had trouble with about six of his teammates during Wednesday’s rematch played at the home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Many of the previous games have been close calls that came down to final possessions or game-altering shots, including last month’s meeting in Spokane, when forward Barry Wang missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that allowed Gonzaga to escape with a 68-66 win.
Wednesday’s rematch was close … for all of 15 minutes.
Trailing early, the Dons mounted an impressive 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a three-point lead on Tyrone Riley IV’s 3-point shot. It didn’t last long. Emmanuel Innocenti followed with a 4-0 personal run, converting a putback layup and fastbreak dunk, and Graham Ike knocked down a pull-up jump shot before Innocenti added another layup to give Gonzaga a three-point edge.
Innocenti, Ike and the Zags rolled from there, leading by as many as 24 points late in the second half.
Three different GU players scored 20 points in Saturday’s win over Santa Clara and the Zags relied on a similar formula – offensive balance up and down the stat sheet – to ease past the Dons on Wednesday.
“It was good, it was very, very good and spread out,” Few said.
Ike, who didn’t play in the first meeting against USF due to a right ankle sprain, scored 22 points on 10 of 17 shooting for his eighth consecutive 20-point game. The WCC’s leading scorer, Ike tied Adam Morrison and Derek Raivio for the most consecutive 20-point games at Gonzaga over the last 20 years.
Three other Zags finished in double figures including point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who moved back into the starting lineup for the first time since a Dec. 21 game against Oregon. Saint-Supery had four of the team’s first six points and finished with 14 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
Innocenti was superb on both ends, totaling 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jalen Warley, who’s played through a thigh bruise in recent games, was the fourth Zags to reach double digits, scoring 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting. Adam Miller chipped in with nine points and freshman Davis Fogle contributed eight points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Gonzaga narrowly lost the rebounding battle for the second time against San Francisco, but gained a handful of extra possessions by forcing the Dons into 13 turnovers. The Zags did their usual damage in the paint, outscoring the Dons 46-26, and had an 18-9 edge in fastbreak points.
USF was led by Riley IV, who came back from a knee injury to score 16 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Former Gonzaga recruit Mookie Cook added 12 points for the Dons and Legend Smiley had 10.
Gonzaga (26-2, 14-1) returns to Spokane for a two-game home swing against Pacific (17-12, 8-8) and Portland (12-15, 5-9) before traveling back to the Bay Area for the regular-season finale against Saint Mary’s. The Zags and the Tigers will tip off at 6 p.m. (KHQ/ESPN+) on Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center.
With two more wins, the first-place Zags can clinch the No. 1 seed at the upcoming WCC Tournament. Gonzaga and USF could meet again in Las Vegas, but the Dons have work to do in order to set up a fifth consecutive semifinal matchup with the Zags after falling to seventh place in the league standings on Wednesday night.