Gonzaga prepared to throw multiple looks at Joel Foxwell in second meeting with Portland guard | Key matchup
Portland’s team bus will roll up to McCarthey Athletic Center around 4:30 p.m., roughly two hours before the Pilots tip off against ninth-ranked Gonzaga on Wednesday.
That’s about when the Zags might want to start guarding Joel Foxwell to make sure Portland’s standout freshman point guard doesn’t get comfortable in his second career matchup with GU and play the role of spoiler on Senior Night.
Foxwell was responsible for many of the headaches Gonzaga experienced during a painful night at the Chiles Center earlier this month. The Australia native scored 27 points and totaled eight assists while guiding Portland to an improbable 87-80 win – still one of only two losses the Zags have experienced this season.
Foxwell was our pick for the key matchup before that game and it didn’t make sense to go anywhere else ahead of round two between the Zags (27-2, 15-1) and Pilots (12-17, 5-11).
The West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Week honor has gone to Foxwell seven times this season – three more than any other player – which unofficially makes him the favorite to win the league’s Freshman of the Year honor at the end of the season.
Not surprisingly, Foxwell WCC Freshman of the Week after a memorable night against Gonzaga, and recently captured it again after scoring 55 total points on 18 -of-35 shooting against Pepperdine and Seattle U.
The Gonzaga win still stands out as the highlight moment of Foxwell’s young career to this point. Growing up in Melbourne, the guard was an avid college basketball fan and routinely watched games on television. His older brother Owen, a 22-year-old guard who recently played in Australia’s professional NBL league, signed to play at LSU earlier this week.
“I’ve watched Gonzaga play and win championships since I’ve been six years old,” Foxwell said after the Feb. 4 game. “I’ve been watching college hoops, it’s been my dream to play Division I basketball and to play against Gonzaga, win in our home gym the last time they’ll play at Chiles is awesome.”
Foxwell should’ve been the top player on Gonzaga’s scouting report before the first game between the teams and it’s safe to assume he’ll command even more defensive attention on Wednesday.
This season he’s averaging 16.0 points, 6.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 41% from the field, 33% from the 3-point line and 80% from the free throw line.
Foxwell had success driving into the paint, knocking down 3’s off screens and converting in the mid-range. The Zags will have to be stronger at the point of attack and more disciplined getting through screens to eliminate Foxwell’s scoring opportunities on Wednesday.
Mario Saint-Supery, who came off the bench but played 23 minutes in the first meeting, will be the primary defender on Foxwell early, but the point guard is likely to see Gonzaga’s full fleet of athletic wings – Emmanuel Innocenti, Tyon Grant-Foster and Davis Fogle – in Wednesday’s game.