No. 9 Gonzaga rolls over Portland in rematch 89-48
Three weeks removed from an upset loss at Portland, ninth-ranked Gonzaga left little doubt Wednesday with one of its most convincing performances of the season.
Three years removed from their last West Coast Conference regular-season championship, the Zags returned to a familiar position at the top of the league’s totem pole.
Gonzaga buried Portland, killing a few birds with one stone in a dominant 89-48 victory at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Most importantly, the Zags clinched a share of the WCC regular-season title – their first since 2022-23 – and secured the No. 1 seed in Las Vegas at the upcoming conference tournament, which runs March 5-10 at Orleans Arena.
Gonzaga also completed its eighth undefeated season in school history and its 13th undefeated home WCC season.
The Zags (28-2, 16-1) can clinch an outright WCC regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday In Moraga.
Not as significant but still meaningful: the Zags picked up a win on Senior Night and exacted revenge on the Portland team that handed them their only WCC loss 21 days earlier at the Chiles Center, winning 87-80.
One of the five seniors celebrated before the game, Graham Ike scored 19 points and finished with one his most impressive stat lines in a Gonzaga uniform, adding eight rebounds and tying Derek Raivio’s school record under Mark Few with seven steals.
A candidate for postseason All-American and WCC Player of the Year honors, Ike checked out of the game to a rousing ovation and chants of “Ike! Ike! Ike!” with five minutes remaining in the second half.
The Zags got contributions from both point guards as Braeden Smith finished with 15 points and Mario Saint-Supery added 12. Senior wing Tyon Grant-Foster joined the double-digit scoring club, adding 12 points of his own.
Defense allowed Gonzaga to build an early lead and 3-point shooting helped the Zags pull away in the second half, establishing a game-high 43-point advantage down the stretch.
Gonzaga forced Portland into 15 first-half turnovers and a season-high 22 in the game. Three weeks after approaching the 90-point mark against the Zags, the Pilots made just 16 of 47 shots from the field and 4 of 19 from the 3-point line.
Gonzaga matched its season-high for 3-pointers, finishing 14 of 36 (38.9%) from distance.
Freshman sensation Joel Foxwell orchestrated a scoring flurry for the Pilots early in the first half, but finished with only 12 points after torching Gonzaga for 27 in the first meeting.