No. 19 Gonzaga (10-4, 1-0) plays the Portland Pilots (5-10, 0-2) at the Spokane Arena in the Community Cancer Fund Classic on Thursday, January 2nd at 6 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ.
The Zags need a beatdown victory to get this train on the right track. Holding onto large leads and not letting off the gas pedal is necessary going through this West Coast Conference schedule against the bottom half teams like the Portland Pilots, Loyola Marymount Lions, San Diego Toreros to prepare them for the likes of the Washington State Cougars, Oregon State Beavers, and Santa Clara Broncos coming up.
Gonzaga’s defense (tied for 114th in the country with 70.0 points allowed) hasn’t shown the fire for a full 40 minutes yet this season as was evident in the 89-82 too close for comfort win in Malibu against the Pepperdine Waves. In no world should that group have come back into that game. The 20 point lead for the Zags being trimmed down to just two points halfway through the second half is inexcusable. Most of that cut into Pepperdine’s deficit was in thanks to the lack of effort from Gonzaga’s backcourt defensively.
“We got cooked, we absolutely got cooked. Especially out there on the perimeter. Their guards really put it on us.” – Gonzaga coach Mark Few via Spokesman Review
Offensively, Khalif Battle showed that he has to be the guy with the ball in his hands when these games are so close. The grad transfer coming back from a flagrant 2 call which tossed him out of the game in the first half versus UCLA and then putting up 21 points on 7-11 FG/7-8 FT in his next opportunity versus the Waves proved it. Coach Mark Few seems to have the most trust in his scoring ability down the stretch.
“Coach gave me the confidence, told me he was going to rock with me. I was aggressive early, I felt really comfortable.” – Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle via Spokesman Review
Questions surrounding Few’s rotation are still being thrown around, one on the top of the mind being the lack of Braden Huff’s minutes. Against the Bruins and the Waves, just a combined 26 minutes. The sophomore is averaging only 18.0 minutes per game through 14 games played off the bench but is still contributing 12.4 points per game on a 59.4 field goal percentage to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game for the Zags.
As for Gonzaga’s inability to stretch out the floor (ranks 204th in the country with a 33.33 three-point shooting percentage), Nolan Hickman has been the only efficient three-point marksmen this season at a 44.1 percentage. The senior has been in and out of the starting lineup but when he is out there, Hickman seems to be the lone reliable threat from deep range. The problem with keeping him out there for long period of times is how opposing offenses can take advantage of him when on the defensive side of the floor.
Michael Ajayi needs a big time performance against Portland in front of a Spokane crowd to get his confidence back up. The expectations heading into the season after his All-WCC First Team campaign with Pepperdine were sky-high and haven’t lived up. He needs to see the ball go through the hoop more than anyone on this Gonzaga roster, only averaging 6.9 points per game this season after putting together a WCC’s best 17.2 points per game last season with the Waves. The scoring ability is there, just has to be put into play.
Player to Watch For:
Austin Rapp (freshman, forward) – 14.4 PPG on 44.7 FG%/41.1 3PT%, 5.0 RPG, 2.2 APG
Coming off a 17 points/six rebounds/four assists/three blocks/one steal performance against Washington State and a 22 points/six rebounds/one block/one steal showing at Oregon State, Rapp earned his second WCC Freshman of the Week Award.
The Australian is having an underrated first season in college basketball due to his team’s overall success. At 6’10, 230-pounds, Rapp leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 41.1 and 2.8 three-point field goals made per game.
The Zags play the Pilots at the Spokane Arena in the Community Cancer Fund Classic on Thursday, January 2nd at 6 PM PT on ESPN+/KHQ. Proceeds of the showdown will support the efforts in the fight against cancer in the Inland Northwest region. Portland coach Shantay Legans is trying to turn this program around in his fourth season in charge but arguably has the worst roster in the West Coast Conference.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho