Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Baylor Bears: 1 vs. 2 showdown – injuries, odds, more
Chip Clark
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs 2020 roadshow continues on Saturday. The top-ranked Zags face number two Baylor in Indianapolis. Pacific Northwest Sports has all you need to know.
PNWS presents what you need to know to enjoy the Saturday showdown between the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs and number two Baylor Bears. ZagsNation will have to catch this televised special at an early time. PNWS has all you need to know.
We generally don’t do pregame buildups for basketball at Pacific Northwest Sports. This game however, is special. It pits the top two teams in the AP Poll against each other for only the fifth time in the last dozen seasons. It’s also just the second one vs. two matchup that doesn’t include Kentucky, Duke, or Kansas in that time.
Who: Baylor Bears (3-0) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-0)
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, Indiana.
When: Saturday, December 5, 2020 – 10:00 a.m. PST.
TV: CBS. Announcers: Tom McCarthy and “The Coach” Bill Raftery
Line: Gonzaga -4. Over/Under: 159.5 (Odds Shark).
Injuries: Gonzaga Questionable – F Julian Strawther (COVID-19), G Dominick Harris (COVID-19). Baylor: No injuries reported.
Interesting Trends: Gonzaga has lost one game in the last calendar year (27-1), including seven straight wins. They have won 14 of their last 18 and five straight on neutral courts. The Zags have gone over in 16 of their last 18 games. Baylor is 17-3 straight up in their last 20 but only covered the spread in 13. However, as an underdog, the Bears are six out of seven against the spread.
Last Game
No. 1 Gonzaga 87 – No. 11 West Virginia 81
Bob Huggins’ 11th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers are a very physical team. They were able to take the Zags out of their rhythm early, but they couldn’t hold the lead. The Zags got a scare around the seven-minute mark of the first half when freshman sensation Jalen Suggs went down with an apparent foot injury when he slipped awkwardly.
Junior Andrew Nembhard came off the bench to replace Suggs. The transfer from Florida was outstanding and helped lead the Zags back with his excellent ballhandling and court vision. Sophomore center/forward Drew Timme found his footing in the second half and became a force inside.
Somehow Suggs made it back into the game midway through the second half. The return gave his team the push they needed to take back the lead and eventually win. Forward Joel Ayayi was Gonzaga’s leading scorer with 21. Corey Kispert and Nembhard had 19 points each.
No. 2 Baylor 82 – No. 5 Illinois 69
The first half of this game was a see-saw battle. The biggest advantage either team had was five points. A bucket by Baylor’s Jared Butler, with 17 seconds on the clock, gave the Bears a 31-30 lead at the break.
For the first six minutes of the second half, the teams continued their back and forth. The game was tied 43 apiece at the 13:17 mark. From there, Baylor took off. Over the next seven minutes, the Bears went on a 27-11 run. The Illini were never able to recover.
Four Baylor players scored in double figures. They were led by sophomore guard Adam Flagler who came off the bench for 18 points. Davion Mitchell was second with 15 points, which included four of five from behind the arc.
Outlook
We can heap all kinds of adjectives and superlatives on the game. When it comes down to it, this is a battle between two extremely talented and well-coached teams. For every good player on Team A, there is a counterbalance on Team B.
What’s interesting is that both teams use an eight(ish) player rotation. How much of a factor will fatigue be? If there is one advantage Gonzaga has, it’s inside with Timme. For their part, Baylor plays great team defense. Timme may have an advantage down low, but he still has to get the ball to score.
Maybe the best quote about the Bears came from Illinois big man Giorgi Bezhanishvili. Talking about Baylor to ESPN after the game, he said: “They fight like dogs for 40 minutes. When you make mistakes, even the littlest mistakes, they cost you a lot.”
Related Story: Meet Jalen Suggs the Zags newest superstar
We’ll have the results and our take on the game with Zags 360 on Sunday.