ZAGS 360: Week 6 – Gonzaga rolls on in the WCC
Teresa Powe
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Another week, another pair of Gonzaga basketball wins. The Zags have another two West Coast Conference games in the week ahead.
The BYU Cougars were supposed to be the Gonzaga Bulldogs‘ fiercest competition this West Coast Conference season. Needless to say, they were no match for the Zags. The Portland Pilots fared no better. It leaves me scratching my head. Is there any team out there who can defeat the Zags? Are the Gonzaga Bulldogs really going undefeated this year?
The Bulldogs are faster than anyone I’ve seen in transition. They’re strong and unselfish. It’s great to watch the team trust one another and play for each other. Each game brings another player’s talent to the forefront. In this week’s defeats, Gonzaga continues to show they are number one for a reason.
Gonzaga – 86, BYU Cougars – 69
Gonzaga’s game versus Santa Clara was postponed due to COVID-19 issues at UCSC. Meanwhile, BYU hadn’t played a game since December 23, 2020. Instead of waiting for their WCC season to start, the Cougars called looking for an opponent, and who did they find? The Gonzaga Bulldogs.
At 7:07, the score was Gonzaga 23, BYU 2. It was a great welcome back for Jalen Suggs. The freshman phenom missed two games last week. The humble young man from Minnesota had this to say about his teammates.
“We all have a great competitive spirit. We all want to compete for each other, the school, ourselves. It (a 23-2 lead) speaks volumes about how much we’re growing offensively and defensively.”
Twenty-three to two. Leading the way Corey Kispert with 23 points. Jalen Suggs was next with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard both had 12 points each.
Gonzaga – 116, Portland Pilots – 88
Joel Ayayi made Gonzaga history this game as he became the first-ever Bulldogs player to get a triple-double. With 12 points, 13 rebounds (11 on the defensive glass), and 14 assists. Ayayi put himself into the Zags record book. As always, he was anywhere and everywhere on the court.
This was a tough one for the Pilots. Then again, isn’t it for any team playing the Bulldogs this season? In his postgame comments, Portland’s head coach, Terry Porter, said the Bulldogs had hurt them in transition.
“They come at you a lot of ways. They hurt us in transition. We couldn’t match up with their interior offense.”
Drew Timme led the way this game with 26 points, Anton Watson was close behind with 23 points. Watson isn’t known as a scorer; usually, he’s Mr. Defense. With Kispert and Suggs totaling only 25 points, and Ayayi running around making history, someone had to come up with 20-something points.
The week ahead
- On Wednesday, January 14, Gonzaga faces the Pepperdine Waves (4-5), who currently have a two-game losing streak.
- Gonzaga will face St. Mary’s Gaels (9-3) on Saturday, January 16.
Three things to look for
- There are many teams out there on Covid protocol, so again look out for teams canceling or postponing games.
- In their last game, no one on the Pepperdine team scored more than 11 points. Kendall Munson had the most rebounds, 6.
- St. Mary’s Gaels’ guard Logan Johnson had 26 points, and their forward, Matthias Tass, pulled down 11 rebounds. This might be interesting.
Mark Few’s Gonzaga basketball team much more than points, rebounds, steals, and assists. They are a group of young men who take the game of basketball very seriously. The Zags play as a unit, each one having the other’s back. I look forward to every game.
Take care until next week.