Gonzaga dismantles McNeese State at both ends of the floor in 86-65 blowout in first round of NCAA Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY – Gonzaga’s first possession was telling. McNeese State applied a full-court press, GU broke it easily and Nolan Hickman hit an open 3-pointer.

The Bulldogs made their first three 3s before the Cowboys came out of a timeout in a 1-3-1 zone. Gonzaga moved the ball to find freshman Dusty Stromer for another 3-point connection.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs were a step ahead of McNeese State’s traps and double-teams. They put on a perimeter shooting and passing clinic. They shut down a Cowboys’ offense that relies on dribble penetration.

Gonzaga, after hearing for days it was a prime candidate for a first-round upset in the NCAA Tournament, was nearly flawless in the first half building a 23-point lead and coasted past the 12th-seeded Cowboys 86-65 Thursday at the Delta Center.

“We definitely saw that on Selection Sunday,” junior post Graham Ike said. “They (numerous analysts) got McNeese over us. We still have to play the game. That’s ultimately what we did today.”

The Zags (26-7) earned their 15th consecutive opening-round win. They’ll attempt to reach the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time Saturday against No. 4 Kansas, which held off Samford 93-89 Thursday.

“Fifteen straight times is amazing,” Zags coach Mark Few said.

GU carved up one the nation’s top defensive units. McNeese State ranked third in field-goal percentage defense (38.5) and fifth in scoring defense (61.5). UT Martin’s 80 points was the most yielded by the Cowboys this season. Luka Krajnovic’s three-point play with 4:50 left put the Zags in front 83-48.

The Cowboys (30-4) were no match for the Zags, who are No. 2 in field-goal percentage (51.6) and No. 8 in scoring offense (84.9).

McNeese State’s frequent double-teams turned Anton Watson into a point-forward. The fifth-year senior distributed six assists early as GU raced in front 18-12.

Eventually Watson’s scoring and rebounding passed his assist numbers, but he was in position for just the program’s second triple-double, joining Joel Ayayi (2021 vs. Portland).

Watson had 13 points, 13 boards and nine assists, but he played just over 12 second-half minutes and sat out the final 4:49 with Gonzaga comfortably in front.

“My teammates wanted me to play and my coaches didn’t want me to get hurt,” Watson said with a smile. “It’s kind of 50-50. I definitely wanted to stay in a little bit, but the good thing is we have another game to play and I have another chance.”

Gonzaga buried 6 of its first 7 3-pointers and 8 of 11 by intermission. None of which surprised GU or McNeese State coach Will Wade, who didn’t like his chances if the shorter Cowboys tried to match up one-on-one with Watson, Ike and 6-foot-10 Ben Gregg.

“If you’re going to pull an upset,” Wade said, “we’ve got to make a bunch of 3s and you have to hope they miss a bunch of 3s. The exact opposite happened. We missed a bunch of 3; they made a bunch of 3.”

Stromer, in his first NCAA Tournament game, reached double figures with 10 points in the first half. The Zags broke it open with a 16-2 run to take a 48-25 advantage at the break. Gonzaga had 15 assists on 17 first-half field goals. The Cowboys had one assist.

McNeese State struggled mightily to finish over Gonzaga’s frontcourt. The Cowboys were even worse from the perimeter, misfiring on their first eight 3s and finishing at 22.7%.

Leading scorer Shahada Wells and forward Christian Shumate each finished with 19 points. The hard-working, 6-6 Shumate made 8 of 10 shots and had several impressive dunks. Wells, though, was 6 of 25 from the field, 1 of 8 on 3s. Hickman, Ryan Nembhard, Stromer and Watson for a stretch later in the first half all had success defending Wells.

“I was after them all week, even at shootaround I had to get after them to really echo our communication,” Few said. “We did a great job of vertically contesting. That’s been kind of hit or miss all year.

“We told ‘em and showed ‘em stuff about that 2017 team that made the national championship game. They were great at vertically contesting, really protecting the rim. I thought our guys bought in.”

Five Zags reached double figures, led by Ike’s 16 points. Gregg chipped in 12 points and was one of four Zags with multiple made 3s.

“If you’ve been watching Gonzaga basketball the last month or two, you’d understand that there is something special happening,” said Nembhard, who had nine assists. “We’re playing good basketball. We’ve got another tough one Saturday, so we’re going to lock in on the scout and figure these guys out, whoever it may be.”