Gonzaga resumes busy stretch of games, faces Portland at the Spokane Arena
It’s a new calendar year as college basketball nears the midpoint of the season, but Gonzaga wouldn’t mind turning back the clock.
Not way back, but perhaps to how the Zags burst out of the starting gate in November, winning their first five and rising to No. 3 in the AP poll. Or even late November, when Gonzaga was 7-1 and essentially one possession from being unbeaten.
December brought a 3-3 record with three losses in winnable games against teams currently in the top 15 and three nondescript victories, the latest 89-82 Monday over Pepperdine, projected to finish last in the West Coast Conference coaches’ preseason poll.
Perhaps a return to the Arena might help.
Gonzaga (10-4, 1-0 WCC) is back in the Arena to face Portland (5-10, 0-2) in the second annual Community Cancer Fund Classic on Thursday, roughly two months after clobbering then No. 8 Baylor 101-63 in the season opener.
The Zags are 14-6 at the Arena and have won five straight, including an 88-72 blowout over No. 4 Kentucky in 2022. Their last loss in the Arena was to Memphis, 62-58 in January 2011.
GU, which has won 18 in a row against Portland, is in a busy stretch with four games from Saturday (a 65-62 loss to UCLA in Los Angeles) to Saturday’s road game against Loyola Marymount.
“Any opportunity we get to step out on the court it’s a lot of fun,” sophomore forward Braden Huff said. “That’s why you play.”
The Pilots, who have two wins over Division III teams, led No. 9 Oregon by 11 with 4:46 left and by five with 36 seconds remaining before falling 80-70 in overtime.
They also hit 15 of their first 16 shots, including 6 of 7 3-pointers, against Oregon State on Monday before the Beavers took over for an 89-79 win.
“They had Oregon beat at Oregon, so they’ve played guys really, really tough,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “They usually like to not guard some of our guys and do some things like that, so we’ll be prepared for everything.”
Coach Shantay Legans, who took over the Pilots after a successful four-year run at Eastern Washington, has had his players sag off certain Zags in the past five meetings. GU has responded with 69 3-pointers, including games with 18 and 17, and five double-digit wins. Julian Strawther hit eight 3s and scored 40 points in a road win over the Pilots in 2023.
The Zags are shooting just 33.3% on 3s this season. They’re at 29.5% in four losses after a 7-of-24 effort against UCLA and just under 35% in 10 victories. They made just 2 of 15 3s against Pepperdine.
Portland was picked tied for eighth with San Diego in the WCC coaches’ preseason poll. The Pilots’ first five conference games are against teams with the five best overall records: Washington State, Oregon State, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco. They visit WSU, which won 89-73 in Portland in the conference opener, in a rematch in their seventh game.
The Pilots start two freshmen, including leading scorer Austin Rapp (14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds), one sophomore and two juniors. They’ve had four freshmen on the court at times this season.
Legans is 50-65, 17-31 in conference, in his fourth season. Portland was 19-15, 7-7 in the WCC, in his first season in 2021-22.
Three-point shooting and defense will be high on Gonzaga’s to-do list.
The Zags had issues stopping Pepperdine in the second half. The Waves, taking advantage of sloppy GU turnovers, shot 57.6%, scored 50 points and trimmed a 20-point lead to three.
“I think we just have to stay on top of our coverages, can’t have any mental lapses,” Huff said. “For 40 minutes be locked in, that’s the biggest thing.”
Waves guards Jaxon Olvera and Moe Odum combined for 51 points. GU did get a couple of key stops in the closing minutes.
“We did not do a good job, especially guarding their perimeters,” Few said. “Now, some of them were tough shots, but at some point you have to step up and get some stops.
“We had a great defensive first half. Turnovers led to transition, which led to easy baskets and it really helped them feel good about themselves.”