No. 8 Gonzaga relying on NCAA Tournament experience ahead of matchup with No. 9 Georgia

WICHITA, Kan. – With more than two decades of success on the sport’s biggest stage, it requires a considerable amount of ink to print all of Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament superlatives and streaks.

These days, the same can be said of Ryan Nembhard’s growing collection of assist records.

There’s more history available to Nembhard and No. 8 Gonzaga (25-8) this week in southeastern Kansas, with an NCAA Tournament opener against No. 9 Georgia (20-12) on deck Thursday and a potential meeting with top-seeded Houston two days later at INTRUST Bank Arena.

The Zags can win their 16th straight NCAA Tournament opener, keep hopes of a 10th consecutive Sweet 16 appearance alive and possibly set up an opportunity to knock off a No. 1 seed for the first time in school history. What’s on the line for Nembhard? With eight more assists, the Ontario, Canada, native would move into the top five for most assists in a single NCAA Division I season.

It doesn’t appear to be weighing on Nembhard or the Zags as they get set for Thursday’s March Madness opener.

The nation’s top passer was light, loose and laid back, mirroring most of his teammates Wednesday afternoon as the Zags went through an open practice at their first-round NCAA venue.

“I think as a team we’re just getting closer and closer as the year has been going on and we’re playing our best ball at the right time,” Nembhard said. “Yeah, we’re excited for tomorrow.”

During a media availability Sunday after the Zags learned their draw, Mark Few indicated NCAA Tournament games mostly come down to execution between the lines and finding ways to win even when things aren’t going your way.

“I would always share that with the Team USA guys. The Olympic tournament is like that, too,” said Few, an assistant on USA’s gold medal-winning team last summer. “It’s not a seven-game series, you can’t have a bad night. In order for that to happen, maybe you don’t shoot it good, but you can’t have a bad effort night, you can’t have a bad mental night.”

Gonzaga’s coach also didn’t discount the role experience can play in a pressurized setting such as the NCAA Tournament. There’s a group of Bulldogs playing Thursday that have tons of it and another group with nearly none.

During Gonzaga’s stretch of nine consecutive straight Sweet 16 appearances, Georgia qualified for the NCAA Tournament zero times, last going in 2015.

“When you hit March Madness, you hit the first round and everything – even media, all this plays a part in the experience of March Madness,” GU guard Nolan Hickman said. “I think the first-timers, it’s a challenge for them. It’s something that they just haven’t experienced before.”

“First-timers” in this case being every member of Georgia’s roster with the exception of 6-foot-8 starting forward RJ Godfrey, a Clemson transfer who was part of the Tigers’ Elite Eight run last season.

Now consider the NCAA Tournament experience on Gonzaga’s roster. Few’s team has so much that a pair of redshirting players, Colgate transfer Braeden Smith and former Eastern Washington standout Steele Venters, have more appearances than Georgia’s entire roster combined.

That’s not to mention Nembhard and Graham Ike, who’ve been to the tournament with two schools, or longtime Zags like Ben Gregg and Hickman, who’ve made nine trips combined at GU. Of the 11 Zags who could realistically see the court on Thursday, seven have played in the Big Dance, with 41 total NCAA Tournament games between them.

“We’re playing a program that’s been to a bunch of Sweet 16s in a row,” Georgia coach Mike White said. “It’s important to them. It’s got to be important to us just to play our best. Again, it’s not nearly as much about outcomes for us. It’s about playing well. It’s just about playing well.”

The Bulldogs who’ll be wearing the SEC patch on their jerseys Thursday are led by freshman star Asa Newell, a stretch big who leads his team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg).

The player leading Georgia in most other categories is Silas Demary Jr., a big lead guard who paces White’s team in assists (3.1), steals (1.7) and minutes per game (31.3).

Gonzaga guard Khalif Battle has some experience with Georgia’s roster, matching up with the Bulldogs last year at Arkansas. Battle left the SEC one year before the conference placed 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament.

“SEC’s a great conference, I loved playing in the conference, but I think we’re prepared for any team,” Battle said. “… I think we’re just hungry, hungry to get our name back out there and let people know we’re still the Zags. We didn’t teeter off or anything like that.”

White highlighted Nembhard’s passing, Hickman’s shooting and GU’s ability to get to the free-throw line – and make foul shots at an efficient clip – while evaluating the Zags during Wednesday’s news conference.

“Our bigs have to be on full alert, and it starts the second they get a defensive rebound or you score,” White said. “It starts in transition for them. Their tempo is terrific. Their early post touches, their late post touches, their ball screen execution. Collectively, we just have to be on point. We have to be really good defensively.

“It’s one of the best offensive teams that we will have played all season.”