How does a team shake off its first loss of the season while facing a top-15 program that also has a lot to prove following its first defeat?

Ask Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few — he and his coaching staff appeared to have all the answers to guide the Bulldogs to an 89-73 victory over No. 14 Indiana on Thursday to advance to the Battle 4 Atlantis fifth-place game. 

The Zags (5-1) didn’t waste any time putting their overtime defeat to West Virginia behind them, as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead over the Hoosiers (4-2) in the first couple of minutes before taking a double-digit lead into halftime. Oumar Ballo kept Indiana in the fight early on to make it a 1-point game nearing the 9-minute mark in the first half, yet despite the former Zag’s efforts, Gonzaga capitalized on second-chance opportunities and transition points to go on a 21-2 scoring run, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk from Khalif Battle. The sixth-year guard led his team with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds, while five of his teammates scored in double figures, thanks in large part to Ryan Nembhard’s 13 assists. 

With the win, Gonzaga will play the winner of Providence/Davidson in the fifth place on Friday at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST.

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

BULLDOGS IMPOSE THEIR WILL DOWN LOW

Braden Huff noted the Bulldogs didn’t have much of a presence in the paint in their loss to the Mountaineers. The Zags went a season-worst 19-of-44 (43.2%) from inside the arc and never established themselves on the low block, instead settling for 3-pointers when their first action didn’t lead to a score from 5 feet out. 

Ballo and 6-foot-9 forward Mackenzie Mgbako posed a different kind of challenge, though, despite a hot start from Ballo, who scored 17 of his team’s first 31 points, Gonzaga’s bigs controlled the interior and the boards in totality. The Zags outrebounded the Hoosiers, 42-27, and outscored their opposition, 23-4, in second-chance points.

“Our bigs did a good job,” Few said after the game. “That’s the first team we played that’s kind of like us — likes to throw the ball inside a lot, really ducks in and really puts a lot of foul pressure on you. We were in massive foul trouble in the first half. Got in even more trouble in the second half. But they kept playing. They kept repeating and moving them in and out of there, and they were able to stay in the game.”

Ballo gave the Hoosiers a much-needed spark after they fell into an 8-0 hole. The 7-foot-tall, 237-pound redshirt senior nailed a few right-handed hook shots to put his team in position to compete with the No. 3-ranked team in the country. Ballo led all scorers with 25 points.

“Clearly he’s gotten a lot better,” Few said of Ballo. “I mean that was what six years ago [when Ballo arrived to Gonzaga as a freshman]? He’s older, he’s gotten in great shape. I’m happy for him. That right-handed hook was going tonight but we were OK with that. We just didn’t want him to get a whole lot of stuff between us and the basket.”

Michael Ajayi had his best game as a Zag, recording 15 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-9 from the field, while Ike finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ben Gregg added 13 points off the bench and held down the center spot while Ike and Huff had to sit on the bench due to foul trouble in the second half.

AN EMPHATIC RESPONSE

Gonzaga’s players looked ready to flush away the dramatic loss to WVU the moment they stepped off the floor Wednesday. Having a short memory is somewhat necessary when playing three games in as many days, regardless of the final score. Safe to say the Bulldogs embraced that mentality heading into Thursday’s consolation game.

“There’s a lot you say in a 24-hour period like that,” Few said in regard to how he addressed his team in wake of their loss to WVU. “We talked about how in a game like the other night, comes down to one or two possessions, we’ve got to be able to execute, especially on defense. I didn’t feel like we played very good ‘D’ last night.”

The Zags flipped the script on that end of the floor against the Hoosiers. While Ballo was rolling down low, his teammates weren’t creating much on offense from the perimeter. Indiana’s starting backcourt of Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle combined for 12 points on 4-of-14 from the field. Malik Reneau, who led the way with 21 points against the Cardinals, put up a goose egg in the first half before ending the night with a quiet six points in 24 minutes of action.

ONTO PROVIDENCE/DAVIDSON

The Zags can enjoy the rest of their Thanksgiving holiday while they await their opponent for tomorrow’s fifth-place game at 5:30 p.m. PST. Gonzaga will face the winner of Providence (5-1) vs. Davidson (4-1) to conclude its trip in The Bahamas.

The Friars nearly completed a wild comeback against Oklahoma in the final minutes of their quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday. The Sooners led by nine points with 44 seconds left but missed free throws and a traveling violation made it a 2-point game in the final seconds. Wesley Cardet Jr. had 17 points, Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph 16 each and Corey Floyd Jr. put up 13 for Providence. 

The Wildcats got blown out, 104-71, by No. 24 Arizona on Wednesday. Connor Kochera tallied 20 points and Bobby Durbin nailed five 3s for Davidson, which went 38% from the field.

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