Gonzaga, Washington renew in-state basketball rivalry

So much has modified because the Gonzaga males’s basketball group final performed Washington. 

In the newest assembly between the faculties, forwards Drew Timme and Anton Watson have been freshmen who got here off the bench and performed a mixed 18 minutes in an 83-76 win for the Zags. 

Three years later, Timme and Watson are a beginning frontcourt duo and will definitely be extra of an element this time round when No. 18 Gonzaga (6-3) hosts Washington (7-2) on Friday at 6 p.m.

The 2 seniors are averaging career-highs in factors, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks per sport this season, whereas main the Zags by a schedule that has featured 5 Quad 1 opponents to this point.

Timme and Watson helped the Zags to their most up-to-date Quad 1 win, a 73-66 victory over Kent State on Monday. Timme completed with 29 factors and a career-high 17 rebounds, and Watson added eight factors and 5 rebounds. 

Whereas a win in opposition to Washington would solely register as a Quad 3 win for Gonzaga, internet hosting the Huskies will deliver much more depth — with the matchup being one of many premier in-state rivalries in all of school basketball. 

“We’re going to need to buckle down and actually battle and convey that grit as a result of they’re going to wish to compete for the highest group within the state so it’s going to be sport for certain,” Timme stated. 

The Huskies are coming off a 73-63 victory over Colorado on Monday, regardless of being with out their main shot-blocker Franck Kepnang. The 6-foot-10 large man suffered a season-ending knee harm throughout a 66-65 loss to Oregon State on Thursday. 

Nevertheless, as Washington confirmed in opposition to Colorado, the group has different large males who can step up rather than Kepnang. 

Middle Braxton Meah completed with a game-high-tying 16 factors on 6-for-8 capturing, seven rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes.

Meah was the anchor of Washington’s zone protection, which compelled 18 turnovers, and held Colorado to 44.1% capturing from the sector and 29.4% from 3-point vary. 

Keion Brooks Jr., a switch from Kentucky, is one other integral piece to a Huskies’ protection that ranks 54th within the nation by KenPom. 

Brooks Jr. recorded two blocks and a steal in opposition to Colorado, as he additionally used his 7-foot-1 wingspan to complete troublesome pictures over defenders for many of his 14 factors. 

Standing at 6-foot-7, Brooks Jr. was a part of a beginning lineup that didn’t have a participant shorter than 6-foot-4. 

That’s a a lot taller group than the one Gonzaga has been opening video games with. Zags beginning guards Rasir Bolton and Nolan Hickman are 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-2, respectively.

Nonetheless, Gonzaga has 6-foot-7 guard Julian Strawther in its backcourt, which supplies the Zags some extra measurement on the perimeter. 

Strawther’s size has allowed him to be a weapon on each ends of the ground, as he leads the group with 8.6 rebounds per sport and shoots 44.4% from 3-point vary. 

Off the bench, Hunter Sallis has been one other guard who can present two-way assist for the Zags. 

Sallis scored solely three factors in opposition to Kent State, however his defensive effort was pivotal in holding the Golden Flashes’ backcourt to 10-for-34 from 3-point vary. 

Certainly one of Sallis’ most spectacular defensive possessions got here with a minute to go when he was constantly rotating onto completely different Kent State gamers, earlier than taking a cost to drive a turnover. 

“Hunter simply put his head down and made big performs,” Strawther stated. “Taking prices, these are profitable performs and that’s precisely what we’d like from Hunter, and that’s what we count on from him.”

If Sallis places collectively an identical defensive displaying on Friday, the Zags will profit because the Huskies have a number of elite scorers of their backcourt, most notably 6-foot-7 guard Cole Bajema.

Bajema has scored in double-digits for three-straight video games and is a 38.9% 3-point shooter this season. He’s additionally averaging 5.2 rebounds and is taking part in a career-high 30.6 factors per sport.

With Friday being Washington’s first time taking part in Gonzaga in Spokane since 2018, the gamers and coaches anticipate an exciting contest on the McCarthey Athletic Middle. 

“It actually has been some time,” stated Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “With these guys … we don’t have an entire lot of fellows [from Washington]. We’ll have to elucidate to them that it is a extremely emotional sport.”

College students with tickets might be tenting out on Gonzaga’s campus in a single day earlier than the sport, because it’s the primary of three tenting video games organized by the college’s Kennel Membership. 

The opposite tenting video games are on Feb. 11 in opposition to BYU and Feb. 25 for Saint Mary’s.