Gonzaga Basketball: Bulldogs cruise past Washington Huskies
Washington was no match for Gonzaga basketball on Wednesday night at The Kennel.
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs have passed all their tests so far this season with flying colors. They crushed San Diego State during the 24-hour tip-off marathon, squeaked out a win over Florida in the Advocare Invitational, knocked off Iowa State at the buzzer to win their preseason tournament and beat Arizona for the first time since 2011.
While the Washington Huskies don’t exactly measure up to any of those previous four opponents, the Bulldogs had to face off against the potential number one overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Markelle Fultz, on national television.
But the Bulldogs weren’t tripped up by their Power Five opponent, as they cruised to a 98-71 victory on Wednesday night at The Kennel. The Zags went on a run in the opening minutes and never looked back.
They had four players finish in double figures, but were led by former Huskie Nigel Williams-Goss, who scored 23 points on a highly efficient 9-of-13 shooting. Przemek Karnowski also played a terrific game, recording 17 points, eight boards and providing rim protection on the defensive end of the floor.
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Gonzaga’s balance is undeniable. They have numerous weapons that offer a plethora of versatility. Their guards can make shots from the perimeter, but also beat their defenders off the dribble. Josh Perkins and Williams-Goss are capable of distributing the basketball as well, and that benefits shooters like Jordan Mathews and Silas Melson (even though he has struggled so far this season).
Their front court doesn’t have a high level shooter like Kyle Wiltjer or an immediate NBA starter like Domantas Sabonis, but Karnowski is a force, Johnathan Williams was finishing with authority on Wednesday night and Zach Collins and Killian Tillie continue to space the floor.
As we’ve mentioned multiple times, this might be Mark Few’s best team ever. And their win over Washington only confirmed my viewpoint.
There wasn’t a second on Wednesday when the game was truly in doubt. Gonzaga blitzed the Huskies from the get-go, jumping out to a 23-6 lead. They shot 54 percent from the field, drilled 50 percent of their threes and had 21 assists on 35 made field goals. They also turned the ball over only 11 times to Washington’s 12.
Gonzaga has legitimate opportunity to head into their January 14 showdown against Saint Mary’s with an undefeated record. Their final three non-conference games (Akron, Tennessee and South Dakota) all should be easy victories, while they open WCC play against Pepperdine, Pacific, San Francisco, Portland and Loyola Marymount. The Zags are a top 10 team that no one wants to play.
Meanwhile, everyone wants to get a crack at Washington because this is a team that is brutal defensively. The Huskies offered little resistance on that end of the floor as they gave up easy layups, wide open threes to knock down shooters and had defensive mix ups. At one point in the second half, all five Huskies were beat down the floor by Karnowski, who finished easily at the rim.
This is a 7’1″, 300 pound big man, who is known for anything but his mobility up and down the floor. You almost never see that happen.
But with a Washington team that has given up 82 points per game and more than 90 points on three occasions so far this year, it isn’t much of a surprise.
Fultz had his issues with efficiency (25 points on 10-of-26 shooting, 10 rebounds) and scored most of his points in garbage time. He also got little help on offense from his teammates (just one other player finished in double figures). But ultimately, if Washington wants to be competitive in the Pac-12, they need to figure out their effort and intensity on the defensive end of the floor, because Wednesday night was not a step in the right direction.