Things couldn’t have gone much better for the UConn men the last time they were pitted against Gonzaga.
It was a trouncing in last year’s Elite Eight, an 82-54 UConn win in Las Vegas that ended Gonzaga’s season and sent the Huskies to Houston for the Final Four, where they’d ultimately claim the program’s fifth national championship.
The biggest storyline coming into that game was the matchup between Adama Sanogo and Drew Timme, two of the best big men in college basketball, both undersized centers who, months later, would embark on a similar, difficult path to the pros. Sanogo, exposing the Zags’ double-team with his passing ability, came four assists shy of a triple-double while the Huskies got Timme into foul trouble and ran away with the game in the second half.
Now Sanogo is averaging 17.9 points and 11.4 rebounds for the Chicago Bulls’ G League affiliate and Timme’s averaging 10.1 and 5.7 for the affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite losing the two elite bigs, both programs have continued operating at an elite level.
“We’re not the same teams,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “We’ve both lost some great players. Their front court is very impressive, really talented, they go four deep. It’s going to be a real challenge.”
Friday’s game, between the fifth-ranked, 9-1 Huskies and the 10th-ranked, 8-2 Bulldogs, is the third top-10 matchup in the last two weeks for the reigning national champions.
“(UConn is) doing a really good job of building their program,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few told reporters after beating Mississippi Valley State on Monday. “And what I mean by that is they’re stacking their classes so that they absorb guys leaving early and stuff like that. After winning that championship last year, now they’ve got the feeling of that and they’re loading up and look like they’re playing well enough to get there again this year.”
As they were marching toward the championship last season, UConn earned the chance to really upgrade its nonconference schedule to better position itself for the tournament. Gonzaga is the sixth power program on the Huskies’ schedule, and the third top-10 opponent.
“When we put together this nonconference, that grouping this year just has some really exciting matchups,” Hurley said. “With where we are as a program, we’re playing three or more of the best teams in the country, none of which are at home, it’s a great way to test yourself in both the Big East Conference and, these types of matchups will pay big dividends in March.”
After Sanogo left, UConn had Donovan Clingan, a potential lottery pick in this year’s draft, waiting in the wings. To replace Timme, Few brought in Graham Ike, a transfer from Wyoming who opted to redshirt all of last season after suffering a foot injury. While Clingan continues to work back into form from an offseason foot injury of his own, he has been able to hold his own in previous matchups against some of the other best centers in the country, including Kel’el Ware, Hunter Dickinson and Armando Bacot.
“Ike, just the physicality, he’s a real technician,” Hurley said. “High IQ, tremendous touch, great physicality. You’ve really got to bring it, because he’s very physical on the glass, in screening, in post-ups.”
Frontcourt play and rebounding, with Alex Karaban and Anton Watson battling at the four-position, will play an important role on Friday. But perhaps the matchups that will decide the winner will come in the backcourt.
Gonzaga’s starting guards – Nolan Hickman, former Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard and freshman Dusty Stromer – average a combined 30.8 points per game. UConn’s top three – Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and either Stephon Castle or Solo Ball – averages 42.6 with Castle and 39.5 with Ball.
“Nembhard, the speed with the all, the ability just to break down your defense in transition and the ball-screen game,” Hurley said, “in isolation situations, he’s a great fit for how they play offense. Gonzaga plays with great pace, with a heavy emphasis on the ball-screen game. We know how tough it is to play against Ryan, we’ve got a lot of respect for him.”
The Bulldogs, who don’t have much backcourt depth, rely heavily on Ike, Watson and sixth-man Braden Huff, a 6-10 forward, for scoring. In UConn’s favor, they don’t shoot many 3s – 21.1 per game, ranked 226th nationally – which has been a thorn for the Huskies on the defensive end. Hickman is the team’s best 3-point shooter, hitting at a 36.2% clip. Forwards Huff, Ben Gregg, Ike and Watson are all shooting over 38% from the field, though none have attempted more than 21 shots from deep.
“It’ll be a huge challenge but a fun challenge, a great opportunity for our guys and it’ll be an awesome crowd in Seattle,” Few said.
Hurley said all of his players will be available, no injury issues. Castle, in his third game back from his knee injury, figures to play more minutes.
“He’s a young guy who has missed time and isn’t as sharp as he’s going to be,” Hurley said.
Players to Watch
Graham Ike
Junior, forward, 6-foot-9, 240 pounds
The Wyoming transfer leads Gonzaga in points (14.2) and is second on the team in rebounds (7.9). He scored a team-high 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, with seven rebounds, four offensive, when he matched up with 7-foot-4 Zach Edey in the Bulldogs’ 10-point loss to Purdue earlier this season. According to KenPom, Ike is the 14th-best offensive rebounder in the country, which contributes to the Zags’ 27th-best offensive rebound rate (13.8). The matchup on the glass, where UConn’s bigs have struggled to start the year, will be a factor on Friday.
Ryan Nembhard
Junior, guard, 6-foot, 175 pounds
Nembhard averaged 8.3 points, four rebounds and 1.3 assists on 9 of 31 shooting from the field (29%) in his three games against UConn before transferring from Creighton. His statistics since transferring to Gonzaga have, apart from assists and 3-point percentage, been consistent with his production from the previous two seasons. His 5.7 assist per game average is the highest of his career, but he has yet to find his 3-point shot at just 19.1% on 31 attempts, down from the 33.7% he averaged at Creighton. Gonzaga will likely need him at his best with Hickman in the matchup with UConn’s backcourt.
Anton Watson
Senior, forward, 6-foot-8, 228 pounds
Watson, the primary defender on Sanogo in last year’s matchup as Timme waited to double in front of the basket, will likely draw a matchup with Karaban, a completely different type of player. In his fifth year at Gonzaga, Watson leads the team in rebounds (8.2 per game) and is its second-leading scorer with 13.9 points per game while shooting 58% from the field and 38.9% from beyond the arc (7 of 18).
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