[ad_1]
The top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs opened their 2020-21 campaign with a convincing 102-90 victory over sixth-placed Kansas. Read it again. The Gonzaga Bulldogs trailed just 17 seconds and went 100+ over the Kansas Jayhawks. Mark Few won his 600th career victory as a head coach.
From the tip you knew it was going to be fun. The first minute of the game saw what fans were clamoring for throughout the offseason: Anton Watson atop a havoc wreaking havoc on a court press, leading to a Jalen Suggs alley.
Gonzaga would go into a lull halfway through to allow Kansas to reduce the lead to five, but Corey Kispert hit a monster three to stop the bleeding and Andrew Nembard hit a late desperation three for good measure. Kispert and Drew Timme led the Zags with 17 points per play in the first half as the Zags took a 54-46 lead at the break. Dominick Harris and Julian Strawther both made cameos at the end of the first half, meaning Mark Few really made a full 10-player rotation. Neither would replay until the last seconds of the game. Jalen Suggs only played seven minutes due to two personal fouls, making Nembhard the main guard for most of the first half.
Kansas made the first adjustments in the second half. After trailing by no less than 13 early in the game, Kansas would equalize at 56. The Jayhawks had three close-range glances on the rim to take the lead, but couldn’t capitalize. Gonzaga responded with a jumper Joel Ayayi and back-to-back And-1 opportunities from Suggs and Nembhard.
Kansas was on hand for a few minutes, but Suggs really did arrive. He fully resumed play in the middle of the second half. He scored in transition, he hit three, he beat his teammates and he drove to the rim with ferocity. Gonzaga has never had a player like him before. He finished the game with 24 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and a pair of steals.
Kispert finished with 23 points and no turnover, Timme finished with a high of 25 points, while Nembhard scored 11 points with zero rolls off the bench. Gonzaga had three 20-plus pointers against one of the best defensive teams in the country a year ago.
Ayayi was calm offensively for most of the game, but had two big buckets late to extend Gonzaga’s lead to double digits. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Gonzaga will now enjoy a nice dinner and turn around to face Auburn at 8 a.m. on Friday morning.
[ad_2]
Source link