Gonzaga puts in strong defensive showing in win over Long Beach State: 3 takeaways

The Bulldogs had their best defensive performance of the season in 84-41 win over the Beach

Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi (left), Khalif Battle (middle) and Graham Ike (right). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

It wasn’t always pretty, but No. 3 Gonzaga found a way to grind out a dominant victory over Long Beach State at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Wednesday night. 

Five players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs (4-0), led by Graham Ike and Khalif Battle at 15 points apiece. Braden Huff came off the bench and scored 12 points, while Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard each had 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers. The bench scored just below its season average with 32 points, however, the well-balanced attack offensively wasn’t the story of the Zags’ 84-41 victory over the Beach (1-4) — it was how connected Mark Few’s team played on the defensive end of the floor. 

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

Gonzaga senior guard Khalif Battle. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher wasn’t the only one who was amazed at Gonzaga’s scoring average through its first few games of the season. Putting up triple-digits against Big 12 competition isn’t a feat to look past. But while the No. 1-ranked offense in the country according to KenPom.com has looked as well-oiled as one can be at this point in November, the Bulldogs have also made their mark on the defensive end of the floor as well early on in the 2024-25 campaign.

After locking down San Diego State at the Viejas Arena on Monday, Gonzaga had even tighter clamps for the Beach back home in Spokane. The Zags held Long Beach State to just 17 points after halftime and 17-of-54 (31.5%) from the field overall, including 2-of-20 (10%) from 3-point range. Both sides hit lulls in the first half, though it was much rougher going for the Beach, which needed almost the full 40 minutes to cross the 40-point threshold — something Gonzaga did in the first 20 minutes.

"I think we had really, really, really good week on the defensive end, and then obviously the offense has continued to just be kind of coming along," Few said after the game. "But we had a great, great week defensively. That was two good halves there. We had a little five minute letdown there at the end of the second or into the first half. But our numbers are getting better, and the guys are playing with great effort, playing with great physicality and against this team, we played pretty clean too."

The Zags in particular keyed in on 6-foot-5 senior Devin Askew, who entered the night leading the Beach with over 17 points per game. The Cal transfer and former Kentucky Wildcat was held to 12 points on 5-of-18 from the field, in addition to committing four personal fouls and two turnovers in 36 minutes. Outside of sparking a 9-0 scoring run in the first half, Askew was held in check by a myriad of Gonzaga players who took on the challenge of guarding him Wednesday night.

“Everybody was on point,” Ike said after the game. “Everybody was hitting their coverages. The help was there on the backside. This game and I think UMass-Lowell was up there defensively for us. I mean, every game this year we've been dialed in. So kudos to the staff for giving us a great plan, and kudos to the guys for executing.”

The Bulldogs rank No. 18 in adjusted defensive efficiency and have held opponents to just 22.7% from 3-point range this season, which is the seventh-best mark in the country, per KenPom. 

FRONTCOURT DEPTH IS OVERWHELMING

Gonzaga senior forward Graham Ike. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Few frontcourts in the country possess a one-two punch quite like Gonzaga does with its tandem of Ike and Huff, the giant lefties who complement each other with their different skill sets.

Ike, the bruiser on the low block, hasn’t gotten off to the fastest of starts lately, though he’s set the tone to start the second half in each of the Zags’ past two victories. On Wednesday, he scored eight straight points coming out of halftime to create separation from the Beach. His head coach would like to see that from him right after the opening tip, but the 6-foot-9 senior understands that’s part of the ebb and flow of the game.

“Just continue to stay with it,” Ike said. “It's ups and downs in the game, but just continue to stay positive and know that if I end up falling, my guys will pick me up.”

Usually, the guy to help Ike back up is Huff. The redshirt sophomore led the Bulldogs in scoring through the first two games and came through in the first half against San Diego State while his teammate dealt with early foul trouble. That wasn’t the case against the Beach. In fact, both made the most of the limited minutes each played in the blowout victory, combining for 27 points and 31 minutes.  

From Ike’s prowess on the low block, Huff’s touch around the rim and the physicality from both Michael Ajayi and Ben Gregg, Gonzaga’s frontcourt rotation can create a lot of headaches for its opposition. 

“I think each big brings something different to the table, which is really cool,” Huff said. And everyone makes an instant impact. Ben obviously started then Mike, but no matter who's in, whatever combo it is, you can't really take a break on the defensive end, which is pretty cool. We’ve got a lot of dudes, not just the bigs, the guards too, but yeah it’s a pretty good group.”

ONTO THE BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS

Gonzaga forwards Braden Huff (left) and Ben Gregg (right). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

With the final tune-up before the Battle 4 Atlantis out of the way, the Bulldogs can put their full attention toward the 3-day tournament, starting with a matchup against a new-look West Virginia squad on Nov. 27 (11:30 a.m. PT, ESPN). 

The Mountaineers (2-1) are in year one under head coach Darian DeVries, who helped guide Drake to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons at the helm. His son, 6-foot-7 senior Tucker DeVries, joined him down in Morgantown, West Virginia, for his final year of college hoops. Tucker was twice named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and put up 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game last season.

Through three games this season, Tucker leads West Virginia in scoring at 13.7 points per game to go with 2.3 steals. Oklahoma State transfer and 6-foot-3 senior Javon Small adds 13.0 points, while 6-foot-6 freshman Jonathan Powell has been a spark plug off the bench with 12.3 points per game on 9-of-23 (39.1%) from 3-point distance. West Virginia has a nonconference game against Iona on Wednesday.

Depending on the outcomes, the Zags could see either one of Pat Kelsey’s reimagined Louisville program or No. 16 Indiana for a battle of ranked teams on day two. Both potential second-round opponents made drastic changes this offseason. The Hoosiers (3-0) look like an NCAA Tournament-caliber team on paper after coach Mike Woodson brought in Myles Rice (Washington State), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) and Luke Goode (Illinois) to mix with three of the top four scorers from last season, including Big Ten Rookie of the Year in Mackenzie Mgbako and 6-foot-5 senior Trey Galloway. 

The Cardinals (2-1) are expected to be relevant once again under Kelsey, who brought in a transfer portal class that ranked second in the nation behind only Saint John’s according to EvanMiya.com. South Florida transfer Kasean Pryor leads the team in scoring (15.0 points) heading into Friday’s matchup at home with Winthrop. Former James Madison Duke, 6-foot-6 fifth-year senior Terrence Edwards Jr. is not far behind at 14.3 points per game.

The storyline to follow throughout Feast Week of course will be whether Few has to face his former assistant coach, Tommy Lloyd, and Arizona on the third and final day of the tournament. 

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MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• What Gonzaga's Mark Few said after win vs. Long Beach State

• Gonzaga Bulldogs vs. Long Beach State: Live updates recap, highlights

• Gonzaga up to No. 3 in Associated Press Top 25 poll

• Gonzaga's Khalif Battle throws down windmill dunk vs. UMass-Lowell

• Virginia transfer Jalen Warley on Gonzaga visit: ‘I’m really liking it’

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