Gonzaga routs Washington State to set up Saint Mary's showdown: 3 takeaways

The Zags are playing their best basketball of the season

Gonzaga senior guard Ryan Nembhard. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs quickly set the tone in their eagerly anticipated visit to Pullman on Wednesday night by racing to a 22-point halftime lead on their way to routing Washington State 84-63 in a West Coast Conference game.

Nolan Hickman scored 23 points, Graham Ike had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Michael Ajayi added 12 points and Braden Huff had 11 for the Bulldogs, who made the 77-mile trip to Pullman for the first time in nine years.

Gonzaga (21-7, 12-3) swept the season series against the Cougs (16-12, 6-9), who along with Oregon State are affiliate members of the WCC for two seasons. The Zags and Cougs will be part of the reconstituted Pac-12 starting in 2026.

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga’s rout at Beasley Coliseum.

IT WAS OVER AT HALFTIME

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

The first sellout crowd at Beasley Coliseum in nearly 15 years was treated to an 8-2 lead, but that was the evening’s highlight for the Cougars before the Bulldogs showed their superiority on both ends of the court. 

The Zags were so good in taking a 50-28 halftime lead that Ryan Nembhard, the national assists leader and reigning WCC Player of the Week, had no points and just one assist in the first 20 minutes. Nembhard, in fact, didn’t get his first points until hitting a jumper in the paint just more than a minute into the second half. He finished with seven points and just two assists, eight under his average.

Gonzaga overwhelmed the Cougs 21-3 in bench points and 26-10 in points in the paint. 

Two shots that should make the highlight reel were Khalif Battle’s slam dunk on a fast break that gave the Zags a 19-point lead and Hickman’s beautiful corner 3 for their final points of the first half. Hickman was 4 of 5 from behind the arc overall.

Zag Dunks >>> pic.twitter.com/AdiyHLN1kR

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) February 20, 2025

Speaking of assists, Gonzaga had 19 on 29 made shots, one game after breaking the program’s 45-year-old single-game assist record with 33 on 45 made shots in a 107-55 home win against Pepperdine.

ABOUT THE BENCH

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Huff scored nine straight points on four trips down the floor in a two-minute span to stake the Zags to a 20-12 lead with 10:35 to go before halftime. He made a layup off a turnover, cleared a rebound and made another layup while drawing a foul and made the free throw for a 3-point play. He finished off his burst with a hook shot.

Dusty Stromer then took over with consecutive 3-point shots to put the lead at 26-19 with 7:15 before half. Ajayi contributed four points off the bench in the first half.

HERE COME THE GAELS

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Zags can quickly put this one behind them and begin preparing for Saturday night’s big WCC showdown against WCC leader Saint Mary’s. It’s sure to be an emotional Senior Night, especially with Gonzaga still in the hunt for the conference title.

Saint Mary’s (24-4, 14-1) beat the Zags 62-58 at Moraga on Feb. 1 and pulled away from Portland 79-66 on Wednesday night.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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• What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's 52-point win over Pepperdine

• Gonzaga gets brutal draw in updated NCAA tournament projections

• Gonzaga crushes Pepperdine in historic rout: Game recap, analysis

• Gonzaga has 'Final Four potential' according to college basketball analytics website

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