No. 18 Gonzaga overcomes slow start to beat Washington Huskies: 3 takeaways

Drew Timme and the Zags extend their home winning streak to 70 with a win over the Huskies

Cole Forsman | Dec 10, 2022

No. 18 Gonzaga overcomes slow start to beat Washington Huskies: 3 takeaways /

In this story:

Gonzaga Bulldogs

SPOKANE - Behind Drew Timme’s 22 points, the No. 18 Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-3) defeated their in-state rival Washington Huskies (7-3, 1-1 Pac-12), 77-60, Friday night in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

ZAGS STRUGGLE EARLY AGAINST THE ZONE

Malachi Smith — Photo by Erik Smith :: Photo by Erik Smith/Myk Crawford

Washington head coach Mike Hopkins learned the art of zone defense while serving under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, and on Friday against the Zags, his defense stifled Kenpom’s fourth-best offense in the country.

“That zone throws a lot of problems,” Julian Strawther said. “It's something that you're not used to seeing every night. So, I mean, we've been prepping for the last few days, and we knew, you know, it was going cause a little bit of problems.”

Gonzaga, which hadn’t faced a zone-heavy team yet this season, committed six turnovers in its first seven possessions including three consecutive offensive charges while attempting to run in transition. Finding Timme and Anton Watson in the high and low post proved difficult against the Huskies, who shifted three defenders toward the top of the key with two down low near the paint.

A pair of free throws from Timme, who attempted nine himself in the first half, gave the Zags their first points of the night.

Nolan Hickman knocked down a 3-pointer to give his squad its first made field goal of the night before a nearly six-minute-long scoring drought ensued.

As the first half came to a close, the Zags cracked the interior of Washington’s zone defense once 7-foot-1 center Braxton Meah headed to the bench with foul trouble.

Few’s frontcourt dominated the final five minutes of the period to power a 15-5 run and go up by double-digits heading into the locker room.

A SPARK FROM THE BENCH

Ben Gregg — (Photo by Erik Smith) :: Photo by Erik Smith/Myk Crawford

Outside of Hunter Sallis, it was the starters that did all the heavy lifting in Monday’s narrow victory over Kent State. But as Gonzaga’s offense sputtered out of the gate, the second unit came to the rescue.

Midway through the first half, a 9-0 run in a minute’s time from Few’s reserves matched the starter’s production in a fraction of the time. Efton Reid III converted twice around the rim, while a reverse layup from Strawther gave the Zags their first lead of the ballgame.

DEFENSE BULLDOGS, DEFENSE

For all the attention the offense has received this season, the defense has gone largely unnoticed despite the steady improvement over the last month against quality competition.

The trend continued Friday, as Gonzaga held Washington to 40.4% shooting from the field and 26.9% from deep while shutting down Keion Brooks Jr., the Huskies' leading scorer heading into the night.

The senior was a non-factor against Anton Watson, who has shut down a handful of exceptional big men this season. On Friday, the Spokane native held Brooks Jr. to zero points on 0-for-2 shooting from the field with three turnovers in less than 15 minutes of action.

“I think Anton Watson deserves a ton of credit for that,” assistant coach Brian Michaelson said. “I know his numbers aren't always eye-popping, but you go through it and Anton's guarded literally everyone one through five this year.”

Watson boasts the best defensive plus/minus among the starters this season while facing the likes of Oscar Tshiebwe, Zach Edey and other quality centers.

UP NEXT

Gonzaga is back home on Monday, Dec. 12, when Northern Illinois comes to town. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

PHOTO GALLERY: GONZAGA VS. WASHINGTON

(All photos by Erik Smith)