Meet The Opponent: Gonzaga Plays Indiana in Battle 4 Atlantis After Upset Loss

Gonzaga was a big favorite against West Virginia, but the Bulldogs lost in overtime, setting up a second-round matchup against Indiana in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Here’s a full breakdown of coach Mark Few’s team.

Gonzaga's Michael Ajayi (1) posts up against West Virginia during the Battle 4 Atlantis. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas – Indiana’s matchup against Gonzaga in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis is what most expected. The path both teams took to get there and the side of the bracket where they’ll meet were not.

No. 14 Indiana and No. 3 Gonzaga were two of three ranked teams in the Battle 4 Atlantis, along with Arizona, but both were upset in the first round. Indiana was favored by three points in Wednesday’s game against Louisville, but the Hoosiers had an abysmal performance and lost 89-61. Gonzaga was a 15.5-point favorite over West Virginia, but the Bulldogs lost 86-78 in overtime. 

That sets up a top-15 matchup in the loser’s bracket of the Battle 4 Atlantis Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Here’s a full breakdown of the Bulldogs. 

Key returners

• F Braden Huff: 14.8 ppg, 59.7 FG%
• F Graham Ike: 13 ppg, 50.0 FG%
• G Ryan Nembhard: 11.3 ppg, 9.8 apg
• G Nolan Hickman: 11.5 ppg, 43.3 3pt FG%
• G Dusty Stromer: 6.6 ppg, 48.1 FG%
• F Ben Gregg: 6.5 ppg, 46.1 FG%

Key newcomers

• G Khalif Battle (Arkansas transfer):12.3 ppg, 45.1 3pt FG%
• G Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine transfer): 6.6 ppg, 40.0 FG%

Key departures

(2023-24 stats)

• F Anton Watson: 14.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 57.8 FG%

2024-25 schedule (5-1)

• W, 101-63 vs. No. 8 Baylor, Nov. 4 in Spokane
• W, 88-80 vs. Arizona State, Nov. 10 in Spokane
• W, 113-54 vs. UMass Lowell, Nov. 15 in Spokane
• W, 80-67 at San Diego State, Nov. 18 in San Diego
• W, 84-41 vs. Long Beach State, Nov. 20 in Spokane
• L, 86-78 vs. West Virginia, Nov. 27 in the Bahamas

Series history

The all-time series is tied 2-2. Gonzaga won the most recent matchup 70-54 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6, 2008. In the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, No. 7 seed Indiana defeated No. 10 Gonzaga behind 22 points from Roderick Wilmont. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament, No. 3 seed Gonzaga defeated No. 6 seed Indiana 90-80 behind 20 points from J.P. Batista. Indiana won the series' first matchup 76-75 as part of the Maui Invitational, led by 16 points from Tom Coverdale and Jeff Newton.

Head coach: Mark Few

Few is in his 26th season at Gonzaga with a 721-144 overall record and a 347-36 mark in West Coast Conference regular-season play. Under Few, Gonzaga has reached the Final Four twice, Elite Eight six times and won 22 WCC regular season titles. Few was named Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2021, after leading the Bulldogs to the national championship game. Few was a high school assistant coach 1986-89, but he's been at Gonzaga ever since, first as an assistant and then as head coach starting in 1999. Few, 61, graduated from Oregon in 1987 but did not play basketball there.

Strengths

Few is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in college basketball. His teams are typically very balanced, with an efficient offense, good 3-point shooting and quality post players. Though they haven’t broken through with a national title, the Bulldogs have reached the Sweet 16 or further in every NCAA Tournament since the 2014-15 season. Put simply, they’re one of the sport’s top programs.

After reaching the Sweet 16 last year as a No. 5 seed, Gonzaga returned the bulk of its production. It lost starting forward Anton Watson, who averaged 14.5 points per game, but the other six players in Gonzaga’s seven-man rotation returned. That includes senior guards Nolan Hickman and Ryan Nembhard, and Few solidified the backcourt with transfers Khalif Battle and Michael Ajayi, comprising a talented, veteran group. Hickman, Nembhard and Battle are all shooting over 43% from 3-point range. 

In the front court, Gonzaga has senior forward Graham Ike, who Indiana faced in the 2022 NCAA Tournament when he played at Wyoming. Ike is an efficient interior scorer and solid rebounder, though he’s not much of a shot blocker or 3-point shooter. He’s complemented by 6-foot-10 sophomore Braden Huff, who scored a team-high 19 points off the bench against West Virginia. Huff is a capable 3-point shooter and leads the team with 0.8 blocked shots per game. 

Weaknesses

Every team’s depth is tested in a tournament like the Battle 4 Atlantis, and that doesn’t favor Gonzaga. Few essentially plays an eight-man rotation, and only about five Bulldogs have proven to be serious scoring threats. The good thing for Gonzaga is that its top five players might be as good as any in the country. But an off night from one or two? Things could go downhill quickly. That’s part of what happened in its overtime loss to West Virginia.

Nembhard, who averages nearly 10 assists and still had 12 on Wednesday, finished 1-for-10 from the field. Ike and Ajayi started but played just 32 combined minutes and shot 3-for-11 from the field. That put a ton of weight on Hickman, Battle and Huff to carry the scoring load. They almost did enough, but Gonzaga made a few costly turnovers down the stretch of the fourth quarter and overtime to make up for it. 

One way Indiana may be able to beat Gonzaga is inside with Oumar Ballo, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako. The Bulldogs average just three blocks per game, which ranks 298th nationally. While they’re skilled offensive players, Ike and Huff are not outstanding rim protectors. Indiana will need to be able to score in a variety of ways to keep up with Gonzaga’s high-powered offense, but it should have an advantage down low offensively. 

Season outlook

Gonzaga was picked to win the West Coast Conference in the preseason poll. The Bulldogs began the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 poll, and they rose to No. 3 ahead of the Battle 4 Atlantis. With two Final Four appearances since 2017, Gonzaga annually has expectations to be one of the nation’s best teams. The Bulldogs slipped up in Wednesday’s overtime loss to West Virginia, but that shouldn’t change much about their season-long goals. Gonzaga returned most of its core from last season, when it went 27-8 and reached the Sweet 16.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• INDIANA-LOUISVILLE GAME STORY: Indiana traveled to the Bahamas and got thoroughly dominated by Louisville Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Hoosiers shot just 33.3% from the field, committed 23 turnovers and struggled to defend the Cardinals. CLICK HERE

• WHAT WOODSON, RENEAU SAID: Here's the video and full transcript of Mike Woodson and Malik Reneau's postgame press conference after Indiana's 89-61 loss to Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis. CLICK HERE

• MY TWO CENTS: All those 20-point losses last season were supposed to be a thing of the past for Indiana after its big transfer portal haul. But in their first real test of the season, they got clobbered by Louisville in the Bahamas. This disgusting behavior apparently didn't go away. CLICK HERE