No. 19 Gonzaga is showing signs of high-level versatility as it prepares to take on No. 23 Creighton Tuesday night in Spokane, Washington.
The Bulldogs (2-0) have won back-to-back wins over Texas Southern and Oklahoma behind three transfers merging with two holdovers.
Stellar big man Graham Ike stands out inside, standout transfer Tyon Grant-Foster excels in the backcourt and Braden Huff contributes in multiple ways. Adam Miller hunts shots from the perimeter and his compatriot Jalen Warley is solid on defense.
“One of the beauties of this team is we’re going to have different guys that step up every night,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said after Saturday’s 83-68 home win over Oklahoma. “Night in and night out, you’re going to have to deal with our bigs. It starts with them at the top of the scouting report, but we’re certainly not one-dimensional.”
Ike is averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game and is in his third season as a starter for the Bulldogs.
Grant-Foster, who is at his fourth school, recently earned eligibility after spending two seasons at Grand Canyon and is averaging 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds. He shoots 61.1% from the field and plays from mid-range and with shots to the hoop.
Huff is averaging 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds as a starter after coming off the bench the previous two seasons.
Miller, who is at his fourth school and played the last two campaigns at Arizona State, knocked down five 3-pointers while averaging 10.5 points.
Warley, who played three seasons at Florida State, averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Ike led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds against Oklahoma. The Zags collected 18 offensive rebounds and committed just seven turnovers while forcing 16.
“It’s something we’re very proud of,” Few said of just seven errors. “Of course, we’ve had teams that can really take care of the ball, and I hope this one is one of them. … So I was proud of them. I mean, seven turnovers in a game with so much possession like that, it’s excellent.”
Creighton (1-0) is in reloading mode following the departure of longtime program force Ryan Kalkbrenner to the NBA. Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal also left.
Iowa transfer Owen Freeman looks to be a key cog this season, and he scored 19 points in the season-opening 92-76 win over South Dakota last Wednesday. Freeman averaged 16.7 points in 19 games with the Hawkeyes last season before undergoing season-ending finger surgery.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who is in his 16th season at the school, said the team is in transition.
“We obviously have a lot of work to do with this team,” McDermott said. “But there are a few things I think we can work with.”
The win over South Dakota was McDermott’s 500th as a Division I coach. He won 90 games in five seasons at Northern Iowa and 59 in four seasons at Iowa State and has 351 with the Bluejays.
“I think it means I’ve been working on this for a long time,” McDermott said of this milestone. “I’ve been fortunate to work in some great places and have had a lot of really good players, assistants and staff. I’ve kind of survived them, I guess.”
The next task – winning at Gonzaga – could be a daunting task for the Bluejays.
“We have a lot of guys who are still learning and thinking and still wondering where are they supposed to be and when are they supposed to be there,” McDermott said.
Last time they met, Gonzaga earned an 83-65 victory over Creighton in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA tournament.
–Field level media
