No. 3 Gonzaga can enhance its already impressive resume with a strong showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.
The Bulldogs are one of three ranked teams in the field and one of five that are undefeated.
Gonzaga (5-0) plays the first of its three games in as many days on Wednesday when it faces West Virginia (3-1).
The Bulldogs showed firepower, cohesion and depth in hammering then-No. 8 Baylor in their season opener, 101-63, on Nov. 4.
It’s the product of bringing six of their top seven scorers back from last year’s 27-8 team. They also added transfers Khalif Battle (Arkansas) and Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), who averaged a combined 32.0 points per game for their former teams last season.
Gonzaga has five scorers who average in double figures, including Graham Ike (14.6 ppg), Battle (14.4) and Braden Huff (14.0). Directing the offense is Ryan Nembhard, who is averaging 12.2 points and 9.4 assists.
“Our depth is gonna help a lot down there,” Huff said of the grueling schedule in the Bahamas. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play a lot of minutes and impact the game in different ways.”
The Bulldogs fared well in a quick turnaround last week. They survived a tough road test at San Diego State, 80-67, on Monday and then returned home to dominate Long Beach State 84-41 on Wednesday.
“We had a great week defensively,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Our numbers are getting better and the guys are playing with great effort, playing with great physicality.”
West Virginia is coming off an 86-43 romp over Iona on Wednesday. Javon Small collected 23 points, five assists and four steals to pace the Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers dominated the Gaels with defense, limiting them to 23.7 percent shooting from the floor and 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from deep while forcing 21 turnovers.
It was a solid comeback for West Virginia after getting humbled at Pitt in an 86-62 loss, in a game that it trailed by as many as 31 points.
“We were better, more connected,” Mountaineers coach Darian DeVries said after the Iona game.
Freshman Jonathan Powell has scored in double digits in each of his first four games for West Virginia.
Soon after he entered against Iona, Powell tallied 11 points in a 2:41 span as the Mountaineers stretched a six-point lead to 15.
“He comes in, he’s full of confidence. We love that about him,” DeVries said. “He understands what he’s good at. He knows how to find his spots. He’s not afraid to let it go.”
DeVries aims to get more looks for his son, Tucker DeVries, who is averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Last year at Drake, playing under his father, DeVries averaged 21.6 points and 6.7 boards.
“When we toss it up in the Bahamas we gotta get better at some things,” Darian DeVries said. “We’re not gonna be a complete fix by next Wednesday but we gotta continue to grow as a team.”
West Virginia is winless in five games against Gonzaga, with all the meetings coming since 2012.
–Field Level Media
