Gonzaga vs. West Virginia Preview

Give thanks, Bulldog fans! Gonzaga takes on the WVU Mountaineers in the opening round of this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis.

Happy Thanksgiving, Zag fans! There’s already just so much to be thankful for this year. Personally, I’d like to express some gratitude at being the number-3 ranked team in the country. I’m also especially grateful to Dan Hurley for being a giant whiny baby and costing UConn what should have been an easy win to an unranked Memphis team in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. If the Zags can do what we expect them to do down in the Bahamas, they should be the number 2 or 1 team in the nation in less than one week’s time. Thanks, Dan!

This year’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament features No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 14 Indiana, and No. 24 Arizona, as well as Louisville, Oklahoma, Providence, Davidson, and West Virginia. The Zags will face the Mountaineers of West Virginia on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, following the Louisville-Indiana matchup. All games are set to be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 (fingers crossed!)

The Zags are off to a scorching 5-0 start, thanks to the wizardry of Ryan Nembhard and a cavernously deep and high scoring bench. The Mountaineers, currently 3-1 with solid wins over Iona and UMass, will face their first true test of grit and poise against a Gonzaga team whose offensive efficiency metrics can only be described as “devastating” and whose defensive efficiency metrics can best be described as “almost pretty good” or “definitely getting there.”

The Mountaineers

“Press Virginia” is no more. After the dismissal of longtime head coach Bob “Huggy Bear” Huggins (for more on that saga, click here), the Mountaineers are in full rebuild mode. With Darian DeVries at the helm after 6 very successful years at Drake, West Virginia has overhauled last season’s roster entirely. The Mountaineers are looking to put the pieces together and nab a signature early-season win over the Bulldogs. It’s a longshot—but not impossible.

To say the Mountaineers are a “veteran squad” would be an understatement. They’re anchored by five fifth-year seniors and three seniors. Of the 16 players on West Virginia’s roster, 14 are new to the program. Not many coaches in college basketball could take on a challenge like this and miraculously turn things around by season’s end, but DeVries is, unfortunately for Gonzaga fans, one of those very few capable coaches.

West Virginia plays a high-tempo, transition-oriented game and looks to lock down defensively in the half-court. On the court, they are led by Oklahoma State transfer guard Javon Small, who’s averaging 15.5 points and 4 assists per game so far this season. Small is shooting 43.5% from beyond the arc, and when he can’t get a clean look from the perimeter, he isn’t afraid to attack off the dribble. He has excellent body control in the paint and finds ways to score one-on-one even when it seems impossible. He’ll likely be the primary defensive responsibility for Ryan Nembhard and Khalif Battle, both of whom will need to stay disciplined and avoid unnecessary fouls on the perimeter.

Assisting Small is Drake transfer Tucker DeVries (also head coach Darian DeVries’s son), who’s averaging 13.5 points per game and shooting 41% from three. DeVries is a volume shooter and, at 6’7”, could present a defensive mismatch for the Bulldogs—a team whose perimeter defense has been occasionally brilliant, but also occasionally frustratingly disjointed. This game presents a prime opportunity for Michael Ajayi to bounce back and show fans exactly what he’s capable of defensively. If Ajayi can use his length and athleticism to neutralize DeVries and secure rebounds at his usual rate, the Zags should cruise to an easy win.

In the frontcourt, West Virginia relies on Illinois transfer Amani Hansberry for its rebounding (7.5 ppg), but they also rotate in Fresno State transfer Eduardo Andre in the low post. Hansberry is an exceptional rebounder but has also had a couple games with minimal offensive contributions. At 6’11”, Andre provides much-needed rim protection, but his inconsistent offensive production could hurt the Mountaineers, especially against Gonzaga’s formidable one-two punch of brutality and finesse offered by Graham Ike and Braden Huff.

If West Virginia wants to pull off the upset, they’ll first and foremost need to contain Ryan Nembhard. Javon Small is an excellent one-on-one defender who could cause Nembhard trouble on the perimeter, but Ryan has also developed a knack for drawing fouls on opposing guards and getting points up from the free throw line. Small will need to figure out how to slow Nembhard down without putting him on the charity stripe or it’ll be a long day at the office for the Mountaineers.

WVU will also need to be adaptable in whatever game plan they bring to the Bahamas. Mark Few is an absolute genius when it comes to making halftime adjustments, and teams can almost always count on the fact that whatever was working for them in the first half will no longer work much at all in the second. You can’t just beat the Bulldogs doing one thing well, and the Mountaineers will have to show some poise in adjusting to Gonzaga’s adjustments.

Keys to the Game:

1. Get Graham Going Early

Graham Ike has yet to play a full 40 minutes of exceptional basketball this season. A low-post matchup against the foul prone Amani Hansberry presents a chance for the Bulldogs to go to Ike early and often, allowing him to find his rhythm and showcase his versatility in the paint. He’s managed to lead all scorers in the previous 2 games and has done a vast majority of his scoring in the 2nd half. If Ike can start getting buckets early we may finally see exactly why he’s been touted as one of the best bigs in college basketball.

2. Get Battle Comfortable

Gonzaga is at its best when its backcourt is working as a single unit. Nembhard and Hickman have already had a year to develop their chemistry, but Battle has seemed uncertain in the last couple games as to where he fits in; an understandable quandary for an extremely gifted high-scoring combo guard adjusting to a new role on the wing. Battle needs to find his outside shot in rhythm and be a bit more patient when attacking off the dribble. If the shot isn’t there, just give it up—after all, he has the best point guard in college basketball to dish it back to.

3. Use the 4, Mark

Both Ben Gregg and Michael Ajayi have yet to fully break out offensively despite their hustle and ability to control the glass. With such a stacked backcourt, it’s understandable that Gregg and Ajayi may hesitate to assert themselves on that side of the ball. But if West Virginia manages to bottle up Gonzaga’s backcourt or if Huff and Ike once again find themselves in foul trouble, it’s up to the power forwards to step up and dominate. Both Gregg and Ajayi are capable scorers on the perimeter and can body up defenders inside. It’s time for one or both to have the breakout offensive performance fans have been waiting for.

This game promises to be an exciting, fast-paced showdown, offering several Gonzaga players the chance to get back on track and settle more comfortably into their roles. They’ll need to do exactly that and quickly as they face an increasingly tough road toward a tournament championship, with more challenging games ahead before they finally return home to Spokane—often, and with no irony, referred to as the ‘Bahamas of Eastern Washington.

In closing, this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that I get to root for a head coach who is not seemingly hellbent on making himself the least likable figure in college sports, and, above all, for the opportunity to contribute, in whatever small way I can, to the greatest fan community in college basketball. Go Zags!