Braden Huff leads Gonzaga to 42-point road victory over San Diego

Huff scored a career-high 26 points as the Bulldogs routed the Toreros 105-63

Saturday night's West Coast Conference tilt inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion was never in doubt, as the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs downed the San Diego Toreros, 105-63, to close a three-game California road trip.

After a blistering second-half performance in its win over Pepperdine on Thursday, Gonzaga (13-5, 4-1 WCC) kept its hot hand on the trip south to San Diego. The Zags built a 54-27 lead at halftime after going 21-of-33 (63.4%) from the field with Braden Huff at the helm of the offense. The redshirt freshman had 18 first-half points en route to a career-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field.

The Toreros (10-10, 0-5 WCC) couldn't get into much of a flow offensively with their leading scorer Deuce Turner playing limited minutes. The 6-foot-2 guard came off the bench after missing the previous game with an injury, finishing with five points on 1-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes. Wayne McKinney III, who missed the season's first matchup against Gonzaga, led the way with 17 points.

It was Gonzaga's 18th consecutive victory over San Diego.

The Bulldogs return home Jan. 25 to host San Francisco (15-5, 4-1 WCC) while the Toreros go to Portland (7-12, 1-3 WCC) on Tuesday.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game.

GONZAGA'S TALL BALL LINEUP IS HERE TO STAY

Mark Few's reconfiguration of the starting lineup with Ben Gregg in the frontcourt paid dividends over the last 48 hours on the road. The junior showed off all his tricks Saturday with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. He's shown quite the chemistry with the other starters in just his second (and likely not his last) career start, not to mention the matchup problems he presents to opponents with his ability to stretch the floor offensively.

As a playmaker, too, Gregg has diversified the Bulldogs' offense with more high-low entry passes to Huff and Graham Ike. Gregg, standing at 6-foot-11, uses his size to land lob passes down into the post from the top of the arc, which limits the defense's ability to front while having backside help. Opponents like Santa Clara for instance had been able to limit Ike's effectiveness with double-teams from the weakside, but without another defender in the paint, he and Huff can get feeds from Gregg and go up to the basket quickly with less resistance.

Gonzaga has thrived off the high-low game in the past when it's had a deep rotation of frontcourt players. The same sentiment applies when Anton Watson (6-foot-8), Ike (6-foot-9) and Gregg are all on the floor together in the starting lineup, with Huff rotating in at various points.

As for Dusty Stromer, Few said the move to take him out of the starting lineup was due to the freshman putting too much on his shoulders. To be fair to Stromer, being thrust into the starting lineup after Steele Venters' injury to start the season was probably a bigger responsibility than he expected from day one, even as a highly-touted high school recruit. Stromer experienced his share of growing pains like most first-year players do, which were likely heightened with his role as a starter.

But without that burden, his shot appeared more free and relaxed against the Toreros. Stromer knocked down three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds in a team-high 32 minutes. He also had zero turnovers as he let the game come to him while remaining confident in his shot.

Time will tell if the Bulldogs have correctly put all their puzzle pieces together. Pepperdine and San Diego don't quite meet WCC standards, but next Thursday's pivotal matchup against San Francisco will tell a lot about how effective the tall-ball lineup can be in league play.

RYAN NEMBHARD STIRS THE DRINK

For all that's been said about his 3-point shooting, Ryan Nembhard is probably not credited enough for his ability to make his teammates better through his exceptional combination of playmaking, speed and court vision. All three were on display over the course of the three-game road stint, capped off by a 12-point, 12-assist double-double that also featured zero turnovers.

Nembhard balanced an assertive, fast-paced style of play with a methodical approach when it came to finding the open man either in transition for a 3-pointer or on the baseline to a cutting big man. He was in complete control of the offense as he diced up the Toreros' defense with pinpoint passes that only a few players in the country can say they would pull off. His selflessness was contagious, too, resulting in 28 assists on 39 made field goals for the Bulldogs.

Saturday capped quite a stretch for Nembhard that saw him dish out 25 assists without committing a turnover in 106 minutes combined against Santa Clara, Pepperdine and San Diego. Per KenPom, he's posted the two best offensive ratings of his career in his last two games — 198 at Pepperdine followed by 176 on Saturday. If he can continue to be a consistent threat from deep — Nembhard is 8-for-16 on 3-point attempts in WCC play — then he and Gonzaga's offense will take another step in the right direction. 

CLOSING OUT THE ROAD TRIP STRONG

Based on the last three halves of basketball, the Bulldogs have come a long way since their first true road game at Washington earlier this season. The miscues in the loss at Santa Clara exposed a team that hadn't quite come together for a full 40 minutes. Sure the venues at Pepperdine and San Diego aren't hostile compared to most, but in a season of college basketball where winning on the road hasn't proven to be easy, any win away from home shouldn't be taken for granted. 

That's especially true for the Bulldogs in WCC play. Every team in the league is waiting for their chance to give Gonzaga everything it can handle in hopes of dethroning the king. The Santa Clara loss showed the Bulldogs a flat start on the road is difficult to overcome amid a ruckus crowd, making the margin for error that much smaller.

Gonzaga's only chance of building an at-large NCAA Tournament resume is by winning away from the McCarthey Athletic Center. Three of the projected four Quad 1 games left on the schedule are on the road — at Kentucky (Feb. 10), San Francisco (Feb. 29) and Saint Mary's (March 2). Outside of the home games against the Gales (Feb. 3) and Dons next week, the rest of the WCC games in Spokane will go toward Quads 3 and 4. 

The Bulldogs can't afford to slip up much the rest of the way according to the latest ESPN Bracketology, which has them on the outside of the 68-team field and on the bubble to make the program's 25th-straight NCAA Tournament. They'll have the momentum from the last two days on their side heading into a big matchup next Thursday, and with a win over San Francisco, Gonzaga can greatly improve its postseason stock.

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