Gonzaga Bulldogs look ahead to Maui Invitational after dismantling Eastern Oregon

Bulldogs crushed the Mountaineers in lone tune-up game before heading to Hawaii

While the premier multiple-team event of the college basketball season awaits the No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs in Honolulu, Hawaii, they had one final piece of business to take care of in Spokane on Tuesday night.

Any kinks the Zags (2-0) needed to work out ahead of the Maui Invitational came in a 123-57 route of NAIA foe Eastern Oregon. With the result never in doubt, Mark Few got his best chance to see his entire roster compete against another opponent to gauge how he and the coaching staff will manage the rotation in the wake of Steele Venters' injury. Few admitted the staff was still in scramble mode heading into the home opener last week, and whether that's changed after Tuesday's win remains to be seen.

• PHOTO GALLERY | WATSON HAS HUGE DUNK

Stamina will be pivotal in determining minutes for a three-day tournament against some of top talent in the country. Arguably the biggest positive in the win over Eastern Oregon is no one came away with any nicks or bruises, because Few will need all he can get against No. 2 Purdue next week. 

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

ZAGS GOT DUDES IN THE FRONTCOURT

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

After combining for 45 points against the Mountaineers, Graham Ike and Anton Watson looked at each other as if they didn't expect anything less than the abundance of easy looks around the rim against the smaller Mountaineers team.

Both were superbly efficient in leading Gonzaga's offensive attack from down low. Ike finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Watson collected a cool 20 points and six rebounds, as the two bigs combined to shoot 20-of-24 from the field against the under-sized Mountaineers. While they controlled the paint, Braden Huff and Ben Gregg threw curveballs off the bench as versatile stretch-forwards who could also battle in the paint.

Huff continued his hot start to the season with 23 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the field in 14 minutes of action. The 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman hunted his shot from all over the floor, including 3-pointers in transition to patient post-ups in the half-court set. He even did his best Drew Timme impression as he grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled all the way down to the painted area and finessed his way into a jump hook at the rim.

Huff and Gregg have been major sparks off the bench through the first two games of the season, and they'll likely be called upon to do more of the same at the Maui Invitational. They won't have the benefit of getting easy looks over smaller competition, either, which makes their versatility on offense that much more valuable.

Gonzaga has had deep frontcourts in the past, and at this rate, the 2023-24 group will join the list of memorable big men corps in program history. Through two games, the Bulldogs have a +47 rebound margin and have outscored its opponents in the paint by a combined 90 points.

WHO ELSE STEPS UP IN HAWAII?

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Aside from the frontcourt, depth along the perimeter and the backcourt were the biggest question marks heading into the season. Dusty Stromer was inserted into the starting lineup, while Croatian guard Luka Krajnovic and Korean forward Jun Seok Yeo made strides in their transition to the NCAA style of basketball. The lack of proven guard play put a lot of weight on the shoulders of Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman in the season opener, but that isn't sustainable when it's time to play three games in as many days in Hawaii.

"[Yeo] is a work in progress. Luka is a work in progress, but I mean, they need minutes like that to be able to just play through some things and figure it out," Few said. 

Both had their ups and downs Tuesday night, with more positive plays in the second half when both played under the comfort of a big lead. Krajnovic, tasked with setting up the offense with the second unit, finished with seven points, four rebounds and a pair of assists in 20 minutes of action. He also committed four turnovers, a sign he's still maturing as a 19-year-old trying to overcome language barriers while learning a completely different style of basketball.

A similar sentiment goes for Yeo, who had nine points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. He appeared much more aggressive offensively in the second half, highlighted by a two-hand dunk after a couple of pump-fakes and a hard drive to the rim. He'll be called upon to play some minutes in Hawaii, especially with the short turnaround between games.

LOOKING AHEAD TO PURDUE

Gonzaga drew No. 2 Purdue in the first round of the Maui Invitational, which means a date with last season's Wooden Award recipient, 7-foot-3 big man Zach Edey.

"It's gonna be tough and he's he's a different kind of player," Watson said. "Something that you don't see too often in college basketball. But yeah, he's probably gonna sit close to the rim. And yeah, we're probably gonna have to come with some some type of strategy to get them away from the hoop."

Watson saw Edey tear apart the Zags in Portland last season to the tune of 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the field to lead the Boilermakers to an 18-point victory. Matt Painter brought back his entire starting five from that game in addition to freshman Myles Colvin (8.3 ppg) and transfer Lance Jones (9.7 ppg). Few noted the Boilermakers could be deeper and more athletic than last season, but it all starts with Edey.

"They've got an entity like Edey, it's just so different than what you face," Few said. "It's a huge, huge challenge."

Thinking broadly, conditioning will play a big role over the course of the three-day tournament. Few took advantage of the opportunity to keep everyone's legs relatively fresh with a 12-man rotation that didn't see anyone play more than 22 minutes against the Mountaineers. The extra week off should help fight fatigue in the humid environment as well.

"We've really got to do a great job taking care of our bodies, getting a lot of fluids, electrolytes so we're not cramping up," Few said. "And that process has got to start early. So yeah, I mean, it's a stress on the trainer, everybody. But it's good."