Gonzaga cruises by Portland behind big night from Ben Gregg: 3 takeaways

Bulldogs senior forward tied his career-high with 24 points in a big win over the Pilots

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) scores a basket during the second half against the Portland Pilots at Chiles Center / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team got back on track Saturday with a wire-to-wire victory over the Portland Pilots at the Chiles Center in Portland, Oregon. 

The Bulldogs (15-6, 6-2 WCC) snapped a rare two-game losing skid in West Coast Conference play as they dominated the Pilots (7-15, 2-7 WCC) on both ends of the floor to come away with a 105-62 victory.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

HOMETOWN COOKIN’ FOR BEN GREGG

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Ben Gregg (33) dribbles the ball during the second half against Portland Pilots forward Austin Rapp (22) and guard Max Mackinnon (3). / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

As his teammates know very well by now, Ben Gregg’s first career points came at the Chiles Center during his freshman season on Jan. 9, 2021. That feels like eons ago now considering how far the 6-foot-10 senior has come since then.

Consider Saturday a full-circle moment for Gregg, who tied his career-high with 24 points without missing a single shot from the field. Gregg picked his spots wisely, from timely backdoor cuts along the baseline to repositioning himself along the 3-point arc for his teammates to find after driving into the line to draw attention. 

Gregg, who grew up about 16 miles outside of downtown Portland in Clackamas, Oregon, went 10-of-10 from the field in his return to the Rose City. He knocked down four 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Going back to his last game — a 5-for-5 showing from the field against Santa Clara — Gregg has made his last 15 attempts from the field. 

In WCC play, Gregg is second on the team in scoring (13.6 points per game) while leading the way in field goal percentage (44-of-64, 68.8%) and 3-point field goal percentage (10-of-18, 55.6%). Conversely, he was just 6-of-31 (19.4%) from long distance in nonconference play. 

It’s no secret Gregg played a vital role in Gonzaga’s late-season turnaround this time a year ago. It appears he’s set to continue that trend as the Bulldogs look to make up ground following back-to-back losses last week to Oregon State and Santa Clara.

SHARING THE WEALTH

Gonzaga men's basketball team. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Understandably, Gonzaga’s coaching staff decided to make some tweaks to the rotation heading into Saturday’s matchup. Emmanuel Innocenti and Braden Huff made their first starts in a Bulldogs uniform, joining Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Gregg for the opening tip while Graham Ike, Michael Ajayi and Khalif Battle headlined a strong bench unit.

Mark Few and company continued to tinker with lineup combinations all throughout the first half, though it really didn’t matter where the pieces were placed — based on Gonzaga’s assist total, they seemed to fit together one way or another.

With Ryan Nembhard at the helm of the offense, the Zags shared the ball without much resistance from the Pilots. The senior guard had 13 of Gonzaga’s 31 assists, which was just one shy of tying the program record that was set against Loyola Marymount in 1980.

Saturday was the Bulldogs’ 12th game with 20 or more assists this season. According to KenPom.com, Gonzaga is No. 17 in the country in assist rate. Much of that has to do with Nembhard of course, the nation’s leader in assists with 207 through 21 games (9.6 per game).

ONTO OREGON STATE

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few watches the game as his son guard Joe Few (15) waits to enter the game during the second half against the Portland Pilots. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Zags have an opportunity to build some momentum on Tuesday when they square off against the Beavers for a second time this season at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Oregon State won two of its next three games after taking down Gonzaga in overtime on Jan. 16, including an 83-69 win over Santa Clara at home on Saturday. Michael Rataj scored a season-high 30 points and went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line to guide the Beavers to their second quadrant 2 win of the season. Rataj had 29 points in the win over the Zags.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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