Gonzaga's dynamic frontcourt duo key matchup against injury-riddled Kentucky

The No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats will face off Friday in Nashville in a highly anticipated non-conference battle. Both teams are coming off losses and are looking to prove to themselves - and the rest of the college basketball world - they remain true contenders as the conference portion of the season draws near.

For Gonzaga, this is one of the last Quad 1 opportunities currently on the team's schedule, making it a must-win game to wipe away the stink of last week's 40 point loss to Michigan - and to secure a perfect 3-0 record against the SEC on the year.

Meanwhile Kentucky is just 5-3 on the year with their best win coming against Valparaiso, who is currently No. 193 at KenPom. The Wildcats will also be without a pair of frontcourt players on Friday in Jayden Quaintance and Mo Dioubate.

Quaintance has yet to debut this season after having offseason knee surgery following his freshman year at Arizona State. The 6'9 transfer is an elite rim protector and low post scorer, and a monumental absence against Gonzaga's bigs.

So too is Dioubate, who is averaging 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting an incredible 84.6% on two pointers through five games. The 6'7 forward got injured late in the game against Michigan State with what is now being described as a high-ankle sprain, and he will be out for this game and potentially the rest of the non-conference slate.

Those two absences give Gonzaga a huge advantage up front, and coach Mark Pope spoke about the Zags dynamic frontcourt duo of Graham Ike and Braden Huff prior to the game.

"They got veteran, veteran bigs that they can beat you on the short roll," Pope said. "I mean [Braden] Huff shoots 15-foot quicks off the short roll. Like, it's impossible to guard, like it's really, really incredible. And [Graham] Ike is just, I mean, he just, is just a load."

Pope is quite familiar with Gonzaga's playstyle, with a 2-10 record against the Zags all-time dating back to his time as the head man at BYU. He is coming off an incredible 18-point comeback last year in the Battle in Seattle, one of his first signature wins while at Kentucky, and acknowledged coach Few as someone he has been influenced by in his career.

"I know Coach (Mark Few) well, you know, I've been battling him for, it seems like 100 years," Pope said with a chuckle. "If he's not the best in the business, he's one of them. And they play incredibly fast, dominate on the glass. They'll kill you with paint points, just crush you in every different way."

Gonzaga is up 2-1 in this six-year series, which was agreed to between coach Few and then-Kentucky coach John Calipari prior to the 2022-23 season. The Zags won the first two battles - at the Spokane Arena and on Kentucky's home floor at Rupp Arena - before the 'Cats stole the game in Seattle last year.

The Zags would love nothing more than to move to 3-1 in the series, 3-0 against the SEC this season, and 2-1 in Quad 1 games with quality non-con matchups still to come this year against UCLA in Seattle and Oregon in Portland.

The game tips off Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM PT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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