Gonzaga prepares for McNeese State in 1st round of 2024 NCAA Tournament: 'They're probably gonna get up into us'
SPOKANE - Barely 30 minutes after CBS Sports' Selection Sunday show had concluded, Graham Ike was already locked in on who he'll see Thursday when the Gonzaga Bulldogs face the McNeese State Cowboys in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Shortly after it was announced Gonzaga was on the 5-seed line, its leading scorer was already focused on McNeese's stat sheet — in particular its close games, field goal percentage (which is No. 1 in the Southland Conference), and the team's leading scorer, fifth-year senior Shahada Wells. It was quite the scouting report provided by Gonzaga's sports information director, and an even more in-depth look is sure to come from the coaching staff.
"You gotta stay on your toes," Ike said. "Everything is right in front of us and, you know, we just got to be ready for the next moment. Our staff is doing a great job of preparing us for that and I know the guys are definitely prepared for that."
The Zags (25-7, 14-2 WCC) will spend as much time as they can prepare for one of the winningest teams in college basketball this season. The Cowboys (30-3, 17-1 Southland), riding an 11-game winning streak as the Southland champions, set a program record for total wins and had the most conference victories since the 2001-02 season when they were a 14-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Only three other programs have eclipsed the 30-win mark this season — UConn, Houston and James Madison.
Will Wade's first season in Lake Charles, Louisiana has been quite the ride. He took over the program in the offseason after being fired from LSU amidst an NCAA investigation. Wade used the transfer portal to transform a team that went 11-23 last season - six of their top seven scorers are newcomers.
Wells, who played for TCU last season, averaged 17.8 points and 4.8 assists this season to win the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards. The lone impactful holdover from last season, 6-foot-6 junior Christian Shumate, was named to the conference's first-team and all-defensive team after averaging 11.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 33 starts.
The new acquisitions came together to lead the Cowboys to the top of the league standings as the No. 1 scoring offense and scoring defense. They also boasted the Southland's top field goal percentage as a team (49.3%, 10th-best in NCAA Division-I) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.8%).
McNeese State has made its mark on the defensive end as well. It turned its opponents over on 23.1% of its possessions, the sixth-best in the country, and had the best turnover margin in the Southland Conference by far at 6.7 — the next highest was 2.81.
Of course, Ike being the studious player that he is was well aware of the Cowboys' pressuring defense.
"[Assistant coach Brian Michaelson] told us before we got in here that [the Cowboys] like to force turnovers defensively," Ike said. "They're probably gonna get up into us so we just gotta handle that pressure well."
For the Zags, the message from Mark Few remains the same as it has all season long.
"I've told them this numerous times this year, everything's still in front of you," Few said. "Everything that we're all about and all we really, really want and care about is still in front of us. And the reason it's still in front of us is because you guys did what I just described, you got it done."
