Gonzaga shoots lights out in dominant win over North Florida on Sunday

Graham Ike sat out Sunday as Gonzaga coasted to a 51 point win over North Florida

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Mark Few picked up career win number 750 on Sunday night when the Gonzaga Bulldogs coasted to a 109-58 victory over the North Florida Ospreys.

The win pushed the Zags to 9-1 overall, with five days off before taking on Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins on Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in the Battle in Seattle.

Gonzaga was without star big man Graham Ike on Sunday, who was rested due to lingering ankle soreness from the Players Era Festival. The Zags wisely opted to sit the 6'9 big man to keep him as fresh as possible for UCLA, and that opened up a spot for Jalen Warley to enter the starting lineup.

It was Warley's first start of the season - which means all nine of GU's consistent rotation players have started at least once through the first ten games of the year, highlighting this team's incredible depth and versatility.

Without Ike, it was Braden Huff who stepped into the team's primary offensive role against the Ospreys, and unsurprisingly, he dominated - finishing with 24 points on 12-17 shooting, along with seven rebounds and one block.

Still, it was a balanced team effort on Sunday, with Gonzaga excelling around the rim and on the perimeter, while their hounding defensive pressure led to multiple steals and easy points in transition.

Below is a look at three key takeaways for Gonzaga after their dominant win over North Florida on Sunday:

1. Three point shot is back!

Inconsistent has been the best way to describe Gonzaga's outside shooting this season. The Zags came into this game sitting at 33.8% from three on the year. However, after a prolific 9-18 performance against Kentucky on Friday, the Zags shot a slightly better 10-18 on Sunday - finally putting together back-to-back strong shooting performances.

Mario Saint-Supery shot a perfect 4-4, while Steele Venters went 4-6 and Adam Miller went 1-2.

While North Florida came into this game ranked as one of the worst defensive teams in the country, it was still promising to see the Zags string together another great shooting game - especially with a big time matchup looming against UCLA on Saturday.

2. Elite point guard play

The two-headed point guard monster of Mario Saint-Supery and Braeden Smith has been a nightmare for opponents all season long, and Sunday night was no different.

Saint-Supery finished his night with 13 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals while shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field, all coming from beyond the arc. He was his usual flashy self, pulling up from three in transition and making one handed bounce passes with added flair, while wreaking havoc on North Florida's guards on the other end of the floor.

Meanwhile Smith continued to provide a steady presence off the bench, pushing the tempo as often as possible but being patient with the ball in his hands - always looking to deliver perfect passes to his teammates. That included a beautiful transition pass to Braden Huff for a dunk, and a play where he paused, read the defense, and ultimately took the ball to the hoop himself. He finished the night with two points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Gonzaga has always relied on elite point guard play under coach Few, but it's not often he has two excellent floor generals splitting minutes like he has this year with Saint-Supery and Smith.

3. Outrageous depth

Mark Few starting nine different players through the first ten games of the season is uncommon, to say the least, and highlights just how ridiculously deep this Gonzaga team truly is.

Ten players played in the first half on Sunday night against North Florida, with Warley starting in place of Ike alongside Huff, Venters, Innocenti, and Saint-Supery. But the Zags went with hockey-line substitutions throughout this game, subbing 3-4 guys at a time to keep everyone fresh - a savvy decision with the team coming off a long road trip and a hard-fought win over Kentucky just 48 hours before tipping off against the Ospreys.

All ten of those players got into the scoring column for Gonzaga on Sunday night, and perhaps most crucially, no one played more than 26 minutes.

This team's depth will be incredibly valuable not only in conference play but heading into March and the NCAA Tournament. It allows the Zags to keep guys fresh for quick turnarounds, but also makes it harder for opposing teams to game plan against them particularly in short notice situations.

Gonzaga will spend the rest of the week preparing for a matchup with UCLA on Saturday, with tip-off slated for 8:30 PM PT on ESPN.