Graham Ike dominates as Gonzaga obliterates Kentucky in impressive bounce-back win

Mark Few secured career win number 750 on Friday night in Nashville, and it was one of the most dominant of his illustrious career with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Gonzaga bulldozed Kentucky right from the opening tip, jumping out to a 19-2 lead before coasting to a 94-59 victory to move to 8-1 on the year.

Kentucky (5-4) had its hands full with Gonzaga's elite frontcourt duo of Graham Ike and Braden Huff, with Ike putting the team on his back in arguably his best game in a Zags uniform. The 6'9 big man, who was coming off a one-point game against Michigan, dropped 28 points on 11-18 shooting on Friday, while snagging 10 rebounds and dishing out three assists.

Ike was the star, but Braden Huff was incredible as well, finishing with 20 points on 9-11 shooting along with three assists and a pair of rebounds.

Gonzaga is now up 3-1 in this six-game series, with next year's matchup set to take place at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Below are three key takeaways from Gonzaga's dominant win over Kentucky in Nashville:

1. Gonzaga dominated in the paint

Kentucky was always going to have an uphill battle slowing down Ike and Huff on Friday, without their preseason projected starting frontcourt of Jayden Quaintance (knee) and Mo Dioubate (ankle). However, it ended up as an even more dominant performance than anyone could have expected.

The Zags finished Friday's game shooting 27-45 (60%) on two pointers, ultimately outscoring the 'Cats in the paint by a ridiculous 46-18 margin. Graham Ike had his best game of the year, finishing with a season-high 28 points, including 17 in the first half. Braden Huff was excellent as well, scoring 20 points on elite 9-11 efficiency.

Meanwhile, the 'Cats struggled to get anything going around the rim, finishing the night just 9-26 on two-point attempts. They often settled for ill-advised three pointers and didn't fare any better from out there, shooting 7-34 from the perimeter.

Gonzaga has dominated down low against every opponent they have played this season, other than Michigan, and that will be this team's calling card all year long.

2. Disciplined defense

Most of the attention in this game was on Kentucky's anemic offense, and while they certainly looked lost most of the time, it was in large part due to Gonzaga's hounding defensive pressure.

The Zags ultimately held Kentucky to a disastrous 27% from the field and just 21% from three. Gonzaga was active in the passing lanes, constantly knocking the ball loose and winning what felt like every single 50-50 ball with relentless hustle and drive.

Gonzaga racked up five steals and forced 11 turnovers from the 'Cats, re-establishing themselves as one of the toughest teams in the country on both sides of the ball.

3. Elite ball security

Kentucky's half-court offense was nearly non-existent on Friday, but they do thrives when getting out in transition. Fortunately, Gonzaga did an excellent job of taking care of the basketball, giving the 'Cats very few opportunities to run on live-ball turnovers.

The Zags finished with nine turnovers on the night, while Kentucky only managed six steals, a few coming in the final minutes while GU's reserves were on the floor. Both Mario Saint-Supery and Braeden Smith played extremely well all game long and managed to take great care of the ball while dealing with Kentucky's jumbo guard trio of Otega Oweh, Denzel Aberdeen, and Collin Chandler.

Gonzaga doesn't have much time to celebrate, as they host the Ospreys of North Florida on Sunday in Spokane, with tip slated for 6:00 PM PT.

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