Relentless defense leads Gonzaga to dominant win over Washington State

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs took out at least a full week's worth of frustration on Washington State Tuesday night, dominating all night long in a commanding 83-53 victory to move to 24-2 on the year.

The win ties Gonzaga with Santa Clara atop the WCC standings ahead of their matchup this Saturday at the Leavey Center.

Gonzaga got off to a strong start thanks to Graham Ike and Adam Miller, who scored eight of the team's first 12 points. Coach Few left the starters on the floor for a full eight minute stretch - rather than his typical subs after five minutes - and they rewarded him with a 21-13 advantage at the under-12 media timeout.

However, a 5-man hockey substitution brought Ismaila Diagne, Tyon Grant-Foster, Davis Fogle, Steele Venters, and Mario Saint-Supery onto the floor - and Gonzaga put things into overdrive from there.

In the blink of an eye the Zags went on a massive 27-8 run, closing out the half with a 48-21 lead. It was the best half of basketball Gonzaga has played since Braden Huff went down with a knee injury nearly four weeks ago - and the fun didn't stop there.

WSU closed the gap early in the second half with a 12-6 start, but a dominant 15-0 run - spearheaded by freshman Davis Fogle - gave Gonzaga a 34 point lead with just under 10 minutes to go, and the Zags cruised after that to pick up win No. 24 on the season.

There was a lot to like from Gonzaga in this game, including strong performances off the bench, excellent shooting from the free throw line, and of course continued dominance from the big man Graham Ike.

Below are three takeaways from Gonzaga's dominant win on Tuesday night in Spokane:

1. Gonzaga's defensive was relentless

Gonzaga has had plenty of great defensive performances this season, but it's hard to top what they did to Washington State on Tuesday night.

The Cougars scored a season-low 53 points on 18-46 (39%) shooting, but it wasn't just the shots they took that were the issue - it was the shots they couldn't even get up.

Gonzaga had 13 steals on the night, which contributed to a ridiculous 21 turnovers by Washington State. The Zags also did an elite job of taking advantage in transition, scoring 19 fastbreak points with a truly ridiculous 31-8 advantage in points off turnovers on the night.

The Zags have been an elite defensive team all year long - even when the offense was sputtering - but what they did on Tuesday is hard to top, and gives them major momentum heading into Saturday's first place showdown with Santa Clara.

2. Graham Ike is a Wooden Award finalist for a reason

The Zags have now played eight games without Braden Huff this season. Three of those games Gonzaga had to get by without Ike as well, but thankfully the big man is back - and better than ever.

Ike continues to prove he is among the best players in all of college basketball, dominating from the opening tip on Tuesday night and ultimately finishing with 20 points on 8-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds and three assists.

Ike did it every which way, scoring right at the rim over double and triple teams, stepping out and hitting midrange jumpers, and facilitating the offense by passing out of the double team to open teammates.

More crucially, he only had to play 23 minutes thanks to the blowout victory - giving him some much needed rest before the Santa Clara matchup.

Over this five game stretch Ike has averaged a whopping 26.4 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting an otherworldly 65.4% from the field in 34 minutes per game. The 6'9 big man was recently named a top 20 finalist for the John R. Wooden Player of the Year Award, and he looked every bit the part at The Kennel on Tuesday.

3. Davis Fogle's time is now

The story on Davis Fogle for the first half of the season was his dominance as a scorer in the second half of blowout games - an incredibly fun thing to watch, even though he wasn't a part of the team's regular everyday rotation.

That changed with Huff's injury, and Fogle began showcasing improved ability to play within Gonzaga's offense, and his length and activity on defense starting resulting in more plays on that end of the floor as well.

The culmination of all that work was what we saw from the freshman in a jaw dropping performance on Tuesday. The 6'7 wing dropped 17 points on 8-11 shooting off the bench, along with three blocks, three steals, and two rebounds.

Fogle is no longer a project worth getting excited about for next year - he's a rotation stalwart who is among the most dynamic pure scorers Gonzaga has ever had at this age, and hte future is looking brighter by the day.

Gonzaga will face Santa Clara on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Leavey Center, with tip slated for 7:30 PM PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.