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What Mark Few said after Gonzaga's win over Oklahoma

Gonzaga is 2-0 on the year after beating Oklahoma at the Spokane Arena
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few.
Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Erik Smith

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Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs bullied their way to an 83-68 win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, moving to 2-0 on the year.

Gonzaga took care of business by dominating down low, boasting a staggering 58-20 advantage on points in the paint, while also forcing Oklahoma into 16 turnovers and a brutal 39.7% shooting performance from the field.

The Zags withstood a rough shooting night from both Graham Ike (9-17) and Braden Huff (6-17) by grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, including five from backup Jalen Warley and four from Tyon Grant-Foster.

Speaking of Grant-Foster, the 6'7 wing came off the bench for Gonzaga on Saturday but still finished second on the team with 14 points, adding on seven rebounds and countless highlight reel plays: an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Mario Saint-Supery, a big time block at the rim, and multiple other tough finishes in a performance that has all of Zag nation thankful he got his eligibility reinstated a few weeks ago.

Coach Few talked about Gonzaga's dominance on the glass, the performance of Grant-Foster and Warley, and the team's ball security after the game:

On Gonzaga's dominant rebounding performance

"It was big. It was something we spent a lot of time on coming into the game. I thought they did a great job on the offensive glass. Ty (Grant-Foster) did a great job. Jalen (Warley) did a great job. We were able to get some extra possessions and make some plays."

On Gonzaga's wings playing well

"One of the beauties of this team is we'll have different guys stepping up every night. Night in and night out you'll have to deal with our bigs. It starts with them at the top of the scouting report, but we're certainly not one dimensional."

On Gonzaga's lack of turnovers

"It's something we take a lot of pride in. Obviously we've had some teams that can really take care of the ball and hopefully this is going to be one of them. We're still trying to dial this guy here (Mario Saint-Supery) but it's a fine line. You want these guys in attack mode and thinking about making plays in a high-level, high possession game like this. So I was proud of them, I mean seven turnovers in a high-possession game like that is excellent."

On Gonzaga effectively utilizing back cuts

"I mean, the offense kind of takes what the defense gives them right? And they were out pressuring, they were out in the lanes and so our guys instinctively knew they need to make a cut there. And Tyon is beginning to understand if you make a cut there on the baseline these guards are going to find him or even the bigs will find him and he's a weapon down there."

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Andy Patton
ANDY PATTON

Andy Patton is a diehard Gonzaga fan and alumnus who has covered the Bulldogs extensively since 2021. He hosts the Locked On Zags podcast and co-hosts the Locked On College Basketball podcast, bringing years of experience covering Gonzaga, the West Coast and college basketball nationally. Andy also covers the Arizona Wildcats for Arizona Wildcats On SI, where his longtime familiarity with former Gonzaga assistant and current Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd provides a natural connection between two of college basketball’s premier programs. Andy has worked in sports media since 2017, with experience covering nearly every major sport. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for USA TODAY from 2017–21, where he also spent time covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and previously served as lead writer for College Sports Wire. He has also covered the NBA, NHL and MLB for various TEGNA outlets, including KREM in Spokane, 12News in Phoenix and KING 5 in Seattle. A 2013 Gonzaga graduate, Andy now lives in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, daughter and dog.

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