San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GONZAGA IS NO PUSHOVER
Gonzaga went into its game against Texas Tech expecting to be pushed, poked and prodded. The Red Raiders may have a new coach, but they still have one of college basketball’s most aggressive defenses.
Gonzaga 69, Texas Tech 55
No. 5 No. 25
The key to withstanding it would be to execute and not get frustrated.
The Zags did both. Andrew Nembhard scored 16 points, Rasir Bolton added 15 and No. 5 Gonzaga fought off No. 25 Texas Tech’s tenacious defense for a 69-55 win in the Colangelo Classic on Saturday in Phoenix.
“Anytime you play Texas Tech, we talked all week about really having to amp our toughness up,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It’s not only physical toughness, it’s mental toughness. Baskets are hard to come by and it’s hard to get baskets in the half court, so I was proud of our guys in both aspects.”
The Bulldogs (9-2) withstood Texas Tech’s defensive pressure most of the afternoon in the desert, limiting turnovers while working the ball around for open looks.
The Red Raiders doubled down on the post nearly every possession, holding Drew Timme to seven points on 2-of-4 shooting and freshman phenom Chet Holmgren to five points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Gonzaga overcame it by working the ball out to the 3point arc, where they shot 13 of 31. The Zags went to the 3 to pull away, hitting four during a big second-half run to stretch an eight-point halftime lead to 16.
“I guess that’s what we’re made of, who we are,” said Bolton, who made five 3-pointers. “We weather a run and come out on top in the game.”
The Red Raiders (8-2) struggled offensively without leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr., who didn’t play after leaving Tuesday’s game against Arkansas State with back spasms. Texas Tech shot 37 percent and wasn’t able to mount a charge after Gonzaga’s big second-half run.
No. 1 Baylor 78, Oregon 70: Kendall Brown and James Akinjo each scored 17 points and Baylor won at Oregon.
Adam Flagler made five 3pointers en route to 16 points for the Bears (10-0), who broke a 51-51 tie with 12 straight points in the second half. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Baylor.
De’vion Harmon scored 18 points, Will Richardson had 16 and Jacob Young added 11 for the Ducks (6-6).
No. 2 Duke 87, Elon 56: Host Duke (10-1) beat last-minute replacement Elon (3-9) after two different opponents bowed out due to COVID-19 issues.
No. 3 Purdue 77, Butler 48: Jaden Ivey scored 22 points and Zach Edey finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Purdue (10-1) rout Butler (7-4) in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.
No. 6 Alabama 65, Jacksonville State 59: Keon Ellis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving host Alabama’s (9-2) sputtering offense just enough to beat Jacksonville State (5-6)
No. 7 Kansas 80, Stephen F. Austin 72: Remy Martin hit a 3pointer with one minute to go to extend a three-point lead and help host Kansas (9-1) over Stephen F. Austin (8-4).
No. 8 Arizona 84, Cal Baptist 60: Azuolas Tubelis had 19 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 as Arizona shook off a slow start to beat visiting Cal Baptist (8-3). The Wildcats (11-0) continued their best start since opening the 2014-15 season with 12 straight wins, but they trailed by 11 less than four minutes into the game and didn’t take their first lead until 9:01 left in the first half.
No. 13 Auburn 74, Saint Louis 70: Walter Kessler scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots, and Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith each scored 13 points to help visiting Auburn (10-1) overcome a 13-point deficit and beat Saint Louis (8-4).
No. 14 Houston 72, Oklahoma State 61: Jamal Shead scored 18 points, Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Houston (10-2) beat Oklahoma State (7-4) in the lone game of the scheduled Hoop Hype XL College Basketball Showcase doubleheader in Fort Worth, Texas.
No. 19 LSU 66, Louisiana Tech 57: Tari Eason scored 21 points, Darius Days added 13 with a career-high 18 rebounds and LSU (11-0) rallied from a 13point deficit to beat host Louisiana Tech (8-3).
Providence 57, No. 20 Uconn 53: A.J. Reeves scored 16 points and visiting Providence (11-1) held off Uconn (9-3) in the Big East opener for both teams.
No. 21 Kentucky 98, North Carolina 69: Sahvir Wheeler scored 26 points and Kentucky (8-2) beat North Carolina (8-3) in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas. Wheeler shot a season-best 80 percent (12 of 15) from the floor.
No. 22 Xavier 80, Marquette 71: Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift host Xavier (11-1) over Marquette (8-4) in their Big East Conference openers.
Hofstra 89, No. 24 Arkansas 81: Former Arkansas big man Abayomi Iyiola scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, and visiting Hofstra (7-5) beat Arkansas (9-2).