BIG EARLY WIN FOR NO. 1 GONZAGA, COACH FEW
Coach Mark Few and Gonzaga keep reaching new heights.
While the top-ranked Bulldogs opened their season with a 102-90 victory over No. 6 Kansas, Few won his 600th game.
“I got an ice shower in the locker, which I didn’t expect,” said Few, who has been at Gonzaga since 1999. “(Kansas coach) Bill (Self ) and I set this up for a big college basketball game on Thanksgiving Day before the Cowboys game. That’s why we love college basketball. There’s a lot more games like this coming across the season.”
Drew Timme scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs had 24 and Corey Kispert added 23 as No. 1 Gonzaga pulled away for a statement win in Fort Myers, Fla.
“We’re not that experienced of a team coming back,” Few said. “We needed Drew and Corey against a high, high level team. We needed their experience and toughness.”
No. 1 No. 6
Gonzaga 102, Kansas 90
The Bulldogs built a double-digit lead in the first half at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, then saw the Jayhawks tie it twice in the second half before putting them away. Gonzaga went on a 22-7 run to go up 96-78.
Self said he believes the Bulldogs are as talented as the Kentucky team in 201415, which went 38-0 before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four.
“I thought we played a great team,” he said. “They have four guards who I think will be the best guards we’ll play all year.”
Suggs, who got in foul trouble in the f irst half, scored 17 of his 24 in the second half.
“I played patient, picked my spots, picked my moments,” Suggs said.
Few said Suggs was special. “And he’s so good to coach,” he added.
Marcus Garrett led Kansas with 22 points and Ochai Agbaji added 17 points. Ag
bai picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, which hurt the Jayhawks. When he left, Kansas trailed 70-67.
“We needed Ochai out there,” Self said. “We’re not deep enough to make up for him.”
The Jayhawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half to tie the game at 57.
Gonzaga went on a 12-3 run to take a 20-9 lead.
Timme scored eight of those points from the inside. He and the Bulldogs constantly broke down Kansas’ defense, which led to three layups in a row.
With Gonzaga leading 2915, Kansas made a couple of runs to cut the deficit to as little as f ive. However, Kispert heated up and kept the Jayhawks at bay. Gonzaga led 54-46 at the half.
Thanks to 62 points in the paint, the Bulldogs shot 65 percent from the field.
“We definitely can’t start games like that,” Garrett said. “We have to be better.”
No. 3 Villanova 83, No. 18 Arizona State 74: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 28 points and had eight rebounds to lift Villanova (2-0) over Arizona State (1-1) in the Empire Classic.
No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago State 38: Ayo Dosunmu scored 22 points, freshman Andres Curbelo added 18 and Illinois routed Chicago State. The Illini (2-0) will host Ohio in the third round of the multi-team event today before facing No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday.
No. 15 West Virginia 78, VCU 66: Derek Culver had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help West Virginia beat VCU (1-1) in the Bad Boys Mowers Crossover Classic semifinals in Sioux Falls, S.D. West Virginia (2-0) will face Western Kentucky in the final today.
Other games
Nevada 69, Nebraska 66: Grant Sherfield hit a 3pointer with 7.1 seconds remaining to lift visiting Nevada (2-0) over Nebraska (1-1).
South Dakota State 83, Utah State 59: Baylor Scheierman had a careerhigh 23 points as South Dakota State defeated Utah State in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Saint Mary’s 66, Northern Iowa 64: Tommy Kuhse made a game-winning basket with 1.8 seconds left to help Saint Mary’s (1-1) edge Northern Iowa (0-2) in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.
San Francisco 79, Towson 68: Jamaree Bouyea scored 20 points and Dzmitry Ryuny had 18 points and 10 rebounds as San Francisco (1-1) beat Towson (0-2) in Uncasville, Conn.
BYU 86, New Orleans 61: Alex Barcello had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Richard Harward scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards, and host BYU (2-0) beat New Orleans (0-1).