Gonzaga shrugs off heat from Texas Tech
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.
The key to withstanding it would be to execute and not get frustrated. The Bulldogs 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 Phoenix on Saturday.
“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 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 3-point arc, where they shot 13 of 31. The Bulldogs went to the 3 to pull away, hitting four during a big second-half run to stretch an eight-point halftime lead to 16.
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. PROVIDENCE 57, NO. 20 UCONN 53 >> A.J. Reeves scored 16 points and the Friars (11-1) held off the Huskies (9-3) in the Big East opener for both teams in Hartford, Conn. R.J. Cole had 16 points and Tyrese Martin returned from a wrist injury to score 15 for UConn, which was playing its fourth straight game without leading scorer Adama Sanogo.
HOFSTRA 89, NO. 24 ARKANSAS 81 >> Hofstra walked away with their first win in three tries against a ranked team this season, at Arkansas. Hofstra (7-5) was led by former Arkansas big man Abayomi Iyiola, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Razorbacks (9-2) lost their second in a row after their 22-point loss to Oklahoma a week ago.
NO. 2 DUKE 87, ELON 56 >> After having two opponents bow out due to COVID-19 issues, the Blue Devils (101) beat last-minute replacement Elon (3-9) in Durham, N.C. Duke’s Trevor Keels had a game-high 19 points, Paolo Banchero had 12 points and nine rebounds, Wendell Moore Jr. had 12 points and five assists and Jeremy Roach had 11 points. NO. 3 PURDUE 77, BUTLER 48>> Jaden Ivey scored 22 points and Zach Edey finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the Boilermakers (10-1) rout the Bulldogs (7-4) in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs (7-4) were led by Bryce Golden with 17 points and had a four-game winning streak snapped. NO. 6 ALABAMA 65, JACKSONVILLE STATE 59 >> Keon Ellis scored 20 points as Alabama (9-2) topped Jacksonville State (5-5).
NO. 7 KANSAS 80, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 72 >> Remy Martin hit a 3-pointer with one minute to go to extend a three-point lead and lift the Jayhawks (9-1) over the visiting Lumberjacks (8-4). NO. 8 ARIZONA 84, CAL BAPTIST 60 >> Azuolas Tubelis had 19 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 as the Wildcats (11-0) shook off a slow start at home. The Lancers are 3-8.
NO. 14 HOUSTON 72, OKLAHOMA STATE 61 >> Jamal Shead scored 18 points, Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and the Cougars (10-2) beat the Cowboys (7-4) 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 the Tigers (11-0) won in Bossier City. La. Tech is 8-3.
NO. 21 KENTUCKY 98, NORTH CAROLINA 69 >> Sahvir Wheeler scored 26 points and the Wildcats (8-2) beat the Tar Heels (8-3) in Las Vegas. Wheeler, who shot a season-best 80% (12 of 15) from the floor, was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures in Kentucky’s first victory away from Rupp Arena.
NO. 22 XAVIER 80, MARQUETTE 71 >> Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift Xavier (111) over Marquette (8-4) in their Big East Conference openers in Cincinnati. Jack Nunge had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Xavier, which has won seven straight.
GRAND CANYON 49, USF 48 >> Jovan Blacksher Jr. had 23 points, including a late jumper that allowed Grand Canyon (10-2) to hold off San Francisco (10-1) in Phoenix. Yauhen Massalski had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Dons. WASHINGTON STATE 82,
NORTHERN COLORADO 56 >> D.J. Rodman came off the bench and scored a careerhigh 21 points on 6-for11 shooting from 3-point range and the Cougars (84) routed in Pullman, Wash. MISSOURI 83, UTAH 75 >> Kobe Brown scored 27 points, Jarron Coleman hit a crucial 3-pointer and the Tigers (6-5) held off the Utes (7-4) in Columbia, Mo. TEXAS A&M 83, OREGON STATE 73 >> Freshman Wade Taylor IV scored a seasonhigh 19 points off the bench and the Aggies (8-2) beat the host Beavers (1-10).