Some teams might flounder after losing their top two leading scorers to injury in the midst of conference play, but No. 8 Gonzaga has only heightened its play with back-to-back 21- and 24-point wins.
The Bulldogs can increase their 13-game winning streak with another short-handed win when they face off against San Francisco in Spokane, Wash. on Saturday night in West Coast Conference play.
Gonzaga (20-1, 8-0 WCC) has been playing without Braden Huff (17.8 ppg) for the past three games and Graham Ike (18.1 ppg, team-best 8.8 rebounding average) for its past two games. Huff (knee) is expected to be out another three-to-seven weeks while Ike (ankle) is still suffering some discomfort according to coach Mark Few. Ike is day-to-day.
Despite that, the Bulldogs ran away with an 84-60 win over Pepperdine on Wednesday behind 56 bench points. Davis Fogle led the way with 17 points while going 8 for 10 from the free throw line. Mario Saint-Supery also provided a boost with his second straight double-digit affair with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting and five rebounds and five steals.
As well as continuing their current win streak, the Bulldogs also ran their streak of consecutive 20-win seasons to their 29th in a row. Only Kansas (37) has a longer streak of 20-win campaigns.
Also, the Bulldogs have won 33 straight games against San Francisco.
Even with losing over 40% of their scoring load, the Bulldogs have still been able to shine with their stellar bench play and effective small-ball lineups.
“We’ve needed the depth now, and so now we’re getting to see some guys and … those are one of the probably better gifts some of those guys have [is] coming off the bench,” Few said. “Obviously, Davis really likes to get it up, and he can definitely put up buckets. (Tyon Grant-Foster) does a good job attacking. Mario is being really aggressive, which is good.”
Gonzaga, throughout the season, has been a dominant offensive force, averaging 89.9 points per game which is tied for 13th in Division I entering Friday. The Bulldogs are shooting 52.0% from the field, which is third best in the country.
San Francisco (13-8, 5-3) is coming off a strong 85-80 win over Washington State on Sunday. Junjie Wang (15 points) and Guillermo Diaz Graham (14 points) led a 3-point barrage for the Dons as they combined to go 8-for-9 from behind the arc. As a team, San Francisco shot 12 of 22 from 3-point range making a season-high 54.5%.
“Had some guys step up and make some really key plays on both sides of the basketball, and I thought we just upped our intensity and our urgency,” coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “Credit to our guys for doing that and glad to get out of here with the win.”
The Dons did struggle defending, a trend which has emerged in conference play despite allowing just 69.8 points per game on the year. They allowed the Cougars to shoot 57.6% from the field, the most San Francisco has allowed all season.
The Dons have allowed 80 points or more in three of their past four games, something they had only allowed twice in their previous 17 games.
The Bulldogs will hope to continue the onslaught against the Dons, who they are 41-2 against at home all-time. Gonzaga’s last loss to San Francisco anywhere was 66-65 on the road on Feb. 18, 2012.
The Dons last defeated the Bulldogs in Spokane, 67-64 in 1989.
Saturday’s contest will be the 100th meeting between the programs. Gonzaga holds a 77-22 edge.
