By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If at all possible, I would have written this column with my fingers crossed because it’s about the much-anticipated matchup between Gonzaga and Iowa, which as of this moment, still is a go for this Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Gonzaga had to cancel its previous five games after having paused all basketball-related activities due to COVID-19 health concerns. The team resumed practicing on Monday, and so far, so good.

Hawkeye fans have been eagerly waiting for this showdown, and now it carries even more significance since the Iowa football team’s game against Michigan on Saturday has been canceled by Michigan due to COVID-19 health concerns.

“When you make a decision to play college basketball, you hope for opportunities like this on this kind of stage,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “And that’s what we have. So I’m happy for the guys. And I think they’re mature and smart enough to recognize the challenge before us.”

The Bulldogs are ranked first in the polls, but they’ve only played three games, while Iowa is 6-0 and ranked third nationally.

Saturday’s game will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls where Iowa defeated Colorado 80-73 in 2017.

However, due to the global pandemic, there will be no general admission admittance, and there will be some level of concern about the status of the game leading up to the 11 a.m. tip-off due to the uncertainty with the coronavirus.

Football games and basketball games are both being canceled or postponed at an alarming rate, so until Saturday’s game starts, you just have to remain hopeful, but don’t assume anything.

This will be Iowa’s first game away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but the atmosphere won’t be much different because the arena in Sioux Falls will mostly be empty.

Fran McCaffery was asked Tuesday, with Iowa having played all six games to this point, if he believes his team is in that normal in-season rhythm.

“I think as normal as it can be, it’s still not normal,” Fran McCaffery said. “The buildings are empty. And we haven’t played a road game yet or neutral game yet. So I do think the veteran nature of our team has enabled us to be mature enough in what we do off the floor and stay connected and stay together in practice and on the floor because we all want to play.

“Those kids want to play. They want opportunities to play North Carolina, Iowa State, Gonzaga. They want those opportunities. And I always say that’s what they sign up for when they come here.”

On paper, this matchup has everything.

Both teams like to play at a fast pace, both teams are loaded with shooters, and both teams also have at least one star player.

For Iowa, it is 6-foot-11 All-America senior center Luka Garza, who already has scored at least 30 points in the first half of two games this season, and for Gonzaga, if you had to pick just one star, it is freshman point guard Jalen Suggs, who Fran McCaffery targeted early in the recruiting process.

Iowa was one of the first schools to offer Suggs a scholarship in basketball. The former two-sport star from Minnesota also had a scholarship offer from Iowa in football.

But the 6-foot-4 Suggs chose basketball, and it’s easy to understand why after listening to McCaffery rave about him during a zoom conference on Wednesday.

“You know, he would have been a lottery pick last year if he could have come out of high school,” Fran McCaffery said. “So it’s a complete skill set, that’s what it is. He can penetrate, get in the lane, find his teammates. He can play fast, play slow. He defends and he rebounds and can shoot it.”

McCaffery paid Suggs the ultimate compliment by comparing him to former NBA Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, who is considered one of the best passers to ever play the game.

“He’s really special at delivering the ball at the absolute perfect time, which is a gift,” McCaffery said of Suggs, who was also a standout dual-threat quarterback in high school. “Very much like Jason Kidd, when I saw him in high school.

“If you throw it one second later, one second earlier, it’s a turnover. And when those guys throw it it’s an assist. So you really have to be locked in when he has the ball.”

Suggs leads Gonzaga in assists with a 6.3 per-game average, and just like Garza, he is surrounded by a talented and experienced supporting cast.

Forward Drew Timme leads Gonzaga in scoring with a 23.3 per-game average, while guard Joel Ayayi leads the team in rebounding (7.7) and steals (2.3).

“I think he’s a tremendous player,” Garza said of Timme. “I’ve definitely watched him this year, and obviously, last year as well. I think he’s developing into one of the best players in college basketball.

“So obviously, and like I’ve said before, I’m a competitor and I like to play against the best. So it’s going to be a fun matchup. He’s a very skilled guy and he knows how to score the ball, and so that’s going to put pressure on our defense, and we know it’s going to be a team effort with a guy like him.”

Gonzaga over the past two decades has ascended to elite status under head coach Mark Few.

Gonzaga won 31 games last season, including finishing 16-0 in West Coast Conference play. It was the fourth straight 30-win season and sixth in the last eight seasons. The Zags are the only program in the nation to have reached 30 wins in each of the past four seasons.

Mark Few reached 600 wins in his career with the win over Kansas. He tied Roy Williams as the fastest to 600 wins in years coaching (22). Few boasts the best winning percentage among active head coaches at 82.8 percent.

The Bulldogs were the NCAA runner-up in 2017, and winning a national title is the one hurdle still left to clear under Few.

Iowa, on the other hand, hasn’t advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 since 1999, and nobody on the current roster has won more than one NCAA Tournament game.

So while this is a game matching two of the three highest ranked teams in the country, Iowa is the new kid on the elite block, and you could argue has more to prove on Saturday.

“Playing a game like this, a Saturday game on CBS, it’s going to be a blast,” said Iowa junior guard Connor McCaffery, who is Fran McCaffery’s son. “It’s going to be highly competitive. They’re obviously a real good team and we’re going to do a lot of scouting and a lot of stuff going into this game. But just even playing the game is something that I know everybody on the team hs looked forward to. And now that’s it’s here, i think we’re all going to be locked in and it’s going to be fun.”

Gonzaga won the most recent matchup with Iowa, which came in the second-round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs shot 61 percent from the field, including 62 percent from 3-point range in an 87-68 win in Seattle.

“It means the world, it’s what you dream about when you’re a kid,” Garza said of facing Gonzaga. “And it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole career, and I’m going to continue to work to get into these types of moments for the rest of my life.”

 

Iowa vs. Gonzaga

When: Saturday, 11:06 a.m.

Where: Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, S.D.

TV: CBS

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network