Top-ranked Gonzaga returns from more than 2-week layoff to face No. 3 Iowa
Mark Few concerned about his team's conditioning and timing heading into Saturday's game
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Mark Few has a Gonzaga team that many feel is built to win the school’s first national championship in men’s basketball.
The Bulldogs are ranked first in the polls and have a star-studded roster that includes high-scoring junior forward Drew Timme and dynamic freshman point guard Jalen Suggs.
They got off to a 3-0 start, which included an impressive wins over Kansas and West Virginia.
But then COVID-19 struck as one player and one non-player reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus.
Gonzaga announced on Dec. 6 that it would pause all team activities until Dec. 14, and that caused five games to be canceled.
The players returned to practice on Monday, but with only five days to prepare for Saturday’s much-anticipated matchup against third-ranked Iowa at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D., Few has concerns about his team’s ability to play at a high level.
“It has not helped us in way, shape or from,” Few said of the extended layoff. “I can just tell you, this is probably in the 20 years I’ve been coaching the biggest challenge I have faced as a head coach.”
Few made those comments during a zoom conference with the media on Thursday.
“Today will be the first time we’ve all been back together on the practice floor since the day before the Baylor game,” Few said of the Dec. 5th game against Baylor that was canceled. “So even to use the term monumental challenge would be doing a disservice.
“There’s a conditioning factor. We’re trying to get up to speed. There’s timing and rhythm and execution issues that when you’re involved with basketball, obviously, a big concern. And really to play the way we play, that’s a huge part of who we are.”
Gonzaga likes to play at a fast-pace on offense, as does Iowa, which is 6-0 and has the highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 100.5 points per game.
Iowa also has led the Big Ten in scoring each of the last two seasons under head coach Fran McCaffery.
Senior center Luka Garza leads the country in scoring with a 29.2 per-game average, and 3-point percentage (min. 15 attempts), making 68.4 percent (13-of-19) of his attempts.
So Few has much more to worry about than just his team’s condition.
“And there is the factor of just game planning for arguably the best offense in college basketball, and probably the best player in college basketball,” Few said of the 6-foot-11 Garza. “So there’s a lot of stuff going into this, and we’re on a short clock.”
Gonzaga is used to having a target on its back as one of college basketball’s elite programs. The Bulldogs have earned elite status despite not being in a Power 5 conference.
Gonzaga won 31 games last season, including 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.
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.
“Any time you have an opportunity to play a program like that is terrific,” Fran McCaffery said. “You look at the remainder of our schedule, 20 league games after this, but we took care of business in the first six. You have an opportunity on a national stage to play the No. 1 ranked team. A team that has pretty much been up there last decade says a lot about who they have, their coach, Mark Few, their coaching staff.
“When you make a decision to play college basketball, you hope for opportunities like this on this kind of stage. 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.”
And while Gonzaga is used to being ranked high in the polls, this is a new experience for Garza and his cohorts.
Iowa will have a chance to make a statement on Saturday, and show that it belongs with the elite teams this season.
Saturday will be the sixth time that Iowa will be involved in a men’s basketball game where both Iowa and its opponent are ranked in the top five nationally. Saturday will be just the second time in program history that Iowa will play in a contest pitting No. 1 against No. 3. No. 1 Iowa beat No. 3 Indiana (101-88) on Jan. 22, 1987, in Iowa City
“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