Gonzaga Basketball looked great in the team’s season opener against Idaho State. However, the Bulldogs face a much tougher opponent in Texas Southern.
In the opening night of college basketball, few programs looked as good as the No. 3 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. They dominated Idaho State 120-79, scoring 60 points in both halves.
Junior forward Rui Hachimura was expected to have a monster season and he’s off to a great start, dropping a career-high 33 points in just 24 minutes. Zach Norvell also had a great game, going for 23 points. Even without Killian Tillie (expected to miss 6-8 weeks after ankle surgery), the Bulldogs still have an elite offense that opponents will struggle against.
That offense will be tested against a more difficult matchup in Texas Southern. The perennial juggernaut in the SWAC has a new coach and a different cast of players but the Tigers still look to contend for both a title and another trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The program proved that once again to start out the season, upsetting Baylor 72-69 after outscoring them 45-29 in the second half. It’s true that the Bears were missing two projected starters in Mario Kegler (suspension) and Makai Mason (injury) but the comeback effort from Texas Southern versus superior athletes was nonetheless impressive.
Gonzaga and Texas Southern actually did battle a year ago, with the Bulldogs winning the season opener 97-69. Josh Perkins led the Bulldogs with 20 points, while Tillie led everyone with 12 rebounds along with nine points. Demontrae Jefferson paced the Tigers with 20.
This game on paper is projected to be another blowout and it very well could. But Texas Southern’s upset over Baylor should have fans on upset alert. Here are three keys for the Bulldogs to avoid that fate.