Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys to the game versus Washington

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 22: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Staples Center on March 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 06: Jaylen Nowell #5 of the Washington Huskies smiles after drawing a foul during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at the Sprint Center on December 6, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1. Effectively deal with Jaylen Nowell

After a successful freshman season where he led the team n scoring, Jaylen Nowell has continued the quality play to start off this year. He’s leading the team again with 18.0 ppg, on a very efficient 58% field goal shooting. His biggest improvement has been from three-point range, going from 35-48%. The sophomore already has had success against a WCC foe, tying a career-high with 32 points to beat Santa Clara a couple of weeks ago.

As great as Gonzaga’s offense has been, the defense has been more average. That’s especially true against perimeter players, who’ve been able to score on them. Illinois’ Trent Frazier had 29 points and Brandon Randolph dropped 19 against the Bulldogs in the Maui Invitational, while Creighton’s Tyshon Alexander dropped 27 points in the near upset last Saturday.

At 6’4 and 200 pounds, Nowell plays the natural shooting guard position. That means Zach Norvell Jr. and Corey Kispert will receive the primary defensive assignments against him and will hope to slow the star sophomore down.

One potential strategy that Gonzaga could deploy may be to actually have Nowell control the ball as much as possible. He’s not a great facilitator of the offense and has just as many turnovers as he does assists on the season (25). He plays better off the ball while David Crisp runs the offense and disrupting that may throw off the Huskies. With the Bulldogs likely to score a bunch of points, letting Nowell get his while preventing the others from getting going can work. Of course, making sure he doesn’t go off for 30+ has to happen.