Gonzaga Basketball: Key storylines for 2019-20 battle against Washington

By Andy Patton | Dec 7, 2019

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs gives instructions to his players during a practice session ahead of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 27, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

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ANCHORAGE, AK – NOVEMBER 08: Isaiah Stewart #33 and Nahziah Carter #11 of the Washington Huskies (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

Are the UW freshmen ready to take on the Zags?

The Huskies are reliant – heavily reliant – on scoring from their freshmen class.

Isaiah Stewart (16.5 points) and Jaden McDaniels (15 points) are UW’s two leading scorers and account for roughly 43 percent of the team’s scoring so far this season.

Stewart and McDaniels are both rugged 6’9 forwards, but they’ll be facing elite, veteran big men in Filip Petrusev and Killian Tillie in what will be their first real test of the season.

Baylor and Tennessee are both quality opponents no doubt, but neither have remotely close to the size that Gonzaga sports. Plus, in those two games, UW was not led by either of their big men in scoring.

It will be imperative for the Huskies that their two freshman bigs can get buckets against Gonzaga’s frontline. Petrusev has not proven he is a great defensive player, but Tillie is certainly capable and their size alone will present a previously-unseen challenge for McDaniels and Stewart.

How they handle it will be one of the most important parts of this game if UW wants to come away with a victory.