Gonzaga Basketball: Takeaways from road win over Arizona
2. Core backcourt trio stepped up.
Gonzaga’s strength lies in its frontcourt this season with the quartet of Petrusev, Tillie, Timme, and Watson. Yet, it was the core trio of backcourt pieces that really showed up to push the Bulldogs to victory in this game. Ryan Woolridge, Joel Ayayi, and Admon Gilder all showed up in their respective ways as they brought well-rounded contributions to the court. Gonzaga needed each of them to make impacts in a variety of ways against Arizona’s highly-touted guards and that was exactly what they were able to do.
Most notably, Ryan Woolridge once again proved his worth on the defensive end of the floor. The North Texas transfer has been exceptional on that end of the floor in recent games when he was tasked with covering Zavier Simpson, Payton Pritchard, and Quade Green. In this matchup, he was forced into yet another extremely tough test with defending Arizona’s star freshman point guard Nico Mannion. While playing 38 total minutes in the game, Woolridge held Mannion to just seven points on 3-for-20 shooting from the field. Hard to argue with that defensive performance.
On the offensive end of the floor, Woolridge posted eight points, four rebounds, and four assists. He also connected on two free-throws in the final seconds to seal the victory. I mentioned after Gonzaga’s win over Washington that Woolridge was emerging as an anchor for this team and he once again showed why in this one.
Alongside Woolridge, sophomore guard Joel Ayayi put together another superb all-around performance. Ayayi has moved into the starting lineup recently after a hot start to the campaign and that just continued against the Wildcats as he finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists (to just one turnover). He is one of the nation’s best-hidden rising stars.
Additionally, Texas A&M transfer Admon Gilder put together his best performance of the entire season. Gilder was regarded as a potential high-scoring guard with the ability to let it fly from distance when he committed to play in Spokane. Through the first few weeks of the season, he struggled a bit with efficiency. Yet, he showed up in a big way in this one with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 4-for-4 from 3-point range. It was his best game yet in a Gonzaga uniform.