Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for Bulldogs beating Baylor in 1-vs-2 contest

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 27: Gonzaga Bulldogs players celebrate after defeating Auburn Tigers during the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on November 27, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /

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Gonzaga Basketball Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Gonzaga Basketball’s victory over West Virginia on Wednesday night gives way to a matchup between the two top-ranked teams in the nation on Saturday.

Not everything went according to plan for Gonzaga Basketball on Wednesday night. They were supposed to be the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Jimmy V Classic, but it wasn’t necessarily supposed to be so close and it wasn’t supposed to come with an injury scare to star freshman Jalen Suggs.

Things went much better for the Baylor Bears later in the night. They managed to pull away from the Illinois Fighting Illini in the second half and looked convincing in doing so, easing to an 82-69 victory.

With that, Gonzaga and Baylor are now ready to play on Saturday in Indianapolis. It will be the first 1-vs-2 game since No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 1 Michigan State 69-62 last season.

In a non-conference season that has provided a high number of games against highly-ranked opponents, Gonzaga-Baylor will be the cream of the crop. Many are pointing to the game as a potential preview of a Final Four or even National Championship Game at the end of the season. The winner could also wind up being the unanimous No. 1 team in the country come Monday morning.

This has the potential to be the game of the year in college basketball. For a Gonzaga team that has already faced some juggernauts, this should also be the toughest test of the year.

Here are three keys for Mark Few’s team in seeking a defining win over Baylor.