Gonzaga vs. Iowa: 2020-21 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Two of the top teams in the nation face off in Gonzaga and Iowa. Which of them will leave with a massive victory for their resume?

TV Schedule: Saturday, December, 19th, 12 p.m. ET, CBS

Arena: Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

One of the most anticipated matchups of the young 2020-2021 season features two of the best scoring offenses in College Basketball. Both teams are in the top 10 nationally in points per game and are headlined by All-Americans.

For Gonzaga, they have been on quite some rest, after shutting down, due to COVID. They were expected to play Baylor on December, 5th, but had to cancel. Multiple people within the program received positive tests and the whole team would be in isolation. Prior to that, Gonzaga has been the most impressive team up to this point.

The Bulldogs have a plethora of players all across the roster that can score. The combination of Drew Timme and Corey Kispert have combined for 45.5 points per game up to this point in the season. Jalen Suggs has been playing like the best freshmen in the country, with 13.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 56.7 percent from the field.

To add more depth to an already loaded team, the Bulldogs added Florida transfer Andrew Nembhard. He is the team’s sixth man and averages 11.7 points on 48 percent shooting from the field.

For Iowa, the hype has been worth it as Luka Garza is out to a record breaking start. Even though Iowa isn’t as deep as Gonzaga is, Iowa could quite possibly have the best player on the floor. Through six games, he averages 29.2 points and nine rebounds per contest.

It is very early in the season and many teams have not been able to showcase their best players up to this point. The efficiency that Garza has from the floor has been astronomical, shooting 69.7 percent from the field.

One notable, however, was his performance against then #16 North Carolina. Garza was underwhelming from the floor and shot just 30 percent from the field. North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams’s strategy was to have a consistent rotation of players to match Garza’s side, to not give him easy shots.

Williams accomplished that as they rotated three players 6’11 or taller, to make sure there was always someone matching his height guarding him. This is a strategy that Mark Few could easily develop and potentially, do better. Oumar Ballo has not been receiving significant minutes on the season and the former four-star is still raw.

However, if Few implements the strategy of consistently matching height with Garza, Ballo could have a big impact on the game. He and Timme have the tall task of guarding Garza. In the win over North Carolina, it was the three-point shooting that helped the Hawkeyes.

Iowa made 17 three-pointers on the evening, headlined by seven from Jordan Bohannon. Iowa showed they can win in multiple ways and don’t go to one player for the source of offense. Especially against quality opponents.

What should make for even better offense is the pedestrian defenses that both teams provide. Neither team has a lockdown defender and both rank outside the top 100 in points per game allowed.

One of the unique factors of this game is the direction these two teams are coming from. Gonzaga has not played a game since Dec. 2, when they beat West Virginia in Indianapolis. For Iowa, they have not left Iowa City to play a game yet.

In a game like this, having as many possession as possible is critical. Iowa is elite at keeping the basketball, averaging only nine turnovers per game. Meanwhile, Gonzaga gets eight steals of their own per contest. Iowa’s lineup is old school, in terms of height and weight. The starting 5 consists of 6’1, 6’3, 6’6, 6’9, and 6’11.

Meanwhile, the shortest player in the Gonzaga lineup is Suggs, standing at 6’4. Being able to intercept lanes and using wingspan could very crucial for Gonzaga.

The Hawkeyes make up for their lineup is through hustle and effort. Iowa has outrebounded every team they’ve played so far and ranks 24th in total rebounding at 43. Iowa ranks 32nd in three-point percentage and an above-average free throw shooting team at 74%.

This could very well be a matchup we see heading into the third week of March Madness. Both of these teams have national title potential and each have National Player of the Year candidates. Only one can survive and Gonzaga’s depth will be too much to handle. Even with the two week break, Gonzaga has proved that they can score a lot against really good defenses.

Prediction: Gonzaga 94, Iowa 90