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Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for Bulldogs to beat No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes

By Holden Walter-Warner

Dec 2, 2020; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) celebrates with teammates in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2020; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) celebrates with teammates in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Guard the perimeter

The Bulldogs quickly made a name for themselves this season as an offensive juggernaut. They’re meeting their match in Iowa, though, who may be the best offensive team in the nation.

The Hawkeyes are averaging a stunning 100.5 points per game through six contests, leading the nation. They are also averaging 24.0 assists per game, which is tops in the country as well.

Having the best player in the country is a big reason for those numbers (more on him in a minute). But the incredible play of Iowa’s star player has worked to slightly obscure the cache of potent weapons surrounding the forward on the court.

Guard Joe Wieskamp is averaging 15.2 points per game and has made exactly half of his three-pointers so far. Guard CJ Fredrick is averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 55.0 percent from three. Jordan Bohannon is struggling from three right now (31.7 percent), but his light remains green as he’s attempted a team-leading 41 threes this season. Besides, he has only shot less than 38.0 percent from three over the course of a full season once – he’ll be fine.

Then, of course, there’s that Garza fellow. He has attempted 19 three-pointers and made 13 of them so far, a not-too-shabby 68.4 percent. That’s not sustainable, but it’s extremely impressive at this point in the season.

The sample size is small, but opponents are hitting 34.3 percent of their threes against Gonzaga, lower than the 39.8 percent of threes Iowa is making per game. Taking away the three-point line will be a big key for a Bulldogs victory.