No. 1 Gonzaga vs No. 16 Virginia: 5 storylines for major matchup

Huff, Suggs, Timme, and Few

When it comes to the conference awards, the West Coast Conference might as well engrave Jalen Suggs’ name into the Rookie of the Year trophy. At over 16 points per game as a freshman, Suggs currently sits ninth in scoring in the WCC, with the closest freshman being Kendall Munson who is averaging 12.5 for Pepperdine. The big difference is, Suggs, averages two rebounds and almost six assists per game more than Munson. Stats that will at least put him in the conversation with preseason National Freshman of the Year Cade Cunningham (19.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.6 apg).

The narrative for National Player of the Year has been and continues to be written with Luka Garza as the protagonist. It is a narrative that will be difficult to alter, especially when Garza outscored Timme thirty to fifteen in their head-to-head match-up. Granted, there is no need for Timme to score as much as Garza, but this is simply another reason Garza will win National Player of the Year.

The WCC Player of the Year should be much more interesting as Timme and his teammate Corey Kispert (20.8) are currently the number one and number two leading scorers in the conference. Kispert is just a half of a point better than Timme, as Timme outrebounds him by two.

The other storyline is how much credit Coach Mark Few will get as a coach. If the Bulldogs are able to go undefeated and despite having the best team in the WCC, it would be difficult not to give Coach Few the Coach of the Year Award.

Jay Huff who is second in the ACC in blocks, third in defensive rebound percentage, and fifth in defensive rating as an opportunity to intro himself as Virginia’s answer to Mamadi Diakite. If the Cavaliers are going to have any chance to even just slow down the Gonzaga offense, their pack-line defense is going to have to center around Huff.