Gonzaga Basketball: Early predictions for games against top 2021-22 opponents
Washington Huskies
December 12th at home
The “rivalry” between these two state of Washington programs has become one-sided, as the Bulldogs have won six straight games. And the teams haven’t been as far away in terms of program strength and stability since the 90s when Gonzaga was a regular mid-major team.
Instead, it was the Huskies that looked “mid-major”, coming off a dismal 5-21 season, including 4-16 in Pac-12 play. Just about the entire roster has turned over, although it’s a valid question as to whether or not they got better this offseason.
Three of the top four scorers are gone but Jamal Bey, who averaged 10.3 ppg on 46% shooting overall, but 51% from three-point range. Joining him in the backcourt are four transfers, including Terrell Brown Jr. (Arizona), Emmitt Matthews (West Virginia), PJ Fuller (TCU), and Daejon Davis (Stanford). Davis and Brown are good enough to average double figures, while Fuller has the highest potential overall of the group.
The frontcourt is the biggest issue, as they have mainly 6’11 center Nate Roberts and former Alabama commit Langston Wilson, considered to be one of the top frontcourt Junior College transfers in the class. There’s not much depth behind that so expect a lot of small lineups for Washington.
How will this game play out?
With the game currently between Texas Tech and Alabama and at home, there’s the chance that the Bulldogs could sleepwalk through this game. The problem is that there’s such a talent gap, Gonzaga could sleepwalk through 35 minutes and wake up and win in the last five.
The difference here is in the frontcourt, as Washington has no answer for Holmgren and Timme. Look for there to be a bunch of foul trouble and unless Bey or one of the guards goes off, this one could get ugly early.