Salt Lake City — After a high-scoring first-round game against Samford so frenetic, so unrelenting, that Kansas coach Bill Self said postgame he had never been in another one like it, the Jayhawks have to turn around and battle for their tournament lives with a rest period of about 38 hours.
“I can’t get into CBS business or truTV or TBS or whatever, but that seems like it’s (a) pretty quick turnaround,” Self said. “But it is what it is and certainly there will not be any reason why we won’t come refreshed and rested, and ready to go, but (Saturday) will be a mental preparation day as opposed to a physical one.”
Certainly 38 hours seems like a veritable vacation compared to the 13 they got in between their second and third games at the Maui Invitational. Self said then, after his exhausted team pulled off a win over Tennessee, “We talked about being mature and everybody’s got a job to do. You got to do your job. I thought they did a really good job. I thought my coaches did a good job getting them enthused because, even though the game was tied at halftime, we played pretty good the first half.”
There should be no issue getting enthused for a postseason bout with Gonzaga — the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region and KU’s second-round opponent Saturday at the Delta Center — a team that as it happened also dealt with some of those short pre-Thanksgiving layoffs in Honolulu.
“They were in Maui with us so we saw some of those games,” KU guard Nick Timberlake said. “We’re expecting another good game out of them.”
The Jayhawks had to slip past Samford by the narrowest of margins. They needed Timberlake to hit the biggest shot of his season and induce a questionable foul call, Elmarko Jackson to make a heads-up loose-ball play after sitting on the bench for nearly six minutes and a whole host of other things to go right to avoid disaster.
Kansas guard Elmarko Jackson (13) and Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) look to grab a loose ball as Samford forward Achor Achor (14) goes down during the second half at Delta Center on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City. Photo by Nick Krug
Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake (25) comes off the rim to hit the floor after a foul by Samford guard A.J. Staton-McCray (5) during the second half at Delta Center on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City. Photo by Nick Krug
The Kansas bench celebrates a bucket from the Jayhawks against Samford during the first half at Delta Center on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City. Photo by Nick Krug
The Bulldogs (Gonzaga, not Samford), on the other hand, had a drama-free Thursday night. Taking on popular upset pick McNeese, they went on a 24-5 run down the stretch in the first half and ended up with the rare 21-point victory in which the game was not as close as the score indicates.
“I think one of the biggest keys was they had our full attention,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I mean full attention. Will (Wade, head coach) has done a great job. I mean, they have just put it on people all year. I think our guys really got that message and bought into that message.”
The result was that the Zags were able to take it fairly easy on some of their top players. Guards Nolan Hickman (who averages 13.8 points per game) and Ryan Nembhard (12.8 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds) typically play about 71 combined minutes and ended up with 59. Forward Graham Ike posted a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 23 minutes, and Anton Watson still played 32 but finished one assist short of a triple-double.
Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard (0) looks to pass the ball while guarded by McNeese State forward Christian Shumate (24) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 21, 2024.
Gonzaga guard Nolan Hickman, right, shoots while guarded by McNeese State forward CJ Felder during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 21, 2024.
Gonzaga forward Anton Watson (22) goes up to shoot against McNeese State guard Mike Saunders Jr., right, during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Thursday, March 21, 2024.
This hasn’t necessarily been the most distinguished Gonzaga team of Few’s illustrious tenure. The Zags even dropped out of the AP poll at one point for the first time in eight seasons, and did not win at least a share of their conference’s regular-season title for the first time in 12. (They didn’t win the conference tournament either.)
But the Bulldogs have gotten better over the course of the year, and they rank as the nation’s No. 7 offense in scoring, No. 2 in field goal percentage, No. 20 in assists per game (granted, a category in which KU is No. 1) while committing just 9.9 turnovers per game. It’s a tough assignment for the Jayhawks after giving up 89 points to Samford, and without a defensive stalwart in Kevin McCullar Jr.
KU center Hunter Dickinson said he had respect for Gonzaga’s “pedigree and tradition.”
“They’re super successful in the regular season, end up having a couple deep runs in March,” he said. “Great head coach, great team. It’s going to be a hard test for us but I feel like we’re a pretty good team too.”
No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-7, 14-2 West Coast Conference) vs. No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks (23-10, 10-8 Big 12 Conference)
• Delta Center, Salt Lake City, 2:15 p.m. Central Time
• Broadcast: CBS
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)
A look ahead
If the Jayhawks are able to advance, they will play in the Sweet 16, with tipoff expected for next Friday night in Detroit and an opponent coming out of the Indianapolis site.
AP Photo/Isaac Hale
AP Photo/Isaac Hale
AP Photo/Isaac Hale