Gonzaga @ Southern Miss preview
Imperial Arena
Gonzaga has brought its No. 7 national ranking and unblemished record to the Bahamas. There, at Imperial Arena on Paradise Island on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs will take on Southern Miss in the quarterfinals of the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
Off to a 6-0 start, Gonzaga has won 26 straight regular-season games – the longest active such streak in Division I. The Bulldogs prepped for the 2,700-mile trip with a 77-49 rout of Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday – their fifth win by at least 28 points this season. Having played five home games sandwiched around a road win at Texas A&M, Gonzaga ranks second nationally in scoring margin (29.3) and eighth in scoring (88.3) while shooting 51.9 percent from the field. Southern Miss, meanwhile, brings a 2-3 record into the tournament, but both of the Golden Eagles’ wins have come against non-Division I foes.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
ABOUT GONZAGA (6-0): Coach Mark Few brought back only one starter (junior forward Corey Kispert) from his 33-4 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight squad of a season ago, but the Bulldogs have seemingly hardly missed a beat. Six players are averaging double figures, led by 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Filip Petrusev (16.3 points per game), who also leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per contest. Killian Tillie, a 6-10 forward, is averaging 14 points and six rebounds after making his season debut five games into the season on Nov. 19, while guard Ryan Woolridge, a senior grad transfer from North Texas, is averaging 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and a team-most 3.7 assists.
ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS (2-3): In taking over for Doc Sadler, coach Jay Ladner returned to his alma mater and inherited only two of the Golden Eagles’ top seven scorers from last season’s 20-13 team. And neither of them are 6-9 senior forward Boban Jacdonmi, the Golden Eagles’ only current double-digit scorer (16.4) and second-leading rebounder (7.6). Frontcourt mate Leonard Harper-Baker is averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds while sophomore guard Jay Malone sets the table with a team-most five assists per outing, but Southern Miss has been slowed by turnovers, averaging 15.4 per contest.
TIP-INS
1. This will be the first meeting between the programs, but Gonzaga is 6-0 against current Conference USA teams.
2. The Bulldogs are making their second Battle 4 Atlantis appearance, having finished third in the 2015 tourney with a 2-1 record.
3. The Gonzaga-Southern Miss winner will face the survivor of the quarterfinal between No. 10 Oregon and No. 13 Seton Hall in Thursday’s semifinals. No. 4 North Carolina, Alabama, Michigan and Iowa State comprise the other half of the bracket.
PREDICTION: Gonzaga 81, Southern Miss 60