Dec. 14—Follow along with this thread for updates and highlights throughout the night.
Second half
8:00 — UC 65, GU 59: Zags scrape a couple back with layups from Stromer and Nembhard, have possession at the U8 media timeout.
10:08 — UC 65, GU 55: Dunk from Reed and 3-pointer from McNeeley give UConn a 10-0 run over the last 1:30 and the Zags call a timeout.
Zags go from tying the game to down double figures in an instant.
10:57 — UC 60, GU 55: Reed gets a block, Huskies on a quick 5-0 run at the U12 media timeout and will have possession when play resumes.
11:51 — UC 55, GU 55: Battle and Nembhard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it and the Huskies call the timeout. First time UConn doesn’t have the lead this half.
Battle up to 18 points for the Zags, making 4 of 5 3-point attempts. Nembhard has 14 points and seven assists.
15:17 — UC 53, GU 47: Diarra called for his second foul and the Zags will have two free throws after the U16 media timeout.
Huskies have controlled the second half so far, mainly on the glass, where they have seven offensive rebounds. UConn could have expanded its lead, but the Huskies are 1 of 7 on 3-pointers in the half.
Ajayi and Ike on the bench with three fouls each for GU.
17:56 — UC 47, GU 42: Ike called for his third foul and he’ll head to the bench, really struggling tonight with one point, no rebounds and two runovers.
Halftime
Ryan Nembhard capped a solid first half with a layup at the buzzer to pull Gonzaga within striking distance of UConn, trailing 43-40 at Madison Square Garden
Nembhard scored 10 points with six assists for the Zags, who were dominated in the first few minutes. The Huskies opened the game on a 13-2 run, but the Zags came back to lead multiple times in the half.
Khalif Battle leads GU with 11 points, making 3 of 4 3-point attempts.
Liam McNeeley pacing UConn with 13 points. Huskies are 11 of 11 from the free throw line and have a slight edge in the paint (20-16 points) and the bench (15-11).
First half
3:41 — UC 35, GU 31: Reed is called for a foul at the U4 media timeout and Ike will shoot two free throws.
Huskies keeping the Zags at arms reach. Battle leads with 11 points, Nembhard has six points and six assists.
McNeeley has nine points for UConn and Reed has eight.
7:54 — UC 22, GU 21: Zags briefly take the lead but Reed makes a layup through contact at the U8 media timeout and will shoot a free throw.
Snaps a lengthy scoring drought for the Huskies, their first make in seven attempts. Gregg called for his second foul.
9:47 — UC 20, GU 19: Zags get a 3-pointer from Gregg and a jumper from Nembhard and the Huskies call a timeout with GU on a 7-0 run.
Gonzaga settling in now after a tough start, where they were out-toughed by UConn. Huskies took a loss with big man Johnson going down with an injury.
11:49 — UC 20, GU 14: Huskies keeping the pressure on, but the Zags are chipping away and have made their last four field goal attempts at the U12 media timeout.
Gregg was just called for a foul. Battle leads GU with eight points. McNeeley has seven for UConn.
14:28 — UC 15, GU 7: Battle scores a layup and a 3-pointer to finally end the Huskies run, after leading by 11. Ball called for a foul to signal the first media timeout.
17:22 — UC 11, GU 2: Ball dunks in transition and the Zags call a timeout with the Huskies on a quick 9-0 run and a heavy-UConn crowd amped up.
UConn opens 5 of 6 from the field with three dunks, while the Zags are 1 of 4.
19:00 — UConn 2, GU 2: Huskies win the tip and throw down an ally-oop on the first possession. Ajayi answers with a layup and we’re underway.
Starting 5’s
Gonzaga: Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Michael Ajayi, Graham Ike.
UConn: Hassan Diarra, Solo Ball, Liam McNeeley, Alex Karaban, Samson Johnson.
Pregame
The Gonzaga men’s basketball team is set for its fourth top 25 matchup of the season.
The No. 8 Zags (7-2) are 2-1 in such games and are coming off a loss to No. 5 Kentucky in Seattle that saw the Bulldogs blow a double digit halftime lead for the first time in 175 opportunities.
Tonight the Zags will try and get back in the win column against two-time defending champion Connecticut (ranked 18th, 7-3). The Huskies faltered at the Maui Invitational with three straight losses, but have bounced back since with wins over Baylor and Texas.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. from Madison Square Garden in New York City and will air on Fox 28.
Series history
Gonzaga is 2-5 all-time against Connecticut and has lost games against the Huskies in each of the last two seasons, once in Seattle and another in the NCAA Tournament.
Team stats
UConn (7-3)
Gonzaga (7-2)
Points
84.2
90.2
Points allowed
64.3
68.8
Field goal pct.
50.4
48.9
Rebounds
37.5
41.4
Assists
20.2
19.6
Blocks
7.1
2.8
Steals
6.1
7.8
Streak
Won 3
Lost 1
Individual leaders
POINTS
PPG
FG%
FT%
Alex Karaban (UConn)
16.5
49.4
83.3
Graham Ike (GU)
15.3
53.4
73.7
REBOUNDS
RPG
DRPG
ORPG
Tarris Reed Jr. (UConn)
8.2
5.2
3.0
Graham Ike (GU)
7.0
4.9
2.1
ASSISTS
APG
TOPG
MPG
Hassan Diarra (UConn)
5.6
2.1
23.0
Ryan Nembhard (GU)
10.7
1.7
35.4
Game preview
Key matchup: Alex Karaban, UConn’s all-around wing, has transformed into an All-America candidate for Huskies
NEW YORK CITY — When Dan Hurley was mulling a reported six-year, $70 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers in June — one of the most compelling storylines of the summer, not only in college basketball but American sports at large — UConn’s basketball coach had a number of conversations that influenced and informed his final decision. — Read more
More on the Zags
Not as easy as 1-2-3: Gonzaga trying to find the range from behind the 3-point line
Gonzaga currently has a love-hate relationship with the 3-point line. The eighth-ranked Zags were on target early with their two best 3-point shooting percentages (41.9 vs. Baylor and 45.5 vs. UMass Lowell) in the season’s first three games. The last month has been rough. In the Zags’ last six games, they’ve made just 29.8% — Read more
Q&A: UConn beat reporter breaks down Huskies’ struggles in Maui, Alex Karaban’s evolution, keys against Gonzaga
If there’s any PTSD left over from Gonzaga’s double-digit losses to UConn the past two seasons, it should be reassuring to know these will hardly be the same old Huskies lining up against the Bulldogs on Saturday night in New York City. — Read more
X’s and O’s to A’s and B’s: Gonzaga adjusts on the fly for final exams, holiday schedule
This segment of Gonzaga’s schedule is typical and atypical at the same time. It always is in December as the program juggles dead week last week, which preceded finals week this week and the fast-approaching Christmas holiday break. The goal is trying to mix and match practice times to prepare for some of the biggest tests on the Zags’ non-conference schedule: Kentucky last Saturday, UConn this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City and UCLA on Dec. 28 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. — Read more
Gonzaga’s next encounter with former Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney will look much different than the previous six
In facing No. 18 UConn on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, No. 8 Gonzaga will encounter a team that’s accounted for two of the program’s 14 losses the last two seasons, as well as a transfer guard who’s been on the winning side as much as he has the losing side in six career meetings with Mark Few and the Bulldogs. — Read more
Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast: What went wrong against Kentucky, crunch-time issues and a look ahead to UConn
Crunch time has been tough on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. — Read more
