PREVIEWING GONZAGA
Ranked 17th in the AP poll and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ version, Gonzaga enters Friday’s game with a 4-0 record after beating Clemson 57-49 on Thursday. The Bulldogs trailed 24-23 at halftime but outshot the Tigers 70.0 percent to 27.6 after intermission. Gonzaga posted a 37-33 rebounding advantage.
The Bulldogs boast six players who average at least 9.8 points through four games. Senior forward Elias Harris leads the squad with his 13.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He is followed by 7-1, 305-pound freshman center Przemek Karnowski (12.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .733 FG%), junior forward/center Sam Dower (11.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg), sophomore guard Gary Bell Jr. (10.8 ppg, 2.3 apg), sophomore guard Kevin Pangos (10.5 ppg, 4.0 apg, .412 3FG%) and senior forward Guy Landry Edi (9.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Seven-foot, 238-pound junior forward Kelly Olynyk made his season debut Thursday and had 13 points and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes. Sophomore guard David Stockton (son of all-time NBA assists leader John Stockton) averages 5.5 points and a team-high 5.0 assists per game.
Gonzaga is shooting .533 from the field, .397 from 3-point range (6.3 treys per game) and .552 from the free throw line. It is holding opponents to .352 field goal and .247 3-point shooting marks (5.8 treys per contest).
Mark Few is in his 14th season as a collegiate head coach, all at Gonzaga. The 1987 Oregon graduate owns a 346-90 record (.794) and is the NCAA’s second winningest active coach by percentage behind North Carolina’s Roy Williams (.800).
OU-GONZAGA HISTORY
Oklahoma and Gonzaga have met two times, with each program posting a victory. The Sooners won a 72-68 decision on Dec. 20, 2007, in Oklahoma City as part of the All-College Classic. Three seasons ago (Dec. 31, 2009), Gonzaga posted an 83-69 win at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. Current Sooners Andrew Fitzgerald (13 points, 5 rebounds in 21 minutes) and Steven Pledger (5 points in 12 minutes) played in the contest, as did current Bulldogs Elias Harris (15 points, 9 rebounds in 26 minutes) and Kelly Olynyk (2 points, 3 rebounds in 10 minutes).
OU'S POTENTIAL SUNDAY MATCHUPS
Oklahoma will play either Davidson or West Virginia in Sunday’s final round of the seventh annual Old Spice Classic. If OU beats Gonzaga, it will play the Davidson-West Virginia winner in the championship game at 6 p.m. CT (ESPN2).
The losers of the two semifinals games will face each other Sunday at 3:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU). Davidson, which finished 25-8 last season, is 2-2 this year after beating Vanderbilt on Thursday, 75-62. West Virginia, owner of a 19-14 record last year, is 1-1 after handling Marist in the first round, 87-44. All games are being played at the 5,500-seat HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Previous winners of the Old Spice Classic include Arkansas in 2006, North Carolina State in 2007, Gonzaga in 2008, Florida State in 2009, Notre Dame in 2010 and Dayton last season.
