Less than 24 hours after taking down No. 8 Auburn, Duke will battle a top-five opponent with a nice piece of hardware on the line.
The top-ranked Blue Devils' 78-72 victory against the Tigers Tuesday set up a meeting with No. 3 Gonzaga Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii. The teams will compete for the Maui Invitational championship in their third contest in three days.
The Bulldogs will have an even shorter turnaround, playing in the later game of Tuesday's evening slate. Gonzaga took down Arizona 91-74 after eliminating a 13-point deficit with 18 minutes to play and rolling to a 17-point victory.
"It really, really makes for a short prep tonight, so we'll do what we can. It's about these guys playing," Bulldog head coach Mark Few said. "They did a heck of a job making adjustments on the fly in the second half...it's going to take something like that. We'll have to really cerebrally challenge them tonight and there's not going to be any physical things we can do, but just come out and play."
Gonzaga (5-0) is led by 6-foot-8 forward Rui Hachimura, who has emerged as a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Hachimura has shown the ability to attack both in the paint and from the perimeter. The Japan native paces the Bulldog attack with 23.0 points per game at an efficient 61 percent clip. Hachimura has also hit three of his seven 3-point attempts so far this season.
Zach Norvell Jr. has dominated in the backcourt for Gonzaga. Norvell averages 17.6 points per contest and has converted on 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts this season.
The Bulldog offense lived and died with Norvell Tuesday. Norvell was held without a made field goal in the first half against the Wildcats as Arizona took an eight-point advantage into the locker room. However, the 6-foot-5 sophomore found his stroke in the second half, as his scoring total ballooned to 20 and Gonzaga outscored the Wildcats by 25 in the period.
"We shoot thousands of shots day in and day out, so just trying to put this one behind us," Norvell said of his slow start. "We had a good team effort, we were able to pull it out, just ready for the game tomorrow."
In order for Duke (5-0) to take down the Bulldogs, Tre Jones will need to find a way to keep the ball out of point guard Josh Perkins' hands. Perkins is the driver of the Gonzaga offense and has been outstanding as a distributor, averaging 8.6 assists per contest, which is the third-best in the nation.
Another matchup that will be interesting to watch will be how Gonzaga's big men guard Zion Williamson. Both San Diego State and Auburn successfully clogged the lane against Williamson, who was a non-factor in both first halves so far this tournament and has averaged just 13 points per game in Maui.
Alongside Hachimura, 6-foot-8 forward Brandon Clarke will do his best to keep Williamson away from the rim. Clarke has been a force on the interior this season, grabbing 7.8 rebounds while swatting 3.6 blocks per contest—third in the nation. Clarke can also dominate on the offensive side of the ball, and has picked up the slack with the Bulldogs' best forward, Killian Tillie out for a few more weeks. The Phoenix native is third on the team with 15.2 points per contest while shooting at an extremely efficient 75 percent clip.
Despite being the No. 3 team in the country, Gonzaga is still an underdog facing the nation's top team and an all-time blueblood in Duke. The Bulldogs are excited for the opportunity to notch a signature win as they continue the fight to join the ranks as a top-tier program.
"In this tournament, we played Arizona and Duke, so those are programs that growing up you watch," Perkins said. "To play them is a blessing that basketball gives us. So can't even speak for what we're going through right now, but to play Duke tomorrow, Coach K obviously a Hall of Fame coach and a guy that we know about.... Our coach has got a great game plan for us, so if we follow that we should be in good hands and are looking forward to a big-time matchup tomorrow."
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Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113. Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.