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In what was a heavily Wildcats-favored crowd at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats (5-4) put out an embarrassing performance from the still Final Four-caliber No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs (8-1). This was a well-worth trip across the country for the Pacific Northwest program.
After the shocking blowout loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Players Era Festival title game, the Zags came out angry and seeking vengeance while opening up on a 19-2 run. It took the Wildcats nearly nine minutes to get their first field goal of the game.
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Kentucky finished with one of the worst shooting displays from a member of a Power Five conference that will be witnessed all season. 16-for-60 from the field (27 percent) and 7-for-34 from beyond the arc (21 percent). The fans let coach Mark Pope’s team have it throughout. Boos were raining in from everywhere.
Just nine games into the 2025-26 season, a notable starting lineup change came from coach Mark Few. Junior wing Emmanuel Innocenti switched out for graduate wing Tyon Grant-Foster. Grant-Foster has started the last four after Innocenti started the first four. Graduate wing Steele Venters also got his first start in a Zag uniform, in place of graduate guard Adam Miller.
Gonzaga’s dynamic frontcourt duo pounded away inside the paint, helping beat Kentucky easily in that department 46-18. Graduate forward Graham Ike and redshirt junior Braden Huff combined for 48 points on 20-for-29 field goals and 12 rebounds. It looked like two high schoolers playing against five middle schoolers out on the playground. Bully ball at its finest.
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Ike may have missed quite a few point-blank looks right at the rim, but he was still as assertive as ever. There was talk about him dealing with some sort of lower-body injury during his time in Las Vegas, seen limping against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and only scoring one point with zero rebounds against the Wolverines. Didn’t look the case tonight…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/graham-ike-zags-bounce-back-030224816.html
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Publish date : 2025-12-06 03:02:00
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