Gonzaga’s Overall Depth Too Much for Giant Daniel Jacobsen, Purdue in 78-72 Win

Despite coach Mark Few having 11 newcomers, the No. 15 Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-0, 0-0 Pac-12) looked like a group that has known each other for years in this neutral environment at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This team has only had a short time together with all the offseason mumbo-jumbo, yet they look already extremely comfortable with one another. Gonzaga led the Purdue Boilermakers (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) for 34 minutes and 43 seconds of this 40-minute matchup, while finding a way to come out on top of the rebounding battle 34-31 against a much larger opponent.

Keep in mind, this is also an extremely brand-new roster for coach Matt Painter in the post-Braden Smith era, as well as no longer having shooting guard Fletcher Loyer (graduated; G League’s San Diego Clippers), power forward/center Trey Kaufman-Renn (Kansas Jayhawks transfer), and power forward/center Oscar Cluff (graduated; Turkey’s Korfez Basket) available. Not much experience or veteran leadership that this program is so used to having.

Advertisement

As is present every season, Purdue has a giant on their roster. The big man battle down low between 7-1 sophomore Massamba Diop (seven points on 2-for-3 field goals/1-for-1 three-pointer/2-for-2 free throws, two rebounds, four personal fouls in 16 minutes) and junior Daniel Jacobsen (tied for game-high 22 points on 9-for-11 field goals, seven rebounds, four personal fouls in 27 minutes) was the one to keep an eye on heading into.

The Zags picked their moments and found ways to put Jacobsen in dribble-handoff situations or make him switch in pick-and-rolls as a defender. Getting the 7-4 center in early foul trouble with three of his own in the first half and matching their points in the paint at 28 shows how much more of a defensive-minded group this can be than fans may be used to in Spokane, Washington.

Unfortunately, Diop dealt with staying on the floor himself after sitting the final four minutes of the first half. The Arizona State Sun Devils transfer, along with…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/gonzaga-overall-depth-too-much-051915851.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-11-03 05:19:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.