Gonzaga edges Sparty in Secret Scrimmage

According to several reports, most notably by Brendan Quinn of The Athletic, Gonzaga got the better of Michigan State in their secret scrimmage on Saturday in Minneapolis.

For a more detailed report, feel free to read Quinn’s full article here. I won’t regurgitate everything (Quinn is a really good writer, you should read him), but here are a few things that stand out from the scrimmage reports.

1. Gonzaga did this without Killian Tillie and Joel Ayayi. No word on why either of them didn’t play. But if there are small injuries, there’s no reason to push them. Gonzaga went with a seven-man rotation during the main portion of the scrimmage. There were two separate five-minute sessions reserved for freshmen/backups.
2. Josh Perkins dished out 13 assists to just two turnovers. It sounds like their backcourt really took charge at the end of halves and knocked down several key shots.
3. Corey Kispert started and scored 24 points on 5-for-8 from deep. He also grabbed seven rebounds. It would not shock me if Kispert started with Perkins and Zach Norvell to begin the season and Mark Few utilizes a similar four-big rotation as the Final Four team two years ago.
4. With a final score of 110-92 in a 40-minute scrimmage, I can imagine that defense might be on the practice schedule for both teams this week.

Gonzaga opens their season on Thursday with an exhibition game against Central Washington before the regular season opens on November 6 when they host Idaho State.