Eastern Oregon vs Gonzaga Preview

Back in action at the Kennel with a casual tune-up before the gauntlet that is the Maui Invitational next week from November 20th to the 22nd. Eastern Oregon is an NAIA foe from La Grande, Oregon that is 0-3 to start their 2023-2024 campaign so to be totally transparent, I’m not too worried that Mountaineers.

With that being said, let’s talk about what Gonzaga (1-0) needs to improve upon and continue working on in tonight’s matchup.

• Work on not getting out to such slow starts. I feel like this has been an issue for the longest time. Set the tone and come out the gate hot.
• Do a better job defending and getting out on the pick and roll.
• Braden Huff to continue being aggressive on the offensive end. I want to see at least 10+ shots from the field again.
• Graham Ike, go deep in your bag of tricks. Show off and continue to work on your offensive repertoire in a full speed environment.
• Nolan Hickman is a new version of himself but still needs to work on shot selection. 1-8 3PT just won’t cut it against the likes of Purdue, Tennessee, Kansas, Marquette, UCLA, or Syracuse at the Maui Invitational.
• Give more minutes to Luke Krajnovic in what should be a blowout against Eastern Oregon. Let’s see what more this kid has to bring to the table to a depleted bench.
• Continue to crash the glass as hard as possible. You have the giant in Zach Edey next week to get ready for.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the highlights from Gonzaga’s 20th straight season opening win over Yale as well as the team leaders from that game to get you hyped up for tonight’s game.

points - Braden Huff (17 points)

rebounds - Anton Watson (12 rebounds)

assists - Ryan Nembhard (7 assists)

blocks - Graham Ike (3 blocks)

FG% - Braden Huff (70%)

As always, make sure to check out the tonight’s matchup on ESPN+ at 6 PM PT between Eastern Oregon-Gonzaga.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho