The No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-2) men’s basketball team will take on the Xavier Musketeers (4-2) in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament.
The Zags lost out on a chance to bolster their nonconference resume against the No. 8 Duke Blue Devils in the championship game, but still have a chance to move the needle against a projected NCAA Tournament team coached by Archie Miller.
Miller began his coaching career at Xavier in 2004 before departing for the head job at Arizona in 2009. Miller advanced to the Sweet 16 twice and the Elite Eight three times before being fired in 2021 and replaced by former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd.
In his first year back in Ohio, Miller’s squad was picked to finish second in the preseason Big East conference coaches poll thanks to a veteran roster.
Former USF Don and sixth-year guard Souley Boum leads the Musketeers in scoring at 16.8 points per game. Behind him is a balanced offensive attack that features four other players that average over ten points per game.
Senior Jack Freemantle and Iowa transfer Jack Nunge lead Xavier in rebounding and are its second and third leading scorers, respectively. Against Duke, Nunge shot an uncharacteristic 1-13 from the floor and 1-6 from deep.
“It’s going to really test us,” said GU head coach Mark Few of Xavier’s experience. “It’s interesting, its usually what we are, the kind of post strong kind of teams and they’ve got a couple guys who can really do that … he’s got some experienced guys and he’s obviously a heck of a coach. Defensively they’ll be hard-nosed, they really seem to be clicking offensively.”
Boum led the Musketeers outside-in offense against Duke, chipping in 28 points on 12-12 shooting from the charity stripe. Xavier prides itself on getting easy points from the free throw line and have not shot less than 19 free throws in a game this season.
GU shot a mere four free throws against Purdue, the lowest total for a game since shooting 2-4 against USD in 2014.
Few’s squad will require a more balanced offensive effort and an increased focus on defense after getting boat raced in the second half against the Boilermakers. Drew Timme, Nolan Hickman and Rasir Bolton combined for 48 of GU’s 66 points against Purdue. In the post-game press conference, neither Few nor Timme were impressed by the defense.
“I miss like three tags that give dudes wide open shots, just stupid little things like that,” Timme said. “If we just fix those mistakes it’s a way closer game … when we see it on film, we’re going to be like, ‘are you freaking kidding me?’”
Once again, the Zags backcourt will be challenged to rise to the occasion against productive Xavier guards. Colby Jones leads the Musketeers in assists per game with 5.4 while scoring 14.4 points per contest. Adam Kunkel is expected to return to the starting lineup after sitting out against Duke due to a hard fall in the opening round of the tournament. None of Xavier’s starters shoot less than 44% from 3-point range.
The Zags are 4-1 against Xavier all-time. In the programs last matchup, GU advanced to its first ever Final Four in 2017 thanks to an 83-59 win.
With a win against Xavier on Sunday, GU would extend its streak of wins as a ranked team against unranked opponents to 73, the second longest in AP poll history.
The Zags will try to punctuate their Portland trip positively at 4:30 on Sunday at the Moda Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.