The crowd looked somewhat healthy for the must-watch, high-level matchup of Day 1 at the Players Era Festival. You could hear the fans of the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-0) throughout the MGM Grand Garden Arena, who made the trip to everyone’s favorite destination of Las Vegas. A special thanks to the ‘finger guns’ guy for bringing that energy and a meme that will live in meme lore forever. Just an overall upbeat environment to be a part of.
Coach Nate Oats and the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide (3-2) came into this game with already owning standout victories over then No. 8 Illinois Fighting Illini and No. 5 St. John’s Red Storm, and its lone defeat came by a two-point margin to the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers. They were battle-tested, but tonight was their toughest test against arguably the deepest and most gifted team in America to this point in the early 2025-26 season.
The Zags started this one slow offensively, but as the first half went on, coach Mark Few’s first unit picked it up for the final five minutes. Fifth-year forward Graham Ike appeared to have finally settled in after missing his first six attempts from the field. He would go on to finish with his fourth double-double on the season with 21 points on 8-for-19 field goals, 11 rebounds, and three assists.
The big man truly is one of the best players in the pivot around college basketball, with all those years under his belt coming into full fruition as a now National Player of the Year candidate in his final season of eligibility. Great things happen on the offensive end when he and his frontcourt counterpart, redshirt junior forward Braden Huff (19 points on 9-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, one block, a steal), just touch the ball on any given possession. That duo has been unanswered by almost everyone inside the paint, feeding off each other’s infectious energy, high IQ, and passing ability.
What was most impressive about Gonzaga in this win that helped tremendously for NCAA Tournament seeding purposes down the road in March? Their relentless effort on the offensive glass, not giving up after misses, and fighting for loose balls. Looking at the box score, the eye-popping stat is the Zags’ 20 offensive rebounds. That led to a 25-10 advantage in second-chance points over the Crimson Tide.
As for Alabama, the late announcement of graduate student guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (minor right leg injury) being out for the whole tournament was a major loss for Oats during their time in Las Vegas and a small part of the reason for Gonzaga’s overall physical advantage in the rebounding department (48-36 in total rebounding). Wrightsell Jr. was the longest-tenured player on his roster in Tuscaloosa.
Graduate student wing Tyon Grant-Foster (had a Zags’ career-high 21 points on 9-for-16 field goal shooting, seven assists, two blocks, a steal) continues to get better and better with the more time he’s been around the rest of the guys. He has great ball instincts as an underrated defender in the national scene, agility is off the charts, and he possesses the killer intensity to score. Grant-Foster seems to be comfortable now in Few’s system, as witnessed with him just having fun out there in the first round of the Players Era and blowing kisses to the crowd.
Yes, at times he can play out of control and needs to work on his shot selection. That’s not a worrisome problem at this point in time, with how swiftly and well he’s adjusted to the program in such a short time.
A much more glaring issue that is quite noticeable is the continued missed three-point looks. The opportunities were there for the taking for Gonzaga, just not dropping, and on wide-open attempts (6-for-22 from beyond the arc, 22.3 percent). This has been the storyline of this team’s biggest weakness throughout the early going.
Having graduate student wing Steele Venters see the ball go through the basket as he did against the Crimson Tide (12 points on 4-for-8 three-point shooting) is a step in the right direction for Few’s top-to-bottom talent reaching their true ceiling. What a moment for the sharpshooter from Ellensburg, Washington, who is coming off consecutive missed seasons (torn ACL in 2023-24 and Achilles injury in 2024-25).
Alabama is a special offensive group that loves playing in Oats’ run-and-gun style and fast pace. It just so happened that everyone, outside of a career-high 29-point performance on 11-for-18 field goals, to go along with seven assists/six turnovers, and two steals, from sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr., couldn’t step up.
The shifty ball-handler has copious moves in his bag and will command the attention of every opponent he comes across. Wouldn’t be surprised if he leads the country in scoring when it’s all said and done.
Philon Jr. was virtually impossible to defend throughout (expect when he went scoreless for the final ten minutes of the second half), but the Zags were fine with him playing one-on-one throughout. They would eventually lock in on that side of the floor when it came to crunch time, pulling out the defensive zone late in the second half and competing with discipline. The conditioning over the summer/fall is looking to pay off with the Crimson Tide tiring out at the end.
Through Gonzaga’s undefeated start, they have been outstanding defensively, shown off the depth, and consist of veteran leadership that can be relied upon in dire moments. Those are the three characteristics that are needed for any championship team.
They have the size advantage, athleticism, length, and one of the most intelligent and experienced lead guards at just 19 years old in freshman Mario Saint Supery (10 points on 10-for-11 free throws, six assists/three turnovers, five rebounds, one steal). He had his second straight start at the one spot over redshirt junior Braeden Smith. It’s a stunning thing to watch the Spaniard glide across the floor with such grace when leading the fastbreak and fight his way to the rim with such craftiness and charisma.
He seems to almost always make the simple play or pass each trip down, except for the crazy jump passes thrown out there every once in a while. Still, adjustments to the American game need to be made, which just further proves how much better Saint-Supery can really get. He’s quickly becoming the fan favorite.
What’s crazy to think is that none of the Zags’ six victories have been fewer than 10 points while averaging 94.1 points per game. Gonzaga put the world on notice against Alabama, but the job is far from done in Sin City with the Maryland Terrapins next on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena once again at 6:30 p.m. PT on truTV. Coach Buzz Williams had a late one after the Zags, but came out on top over the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in their opening round matchup, 74-67.
Just a fun bunch of dudes from Spokane to watch with their two-way upside off the charts.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
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