No. 1 Gonzaga returns to basketball with impressive win over No. 3 Iowa

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs showed little affects from their two week layoff jumping out to a 20 point lead against No. 3 Iowa and they go on to a 99-88 win Saturday morning.

Freshman point guard Jalen Suggs led the way for the Zags with 27 points including knocking down seven three-pointers.

Drew Timme and Corey Kispert both finished in double figures scoring, and they both fouled out in the final minutes.

Joel Ayayi with an impressive double-double finishing with 11 points, and a game high 18 rebounds.

All-American Luka Garza had a strong game for the Hawkeyes finishing with 30 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulldogs had taken two weeks off to get COVID-19 under control in their locker room and head coach Mark Few reveled that his team hadn’t had a practice together until two days before their matchup with the Hawkeyes.

The Zags weren’t perfect in the first half as they turned the ball over ten times, but unreal three-point shooting countered any negatives as they led by 14 at the half.

Iowa mounted a number of comeback attempts in the 2nd half, but Gonzaga had an answer for all of them.

The 4-0 Zags are scheduled to play their first home game of the season Monday against Northwestern State before their top-25 showdown with No. 17 Virginia the day after Christmas in Ft. Worth, Texas.

COPYRIGHT 2021 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.