Graham Ike is one of the top players in the West but Gonzaga coach Mark Few feels the big man isn’t receiving the proper level of respect.
Ike will look to post a 20-point outing for the eighth consecutive appearance when the No. 11 Bulldogs visit San Francisco on Wednesday night in West Coast Conference play. The contest will be held at the Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors.
Gonzaga will be looking to defeat the Dons for the 35th consecutive time after surviving a close call last month.
Ike registered 21 points and a season-best 15 rebounds as Gonzaga (25-2, 13-1 WCC) recorded a 94-86 road win over Santa Clara on Saturday night to overtake the Broncos for first place in the conference race.
Ike has scored 30 or more points in three of his last seven appearances, including matching his career best of 35 points in an 81-61 road win over Oregon State on Feb. 7. The fifth-year senior has made 31 of 43 shots (72.1%) over the past three games.
“I think none of us can take 21 and 15 for granted or the 30-(point games),” Few said. “I think it’s time he starts seeing his name pop up on first-team All-American or second-team All-American (forecasts).
“I know we’re all obsessed with these (standout) freshmen, but he’s literally been delivering night-in, night-out at the highest level. I think he needs to start garnering some attention, at least nationally.”
Ike is averaging 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds. He missed the Bulldogs’ 68-66 home win over the Dons on Jan. 24, the final contest of a three-game absence caused by an ankle injury.
Adam Miller stood out against Santa Clara by scoring a season-high 21 points. Miller is averaging a career-low 7.7 points in the fifth season of a four-stop college career.
“We talked about how unselfish our team is,” Miller said. “Any day can be a dog’s day. Coach reminds us of that all the time, but every day you’ve got to show up and do your role, however that looks, and I just tried to do my job and my teammates definitely did their jobs.”
The Bulldogs have been without Braden Huff (left knee) for a month, and Few’s update on Monday revealed that Huff (17.8 ppg) won’t return prior to the NCAA Tournament.
“We said four to eight weeks, it’ll be at least eight,” Few said on his weekly show. “He’s still on crutches. … He’s a long ways away from getting back.”
San Francisco (15-13, 7-8) figures to gain some support by playing in the larger Chase Center as opposed to its cozy on-campus gymnasium.
Despite never leading, the Dons gave Gonzaga a battle last month in Spokane, Wash.
The Dons were down by eight before Vukasin Masic made consecutive 3-pointers in the final 1:20. However, a go-ahead 3-point attempt by Junjie Wang caromed off the backboard and rim with less than two seconds left.
USF’s Legend Smiley matched his season high of 18 points in that contest.
“We have an unbelievable opportunity on Wednesday night at the Chase Center against a team that obviously is a juggernaut,” Dons coach Chris Gerlufsen said of the rematch. “We felt we played pretty well against them the first time.
“We’re going to roll our sleeves up and get to work Wednesday night and take advantage of the opportunity at hand.”
The setback vs. Gonzaga was the beginning of a stretch in which the Don lost five of six games. They halted that funk with a 92-79 road win at San Diego on Sunday.
Masic scored a season-best 22 points against the Toreros while David Fuchs contributed 21 points and a season-best-tying 13 rebounds.
San Francisco’s most recent win over Gonzaga came in 2012, a 66-65 home decision.
–Field Level Media
