Gonzaga rewind: Jun Seok Yeo's aggression, Zags' 3-point troubles both present in latest home romp

Dec. 12—Gonzaga's execution faltered at times during a 78-40 nonconference win over Mississippi Valley State, but Mark Few was able to live with most of the minor issues that may have prevented a 38-point lead from ballooning to 50 or 60 points Monday at McCarthey Athletic Center.

"We're in this cycle of tough games, travel, tough game, travel, and now we're in finals week," Gonzaga's coach said. "There's a lot being thrown at these guys right now."

The Bulldogs, of course, will have to be much sharper when they return to the floor on Friday to face reigning national champion UConn for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

Before we look ahead to one of the marquee games of the nonconference season, we'll take one last look back at Monday's game, with a focus on the continued growth of Jun Seok Yeo, the Bulldogs' untimely 3-point shooting woes and how GU players are balancing their student-athlete duties during one of the most demanding weeks of the season.

Yeo gains confidence

Few has trusted Yeo to play extended stretches in some of Gonzaga's tougher nonconference tests, and the sophomore forward is predictably getting an even longer leash in many of the games that haven't been quite as competitive.

Yeo, who averaged less than 4 minutes in Gonzaga's first three games against Division I opponents, has seen an uptick in playing time since a productive stint against UCLA at the Maui Invitational and is up to 9.6 minutes per game.

The South Korean played a career-high 23 minutes against Mississippi Valley State, scoring six points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field (2 of 6 on 3-pointers). He added four rebounds, two blocked shots and one turnover.

"I thought especially his second run, I thought Jun was a lot more aggressive and I think we've got to really encourage him to build that up and really be that guy," Few said. "A little more assertive and not thinking as much, just erring on the side of aggressiveness."

Through his first nine games, Yeo struggled with 3-point shooting accuracy, making 1 of 2 from behind the arc against UCLA but missing the seven others he'd taken before Monday's contest.

Yeo nearly completed an impressive sequence midway through the second half, blocking Walter Hamilton from behind on a short jumper, clamping the ball with two hands and dribbling down the floor. Yeo got into the paint and soared for a layup, but took off a step too early and couldn't finish, instead watching the ball deflect off the rim.

Dry spell

After Saturday's loss to Washington, Few attributed Gonzaga's late offensive issues — including nine straight 3-point misses — to rushed decisions in the second half, failing to get to second or third actions.

On Monday, it's possible the Zags were bothered by Mississippi Valley State's unique 2-3 zone defense, which held them to 20% from behind the 3-point arc.

Either way, Gonzaga will need to get its shooting issues straightened out before going into Friday's test against the No. 5 UConn Huskies.

The Bulldogs had their second- and third-worst 3-point-shooting performances against UW and MVSU, making 5 of 24 (21%) on Monday two days after going 5 of 18 (28%) at Alaska Airlines Arena.

The cold spell came immediately after Gonzaga's top two shooting efforts of the season. The Bulldogs made a season-high 12 of 22 (54%) 3s during a neutral-site win against USC before returning home to shoot 10 of 24 (42%) in a blowout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

"We're taking the right shots, so it's just shooting them," Few said. "You've got to take the right shots, you've got to do your prep, get your reps in and today we took a bunch of good ones. There might have been one questionable one, but yeah."

Juggling act

This is a taxing stretch on the court for the Zags with three games in six days, but an equally demanding one in the classroom with many players undergoing finals exams Monday through Friday.

Freshman guard Dusty Stromer and a handful of the first-year Zags are encountering these demands for the first time.

"It's definitely been tough," Stromer said. "The practice and game schedule is so rigorous here, you've got to find time to get your schoolwork done and study for your finals and stuff, but I think I've been handling it pretty well."

Stromer's most challenging exam this week, or at least, one not named UConn?

"It'll be psychology," Stromer said. "It'll be a tough one."

"Big student-athlete," redshirt freshman Braden Huff said.

Huff's juggling the athletic and academic responsibilities of finals week for the first time since becoming a staple of GU's rotation. What's on the forward's plate?

"For me, probably accounting," Huff said. "Not a big fan of that, so I should be in for it."