30 second game guide
Bring’em Out: Wake Forest (4-2) vs. No. 17 Gonzaga (6-1) at the McCarthey Athletic Center at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Watch for: How long it takes for Gonzaga to get going on offense. The Zags have been notoriously slow starters this season, often letting opponents build sizable leads early in the game. The Bulldogs need to hold Wake at bay in the opening half to make less work for themselves in the second half.
Fear: Al-Farouq Aminu. The Demon Deacons sophomore forward is a double-double machine. Aminu’s already recorded four double-doubles in just six games this season. He’s averaging team-highs in points (17.7) and rebounds (11.0) per game. Most of Aminu’s points come in the paint, and in order for Gonzaga to contain him, the Zags will need a solid effort out of Robert Sacre in the middle. That puts the pressure on Sacre staying out of foul trouble, because the Bulldogs have very limited big-man options off the bench.
Respect: Elias Harris. Gonzaga’s surprise freshman says he finally “showed how he can play” in Wednesday’s game against WSU (24 pts, 12 reb) and he plans on picking up where he left off on Saturday. Harris collected the first double-double of the season for any GU player and looks like he’s coming into his own. He may look a little older and play a more mature game than a true freshman would, and that’s because he’s two years older than a typical frosh. Harris is 20 and has been playing pro ball in Germany for the past four seasons. What a great find for the Zags.
Random Stuff: Gonzaga is 10-4 all time against ACC opponents, but this is the first-ever meeting between the Zags and Demon Deacons. Wake Forest is coming off a 69-58 loss at No. 4 Purdue in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Gonzaga improved to 65-3 all time at the McCarthey Athletic Center with Wednesday’s 74-69 win over Washington State.
