There were no changes in the starting lineup/rotation as Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Michael Ajayi and Graham Ike were given the starting role by Gonzaga coach Mark Few for the ninth consecutive season.

Similar to UConn, it was a slow start with little energy from the Zags and they had to play from behind against Nicholls for most of the first half. Sure, the team had to travel across the country and no students were cheering them on since final exams ended last week.

The kennel isn’t always loudest during the Christmas holidays, which is anything but an excuse for how the Zags played early on. Nicholls is no joke, they have been on the cusp of an automatic exit from the Southland Conference for the NCAA Tournament for some time now. Will Wade’s McNeese State is the favorite to win the league this season, but the Colonels received three first-place votes from the media.

Nicholls was active on defense tonight in Spokane, forcing Gonzaga to turn the ball over a total of 15 times due to their 2-3 zone. Congratulations to Byron Ireland for the Colonels (16 points on 7-18 FG/2-7 3PT, 6 assists, 4 steals, 4 turnovers, 3 rebounds), who was a carbon copy of LMU’s Anthony Ireland back in the day.

The Zags finally managed to end the first half with a 17-2 run against Nicholls. Ryan Nembhard’s turn to a trailing Michael Ajayi on the fast break was the key turning point for Gonzaga. Nevertheless, the Zags’ first 20 minutes of play are anything but ideal.

The second half was much harder to watch on ESPN+ as it continued to decline over a longer period of time. As a former livestream operator for a sports radio station in San Francisco and the Pac-12 Network, you can feel the pain and hustle it takes to get it up and running again. Gonzaga shot the ball much better in the second half while shooting 22-for-30 from the field (73.3 FG%).

While Graham Ike (20 points at 6-9 FG/1-1 3PT/7-7 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 personal foul) played significantly better at Madison Square Garden, that’s not the problem with him . A truly consistent version of Ike, as seen in the 2023-24 season, has not yet emerged. Hopefully it will play during the West Coast Conference to prepare the entire group for the postseason. A tough game from Ike can completely destroy this team’s chances.

Braden Huff’s minutes were once again impressive. He was just one point away from tying his career high, finishing the game with 25 on an efficient 11-12 FG plus six rebounds. The reliability of the sophomore is something not many programs have from their frontcourt pieces coming off the bench.

Nembard (18 points at 6-9 FG/2-3 3PT/4-4 FT, 10 rebounds but 5 turnovers, 2 steals) continues to play at a First Team All-American level. He leads the country in both total assists with 113 and his average of 10.3 assists per game. No one can touch his ability to take on a leadership role in transition and find his teammates for high-percentage performances. Against this background, Nembhard could use some support in the backcourt.

More from Dusty Stromer (10 points at 4-6 FG/2-3 3PT) going forward would be nice as he should average more than 30 minutes for the Zags. His season-long numbers are underwhelming, and that’s because he’s finding other ways to make winning plays on the defensive side of the floor. Things like that that don’t show up on the stat sheet are carried over to the other side.

#13 Gonzaga improves to 8-3, Nicholls falls to 7-5 on the season. Bucknell is next on the Zags’ non-conference schedule at McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday, December 21st at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Arden Cravalho is a graduate of Gonzaga University from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho