It wasn't a true road game because the non-league showdown was played in Seattle as opposed to 280 miles away on Gonzaga's campus inside The Kennel. Regardless, it's not often that a team goes into the state of Washington, plays in front of a pro-Zags crowd and mostly dominates Mark Few's program from start to finish, but that's exactly what happened late Friday at Climate Pledge Arena.
Final score: UConn 76, Gonzaga 63.
The Huskies led by as many as 18 and never trailed for a single second en route to winning by 13. They were led by Donovan Clingan, the 7-foot-2 center who took 11 shots, made eight of them and finished with a game-high 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes.
"We've played the top teams in the country," Clingan noted before adding, "I feel like it's given us good momentum [heading into the Big East portion of our schedule]."
UConn is now 10-1 with wins over North Carolina, Gonzaga, Texas and Indiana; the Huskies' lone loss is a 69-65 defeat at Kansas. That's a strong resume that has UConn holding steady at No. 5 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona remains No. 1 for the 15th consecutive day heading into Saturday's showdown with No. 2 Purdue in Indianapolis.
Gonzaga is down to No. 14.
"We just got to be able to step up and make shots in games like this," Few said, noting that his Zags were 2-of-12 from 3-point range (16.7%) while their second-leading scorer, Graham Ike, was limited to just five points after averaging 14.2 points per game through Gonzaga's first 10 contests. "You need 'A' games out of your best guys [to win games like this]."
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Caleb Love finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 98-73 win over Wisconsin. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Purdue. | -- | 2-1 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 35 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 92-86 win over Alabama. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 4-0 |
| 3 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 73-64 win over Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Indiana. | -- | 4-0 |
| 4 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 25 points and three steals in Saturday's 89-55 win over Jackson State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. vvv | -- | 2-1 |
| 5 |  | Donovan Clingan finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 76-63 win over Gonzaga. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday at Seton Hall. | -- | 3-0 |
| 6 |  | RayJ Dennis finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 78-60 win over Seton Hall. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Michigan State. | -- | 3-1 |
| 7 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 84-79 win over St. Thomas-Minnesota. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 4-0 |
| 8 |  | Armando Bacot was 4 of 12 from the field in Tuesday's 87-76 loss to UConn. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 2-1 |
| 9 |  | Jonas Aidoo finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 74-56 win over Georgia Southern. The Vols' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 4-0 |
| 10 |  | Marcus Domask finished 2-of-11 from the field in Saturday's 86-79 loss at Tennessee. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Colgate. | -- | 3-0 |
| 11 |  | Javian McCollum finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 79-70 win over Arkansas. The Sooners' next game is Saturday against Green Bay. | -- | 3-0 |
| 12 |  | Johnell Davis finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 94-60 win over FIU. The Owls' next game is Saturday against St. Bonaventure. | 1 | 3-2 |
| 13 |  | PJ Hall finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 74-66 win over TCU. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Memphis. | 1 | 3-1 |
| 14 |  | Gonzaga allowed UConn to shoot 55.8% from the field in Friday's 76-63 loss to the Huskies. The Zags' next game is Wednesday against Jackson State. | 2 | 3-0 |
| 15 |  | Aaron Bradshaw finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 81-66 win over Penn. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | -- | 3-0 |
| 16 |  | Joel Scott finished 0-of-4 from the field in Saturday's 64-61 loss to Saint Mary's. The Rams' next game is Sunday against CSU Pueblo. | -- | 3-1 |
| 17 |  | Kyle Filipowski finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 89-68 win over Hofstra. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Baylor. | -- | 3-1 |
| 18 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's 75-60 win over Jacksonville State. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Chicago State. | -- | 4-0 |
| 19 |  | Isaac McKneely finished with 22 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 77-47 win over North Carolina Central. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Northeastern. | -- | 3-0 |
| 20 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 28 points and four assists in Wednesday's 90-74 win over Denver. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Georgia State. | -- | 4-0 |
| 21 |  | Allen Flanigan finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 70-68 win at UCF. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against California. | -- | 4-0 |
| 22 |  | David Jones finished with 29 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 81-75 win at Texas A&M. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Clemson. | -- | 3-0 |
| 23 |  | T.J. Bickerstaff finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 84-69 win at Old Dominion. The Dukes' next game is Saturday at Hampton. | -- | 2-2 |
| 24 |  | Aaron Estrada finished 2-of-8 from the field in Saturday's 92-86 loss to Purdue. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Creighton. | -- | 3-1 |
| 25 |  | Tre Donaldson finished with 15 points and two assists in Wednesday's 87-62 win over UNC Asheville. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against USC. | -- | 3-0 |
| 26 |  | Wade Taylor IV was 0 of 9 from 3-point range in Sunday's 81-75 loss to Memphis. The Aggies' next game is Saturday against Houston. | -- | 3-1 |
