The expectations entering this season have made the last month tough for Kentucky fans and the team. Mark Pope and the players feel it just as much as the fans do.
Interestingly, Kentucky was still in a great
position to win Tuesday night against North Carolina despite a lackluster offensive performance. Even when the Wildcats went over 10 minutes without a basket, they still opened up a six-point lead at one point.
Tuesday’s performance can be taken in two ways: panic or positivity. I’m choosing the latter. Unlike against Louisville and Michigan State, Kentucky didn’t fall behind or lose by double-digits against North Carolina. Without three key players, they lost by just three points and could have won against a team ranked No. 16 in the country.
Now, Kentucky heads to the Music City to battle Gonzaga at Bridgestone Arena. Gonzaga is a really good team, per usual. They can score at will, rebound, and shoot. But the Bulldogs are beatable.
Let’s take a look at players to watch on Gonzaga, keys to the game, and score prediction for Friday night.
Players to Watch on Gonzaga
1. No. 34: Braden Huff — 6’10” 250 lbs. R-Jr. Forward, Glen Ellyn, Ill. Glenbard West HS
Stats: 15.8 pts, 5.3 rebs, 62.8 FG%, 2-12 3-PT FG, 6-14 FT, 23 mpg
Huff has been on an upward progression since arriving in Spokane in 2022. He’s now a full-time starter for the Bulldogs after coming off the bench the last two seasons, which included an All-Conference Freshman Team season in 2023-24.
So far this season, Huff has scored in double figures in all eight games. He has 20+ points in two of his last four games, and only twice has Huff shot under 50 percent in a game this season.
In high school, Huff was Mr. Basketball in Illinois as a Senior, shooting 61 percent from the floor that season.
2. No. 15: Graham Ike — 6’9” 250 lbs. Gr. Forward, Aurora, Colo.; Wyoming Transfer
Stats: 15 pts/gm., 7.9 rebs, 48.9 FG%, 5-16 3-PT FG, 78.4 FT%, 26 mpg
Ike is a beast. He scored a season-high 28 points against Kentucky in the Battle in Seattle last December, a game Kentucky won 90-89 in overtime. In two seasons at Gonzaga, Ike has been First-Team All-WCC in both of them, including AP All-American Honorable Mention in 2023-24.
Ike has four double-doubles this season, including three games with 20+ points.
Prior to Gonzaga, Ike played two seasons at Wyoming. He was First-Team All-Mountain West in 2021-22.
3. No. 7: Tyon Grant-Foster — 6’7” 215 lbs. Gr. Guard, Kansas City, Kan.; Grand Canyon Transfer
Stats: 12.1 pts, 6.3 rebs, 10 blk, 49.4 FG%, 4-22 3-PT FG, 60% FT, 21.5 mpg
Grant-Foster was a star at Grand Canyon, playing on two NCAA Tournament teams and winning the 2024 WAC Player of the Year. He was the first player from Grand Canyon to win the award, and he led the WAC with 20.1 points per game.
This player has had a unique journey in his college basketball career. He started at Kansas in 2020-21, then transferred to DePaul the following season before missing 2022-23 with an injury.
So far this season, Grant-Foster has scored in double figures five times and had a double-double against Arizona State.
4. No. 23: Adam Miller — 6’3” 200 lbs. Gr. Guard, Peoria, Ill.; Arizona State Transfer
Stats: 9.5 pts, 1.5 rebs, 44.4 FG%, 30.8 3-PT FG%, 8-10 FT, 19.6 mpg
Like Grant-Foster, Miller has had a unique journey. He started at Illinois in 2020-21, before transferring to LSU the next two seasons. At Arizona State in 2023-24, he started all 30 games and finished second with 57 three-pointers.
In high school, Miller was Mr. Basketball for Illinois in 2020 and was a two-time Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
Miller has three games scoring double-digit points this season, and he also has three games with multiple three-pointers.
5. No. 17: Mario Saint-Supéry — 6’4” 199 lbs. Fr. Guard, Málaga, Spain
Stats: 8.6 pts, 3.4 rebs, 41 ast.-13 TO, 15 stl, 39.6 FG%, 9-20 3-PT FG, 84.6 FT%, 22 mpg
An international product, Saint-Supéry played for Spain in the 2023 and 2024 FIBA U18 European Championships, averaging 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on the latter, including a triple-double of 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against Slovenia. Saint-Supéry also debuted with Spain’s Senior National team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers on Nov. 22, 2024.
Saint-Supéry has 28 assists in his last four games, and he has three double-digit scoring games. He has started each of Gonzaga’s last four games.
6. No. 5: Emmanuel Innocenti — 6’5” 198 lbs. Jr. Forward, Petit Badien, Ivory Coast (ITC Piero Calamandrei); Tarleton State Transfer
Stats: 6.1 pts, 2.9 reb, 57.1 FG%, 9-20 3-PT FG, 18.8 mpg
Innocenti is in his second season with the Bulldogs after starting his career at Tarleton State. At Tarleton State, he was on the WAC All-Defensive and All-Freshman Teams.
He scored 15 points against Maryland in the Players’ Era Festival.
7. No. 3: Braeden Smith — 6’0” 170 lbs. R-Jr. Guard, Seattle (Seattle Prep); Colgate Transfer
Stats: 3 pts/gm., 1.8 rebs, 36% FG, 3-13 3-PT FG, 3-4 FT, 16.9 mpg
When he was a sophomore at Colgate in 2023-24, Smith was the Patriot League Player of the Year with 196 assists and 12.5 points per game. The year before, he was a finalist for National Freshman of the Year, anchoring an offense that ranked first nationally in three-point field goal percentage, second in field goal percentage, and second in assists per game.
In high school, Smith set the school records for assists (502) and steals (210).
Smith started the first four games this season, but he has played 15+ minutes in three of the four games since coming off the bench.
Head Coach: Mark Few (27th Season, 749-153) — 62 years old
Few has been the head coach of Gonzaga since 1999, but he’s been with them since 1989, when he was a graduate assistant. Through his first 26 seasons, Few has taken the Bulldogs to the National Championship twice, while leading them to 22 West Coast Conference regular-season titles and 20 West Coast Conference tournament titles. In addition, Few was the AP Coach of the Year in 2017 and is a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year. Few is also a 14-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. In 2025, Few received the John R. Wooden Award “Legends of Coaching” Award, presented by Principal Financial Group. The “Legends of Coaching” honor recognizes coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden’s high standard of coaching success and personal integrity.
The Bulldogs have been to 13 Sweet 16s with Mark Few and five Elite Eights. Seven players have been All-Americans, and 17 players have been named West Coast Conference Player of the Year.
Prior to being the Bulldogs’ head coach, Few was an assistant at Gonzaga for 10 seasons, the first as a graduate assistant in 1989.
Keys to the Game
1. Play with confidence
Forget what’s happened against Louisville, Michigan State, and North Carolina. This is a new game. Play the way you know how to play and shoot the ball with confidence. Trust the defense will get stops in the event of missed shots. Sometimes, it’s as simple as playing with confidence in these marquee games.
2. Rebounding
This goes without saying. Kentucky must rebound and compete with Gonzaga on the glass if it wants to be in a position to win this game.
3. Make them take tough shots
Like North Carolina, Gonzaga has a good field goal percentage. They shoot 50.5 percent from the floor, but that number goes down to 32.2 percent from three-point range. Only two players have taken more than 30 shots from three-point range. Force Gonzaga to shoot more three-pointers than they’re used to, and that could put the Wildcats in an optimal position to win this game.
4. Throw the first punch
Last season against Gonzaga, Kentucky fell behind by 16 points and lost its backup point guard. The Wildcats came back to win 90-89 in overtime. This season, it is paramount for the Wildcats to come out and take control of this game early. Gonzaga is coming off a 40-point loss last week to Michigan. The Bulldogs haven’t played since last Wednesday. Who knows what their mindset is and where they are at psychologically? That’s why Kentucky can take control of this game early by throwing the first punch.
Score Prediction: Bulldogs 84 – Wildcats 78
I expect the Wildcats to play much better offensively Friday night. The Bulldogs are a really good team, and I think they’re a little farther along than the Wildcats right now. But a strong competitive showing against a high-octane Gonzaga team could help ease some of the concerns prevalent within the fanbase right now. Find a way to win, and a lot of Wildcats’ fans will buy back into this team.
