Gonzaga power forward Drew Timme goes up for a layup during the Bulldogs' 90-97 win over Auburn at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. PHOTO BY CJ HADDAD

No. 1 ranked Gonzaga starts the season 2-0 while No. 6 Kansas split its two games, including a 102-90 loss to Gonzaga Thursday.

The Zags took care of Auburn 90-67 despite losing a player due to a positive COVID-19 test Friday morning and another due to quarantine rules. Both coaches said their medical teams came together, as well as local tournament and health officials, ultimately deciding the game could move forward as scheduled.

“It’s just kind of how the preseason has gone. You wait to get the news on testing and you have to react,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “We followed the COVID protocols of the tournament and the Florida Health board down here. Our guys have been incredibly diligent of following all the rules. We react to whatever happens after the tests. I think it’s going to be like that all year.”

Sophomore power forward Drew Timme finished off an impressive showing in Southwest Florida with a double-double, dropping 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and a block. Timme scored 25 and collected six boards in the game one win against Kansas.

Kansas guard Christian Braun finishes an alley-oop layup during the Jayhawk's 94-72 win over Saint Joseph's at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. PHOTO BY CJ HADDAD

“It’s been a lot of learning. We’ve still got a long way to go in working on that, but I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job so far,” Timme said when asked about the offensive communication early on. “Coach Few and his staff have really just been honing in on all of us to be better and to talk more and to just keep that flow going — because when we get that flow going, we don’t feel that anyone can outscore us.”

Bulldogs senior Corey Kispert continued his hot shooting performance from Thursday (23 points) and dropped in 25 with six boards, two assists and two steals.

Freshman stud Jalen Suggs followed up his impressive debut with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting on Friday, adding six assists and four rebounds.

It was all Gonzaga throughout the course of the game as the Tigers (1-1) were unable to slow down the interior offensive penetration from the Bulldogs (52 points in the paint), who at one time held a 30-point advantage in the second half.

“I’m proud of our guys, we got our mission accomplished down here,” Few said. “When we’re in constant movement, I like that. These guys can really pass and can all space the floor, too. We’ve played two teams that like to get up and down (the floor), too, so the pace of the game has been to our liking.

“I thought we were going to have a problem keeping (Auburn) off the glass and they did a great job. We challenged them and they stepped up.”

In the final game of the tournament, Kansas defeated Saint Joseph’s 94-72 in a game that wasn’t as lopsided as the final score would indicate.

The Hawks (0-2) moved the ball well out of the gate and held a slim lead over Kansas for a good portion of the first half.

Down 27-20 11 minutes in, the Jayhawks went on a 24-9 run to finish off a shaky first stanza, resulting in a 44-36 lead at the break and made the right adjustments heading into the second.

It was the Christian Braun show on the afternoon as the sophomore guard amassed 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds and three assists for the victors.

“I was for sure being more aggressive this game,” Braun said. “I should have been more aggressive the first game but I just made some shots early and it gave me energy.”

Braun said the Tip-Off was a good experience for a team that’s still working out the kinks early on.

“I think we learned a lot on this trip and need to apply that going forward,” he said. “I think everybody would have liked to come out 2-0, but the only way to improve is to take the loss and apply what we learned.”

Fellow guard Ochai Agbaji also stood out for Kansas, as the junior dropped 18 points with four boards and an assist.

Kansas outscored Saint Joseph’s 50-36 in the second half and rolled to a 94-72 final and showed off their long-range shooting along the way, knocking down 13 three-pointers overall.

“I thought today we were certainly better in some areas than yesterday,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “We didn’t get off to a great start early on, but I think our defense picked up when we stayed small. For the most part we shot the ball well, moved the ball well, and I think played pretty well in the second half after we got off to a slow start.”

Saint Joseph’s Jack Forrest led the way for the Hawks with 18 points. Ryan Daly and Dahmir Bishop each chipped in 14.

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