John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats turn their attention to Mark Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Kentucky Wildcats took care of business on Tuesday against Vanderbilt, dropping 109 points and coasting to an easy victory behind 24 points from Antonio Reeves and 20 points and nine assists off the bench from Rob Dillingham.

Now they get a break from SEC action when they host the Gonzaga Bulldogs out of the WCC on Saturday, part of a six game series agreed to by John Calipari and Mark Few the summer before the 2022-23 season.

Gonzaga hosted the first game at the Spokane Arena last year and secured an 88-72 victory, and now the 'Cats will look for revenge at their actual home, Rupp Arena, with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS.

Meet the Zags

Record: 16-6

KenPom: 22

NET: 28

This is not your typical Gonzaga team. Or at least, not what has become the new typical for Few's program the last decade or so. The Zags are still 16-6 and ranked inside the Top 30 at both KenPom and in the NET, but they have yet to pick up anything resembling a marquee victory and currently sit with an 0-5 record in Quad 1 games, having lost to Purdue, UConn, San Diego State, Washington, and most recently WCC foe St. Mary's on Saturday at The Kennel.

Those losses resulted in Gonzaga falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2016(!) a streak that is currently the 10th longest in the AP era.

The loss of Drew Timme, the school's all-time leading scorer, as well as wing Julian Strawther and veteran guards Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith has taken a toll on this program, not to mention the departure of Hunter Sallis who is having an All-ACC caliber season for Wake Forest.

Still, this team did plenty to reload in the offseason and at times has looked like an exceptional team, one who is more balanced on both ends of the floor. The addition of Graham Ike from Wyoming has paid off handsomely, as the big fella is averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as the squad's anchor down low. 

Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard has not quite had the success Zags fans were hoping for, but Andrew's younger brother is still an elite facilitator as shown by his 5.8 assists and 2.3 turnovers per contest.

Gonzaga is 28th in adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom, and while they are struggling as a team to shoot from the perimeter - in part because of a preseason ACL injury to sharpshooter Steele Venters - they can gash teams up in the pick and roll and are very good at getting Ike and veteran Anton Watson the ball in positions to score.

Additionally, the defense - which was once an achilles heel for Few - is now ranked 35th at KenPom, and if they can find ways to keep Dillingham and Reeves in front of them they could certainly make this a tough contest for Calipari and the 'Cats.