THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A lot to learn from for this Zags squad

The Zags got caught in some waves, but they haven’t actually fallen into the ocean.

At least, not so far.

You be the judge on whether Gonzaga rallied gamely on Thanksgiving after blowing a game to West Virginia a day earlier in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Or, let’s steal a book title, just for fun.

Did the Zags simply run into a dreadful Indiana team that was the inspiration for “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight”?

Either way, true catastrophe was avoided on Thursday when the Zags cruised past Indiana 89-73, with all five starters scoring in double figures.

They also got to do some bumping and grinding (mostly unsuccessful) with old friend Oumar Ballo.

The big guy, who spent two years at Gonzaga, then three at Arizona, is playing his final collegiate season for Indiana.

Ballo used his mighty 320-pound frame to carve out space and drop in 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting.

He also helped get the entire Gonzaga roster in foul trouble — although the whistle-crazy officiating crew of Darron George, Eric Lewis and Isaac Barnett had a major role in that.

THE TRIO called 44 fouls, turning what was doomed to be a bad game into something that no doubt left the Bahamian tourist board wondering if visitor passports should be checked more carefully.

OK, so it was an awful two-plus hours of basketball, and if you’re Indiana coach Mike Woodson, perhaps a couple more months on Paradise Island might be a good idea.

The hoop-crazy crowd back home in Bloomington cannot be amused by 22 percent shooting from 3-point range, 68 percent free throw accuracy and a 42-27 deficit on the boards (with Ballo getting just four).

As for the Zags, well, after the collapse against West Virginia, they had to be happy with a win over anybody.

However, Mark Few clearly is still looking for a magic combination of his nine players to balance offensive rhythm and some steel at the other end.

For instance, smooth-shooting post Braden Huff scored 19 points on 9-of-14 accuracy over 30 minutes on Wednesday, but was on the floor only nine minutes (five points) against Indiana.

Few also needs to decide what to do with court-savvy Dusty Stromer.

The 6-5 guard is one of his better defenders, but he scored just two points (on only four shot attempts) over the two games.

Where does Dusty fit in the rotation?

On the plus side, Michael Ajayi came to the party this time, ringing up 15 points and nine rebounds.

And of course, Ryan Nembhard once again conducted the orchestra with 13 assists.

One critical difference from the West Virginia debacle was that this time around, Nembhard added 10 points — as opposed to going 1-for-10 from the floor in the loss to the Mountaineers.

So, how will all these parts fit in Few’s giant jigsaw?

For that matter, are the players mixed up with all the lineup changes?

WITH ALL his experience, Few himself might not see how he pictures this team falling into place.

Before the Zags left for the Bahamas, Few said: “We need to find out about ourselves.”

It would be interesting to know if anything has become clear to the coaches and players.

Few himself confessed to a blunder that basically cost them the West Virginia game.

The Zags had a five-point lead with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Few told everyone to stay tight on the two shooters — Tucker DeVries and Javon Small — and inserted Emmanuel Innocenti in the game.

Innocenti has a rep as an excellent defender, but he hasn’t played one meaningful second.

He got lost on a screen, the Zags were all over the place defensively, and DeVries drilled a wide-open 3-ball.

The Zags then had trouble getting the ball up court, and Few admitted afterward that, seeing the panic, he should have hollered for a timeout.

He didn’t, DeVries ultimately stole the ball from Hickman and got fouled driving for the layup.

The next bit of madness involved Few and rules about substitutions.

With DeVries about to shoot his freebies, Few called time and inserted his biggest lineup to be sure of getting a rebound.

Once the free throws were made, Few went to put Nembhard back in the game – and was told he couldn’t do it.

That meant Khalif Battle took the inbounds pass, zoomed up court (he had 6.6 seconds, but only knows one speed), and ultimately lost control of the ball.

The dispirited Zags thus were tossed into overtime, got thoroughly outplayed and took their first loss of the year.

Needless to say, all that nonsense in just 18 seconds should never happen to a veteran team like the Zags – and certainly not to a wise old head like Few.

Well, he said they’d find out about themselves at this event.

I wonder if they have.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through

Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”