Official post-game discussion thread: Gonzaga 72 FSU 58....on to the elite 8

[Reborn]

Gonzaga 72
Florida St 58

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yippie eye ayyyyyyyy Go Zags

OMG what a GREAT GAME. I told you it would be a championship fight and the Zags knocked out Florida St. Zag defense was truly amazing. We all expected Florida St to be tough and difficult to score on, and they were. They fought us every inch of the way the second half and got our lead down to four. Then Norvell hit the bg three, and he turned back the tide. Clarke wasn't a lot on offense, but so tough on the boards and putting back missed shots by slam dunking them. He and Jones had back to back dunks off missed shots. I think someone else hit a big 3 down the backstretch, or did Norvell make another one. I know he made 4 of our 7 three's and was 4 for 8 from behind the arc for the game.

But it was truly the tough defense and rebounding that won this one. We held them to 39% shooting for the game and just 15% from beyond the arc. And we out rebounded them 45 to 36, and 13 of them were offensive rebounds and put backs. FSU only had 7 offensive boards. The Zags held Kabengele to 8 points and Mann to 5. Now that's impressive. Those two guys are pretty darn good. We also forced them into 14 turnovers, and many led to easy baskets for the Zags.

Zags scoring was really even, as it can be. Rui had 17, Clarke 15, Norvell and Josh Perkins both had 14. Pretty awesome. Tillie hit a 3 and as I mentioned Jones slammed down a put back for two points. Florida St was tough and it was difficult to score, but our offensive rebounding really helped us. I thought another huge thing that helped was Few played Tillie, Rui and Clarke all together the last 8 minutes and it helped a lot. Great adjustment by Few.

Great win. We are all celebrating I'm sure, and feeling really happy. REALLY HAPPY.

Go Zags!!!

[CDC84]

Just a few thoughts:

I know FSU is not an offensive powerhouse, but if GU defends like that they will be in every game the rest of the season. Clarke had 12 boards and 5 blocks, but only went 6/15 from field. I think he struggled with FSU's length at times....largely because he's seen nothing like it all season. I don't think it's going to be a huge issue at the next level. Welcome back Rui! Rui had 17 on 6/13 FG, 5/7 FT. More important, he was engaged and aggressive.

The turnovers ended up being even (14).

Some key differences: GU shot 9 more foul shots (75%), went 7/19 from three (37%), and out-rebounded FSU by 9. Kabengele and Mann went a combined 5/19 from the field (26%). Mann killed GU last year. 3 biggest plays in 2nd half:

3:02 = Norvell nailed a "smart," in rhythm three which put GU up 7 when FSU was really threatening to get the game even. Easily the biggest FG of the game.
2:06 = Clarke went from being an awful foul shooter at SJSU to a bad one at GU to a mediocre one late in the year. He hit the front end of a one and one and eventually the 2nd in what were the biggest foul shots of the night. Put GU up 9 at a time when they were missing foul shots like a plague.
1:18 = Perkins makes unbelievable lob pass over FSU length at end of shot clock for a Clarke layup. Game over.

FSU's Trent Forrest was incredible tonight, but I think GU's goal was to put the clamps on Mann (who hurt them so badly last year), and as I discussed before the game, Kabengele. When it gets to this stage of the tourney, you have to pick your poison.

[DZ]

3RD Elite 8 in 5 years.

That is something.

I think we're going to the Final Four.


Most mentally tough I have ever seen a Zag team. They were getting elbowed, knocked, gutted, stepped on, jawed at, and FSU kept coming, getting the calls, and getting it down to 4 and we wouldn't buy a basket. I thought they might fold. But not this team.

Extremely tough down the finish, started hitting a few shots, hitting FTs, some real tough tough stuff.

[asoc]

If anyone has a link to the elbow I would love to see it.
I was in the car listening on the radio when it occured.

[23dpg]

[rennis]

I only have one thought

[scrooner]

FSU's Trent Forrest was incredible tonight, but I think GU's goal was to put the clamps on Mann (who hurt them so badly last year), and as I discussed before the game, Kabengele. When it gets to this stage of the tourney, you have to pick your poison.

Mann had one dunk after getting away with a double dribble, and that's it. I thought he was going to shred us.

[GeorgiaZagFan]

This Florida State team was really good and was playing well going 16-2 down the stretch with their only losses @ UNC and against Duke in the ACC championship game...plus they had beaten Florida, LSU and Purdue in their OOC schedule and a Murray State team that was on a really good roll....Go Zags!!

[gueastcoast]

Incredible toughness. The entire team.

Amazing how after all these years we've come to take Josh for granted. Always has a hiccup or two (who doesn't?), but wouldn't want any other QB for this team.

Just proud.

[strikenowhere]

History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme - another S16 game where the Zags out-tough the mighty P5 school. Honestly, I feel like after this battle, the E8 game is going to be relatively easy.

[BayAreaZagFan]

I totally agree. This team showed toughness throughout the game. The toughness needed to go all the way. I can't wait until Saturday!!!

[Robzagnut]

Zags defense won that game. Completely took FSU out of their offense. They looked uncomfortable the whole game.

Snax 3 turned the game around when the offense went stagnant and they were only up by 4. Ammo said FSU was trash talking the whole game and thought the FSU player should have been thrown out for the elbow to Rui's face. Zags didn't back down. Not one bit. They were the aggressors on defense.

[CdAZagFan]

Gritty win... sloppy at times. There was a stretch of turnovers and missed shots there with about 8-10 mins left in the game and I thought this team might start hanging their heads. But then they turned it around and really amped it back up down the stretch. Great showing.

[MontanaCoyote]

3RD Elite 8 in 5 years.

That is something.

I think we're going to the Final Four.


Most mentally tough I have ever seen a Zag team. They were getting elbowed, knocked, gutted, stepped on, jawed at, and FSU kept coming, getting the calls, and getting it down to 4 and we wouldn't buy a basket. I thought they might fold. But not this team.

Extremely tough down the finish, started hitting a few shots, hitting FTs, some real tough tough stuff.

Yes! My Dad would have said, “Proved their mettle tonight.”

[jazzdelmar]

That crap comes from the top. Don’t know why Hamilton is deified. A John Thompson wannabe.

Zags defense won that game. Completely took FSU out of their offense. They looked uncomfortable the whole game.

Snax 3 turned the game around when the offense went stagnant and they were only up by 4. Ammo said FSU was trash talking the whole game and thought the FSU player should have been thrown out for the elbow to Rui's face. Zags didn't back down. Not one bit. They were the aggressors on defense.

[Hoopaholic]

If anyone has a link to the elbow I would love to see it.
I was in the car listening on the radio when it occured.

I don’t but it was worthy of ejection shot goes in rui and FSU guy bumped heads

FSU player took step towards baseline to get into press the turns taking a full step toward rui puts firearm up and swings elbow into this nose he the. Turned back toward baseline to get in press. Pure and simply intentional dirty play in my book

[CDC84]

I honestly cannot remember many opponents who GU has played in recent memory where the shots were more hard to come by. FSU made it so hard to score. No way GU wins that game without their defensive effort. And again, guys like Brandon and Norvell making clutch plays in clutch moments. How about Brandon hitting those foul shots which sealed the win. That is not coming from being a great foul shooter. That's coming from a possible future NBA lottery pick. Big time, talented players have a sense of the moment and seize on it.

[BayAreaZagFan]

Please - stop worrying!!

We are that good!!

[ZagOD7540]

Mann had one dunk after getting away with a double dribble, and that's it. I thought he was going to shred us.

I could not believe that double dribble was not called. There were a couple of bad travels missed too.

[Reborn]

I honestly cannot remember many opponents who GU has played in recent memory where the shots were more hard to come by. FSU made it so hard to score. No way GU wins that game without their defensive effort. And again, guys like Brandon and Norvell making clutch plays in clutch moments. How about Brandon hitting those foul shots which sealed the win. That is not coming from being a great foul shooter. That's coming from a possible future NBA lottery pick. Big time, talented players have a sense of the moment and seize on it.

I watched the GU game vs West Virginia in the run to the Final Four in '17. That game was tougher. Or maybe this years team is a little bit better offensively. That game was very similar to this one tonight. Our offensive put backs were a big part of our offense tonight, which is quite different for these Zags. Clarke was an animal on the boards for sure. What is so cool is our defense was better than theirs. Really cool.

Go Zags!!!

[ZagOD7540]

Just a few thoughts:

I know FSU is not an offensive powerhouse, but if GU defends like that they will be in every game the rest of the season. Clarke had 12 boards and 5 blocks, but only went 6/15 from field. I think he struggled with FSU's length at times....largely because he's seen nothing like it all season. I don't think it's going to be a huge issue at the next level. Welcome back Rui! Rui had 17 on 6/13 FG, 5/7 FT. More important, he was engaged and aggressive.

The turnovers ended up being even (14).

Some key differences: GU shot 9 more foul shots (75%), went 7/19 from three (37%), and out-rebounded FSU by 9. Kabengele and Mann went a combined 5/19 from the field (26%). Mann killed GU last year. 3 biggest plays in 2nd half:

3:02 = Norvell nailed a "smart," in rhythm three which put GU up 7 when FSU was really threatening to get the game even. Easily the biggest FG of the game.
2:06 = Clarke went from being an awful foul shooter at SJSU to a bad one at GU to a mediocre one late in the year. He hit the front end of a one and one and eventually the 2nd in what were the biggest foul shots of the night. Put GU up 9 at a time when they were missing foul shots like a plague.
1:18 = Perkins makes unbelievable lob pass over FSU length at end of shot clock for a Clarke layup. Game over.

FSU's Trent Forrest was incredible tonight, but I think GU's goal was to put the clamps on Mann (who hurt them so badly last year), and as I discussed before the game, Kabengele. When it gets to this stage of the tourney, you have to pick your poison.

Just watched that lob to Clarke again. That was an absolute perfect pass from Perkins. Huge bucket. Agree with all 3 up there. I would add a 4th. I thought Tillie was terrific on the defensive end. Contested shots, went straight up, and played aggressively.

[Nevada Don]

Awesome !!!!!
Very pleased.
All the best.
Don

[ConnZag3]

Great win when points were certainly hard to come by but 2 things I noticed that are annoying/concerning:
1) Middle of that second half when FSU was coming back it was like no one wanted to shoot the ball outside of Norvell and he was on the bench most of that time. We need Rui or Tillie to be a more aggressive and willing to take shots instead of waiting for Josh to go one on one with 6 seconds left on the shot clock.
2) The lack of Crandall in the second half of both of these last 2 tournament games I don't like one bit. His ball pressure was great in the first half tonight and against Baylor yet we never seem to see if at all after the break. Plus it would help to get Josh a minute or two of rest because I think he gets careless with the ball when he's gassed.

Special shoutout to how great of a defensive effort Tillie provided in the post tonight too. He was amazing against such a long and athletic front line and made some huge defensive stops when the offensive was struggling.

[strikenowhere]

Great win when points were certainly hard to come by but 2 things I noticed that are annoying/concerning:
1) Middle of that second half when FSU was coming back it was like no one wanted to shoot the ball outside of Norvell and he was on the bench most of that time. We need Rui or Tillie to be a more aggressive and willing to take shots instead of waiting for Josh to go one on one with 6 seconds left on the shot clock.
2) The lack of Crandall in the second half of both of these last 2 tournament games I don't like one bit. His ball pressure was great in the first half tonight and against Baylor yet we never seem to see if at all after the break. Plus it would help to get Josh a minute or two of rest because I think he gets careless with the ball when he's gassed.

Special shoutout to how great of a defensive effort Tillie provided in the post tonight too. He was amazing against such a long and athletic front line and made some huge defensive stops when the offensive was struggling.

I thought Crandall saw 2nd half minutes, no?

[kdaleb]

I thought Crandall saw 2nd half minutes, no?

Coach Few mentioned in the post game presser that Crandall went back in with about 4 minutes to go