Gonzaga vs TTU Post Game thoughts and analysis

[Reborn]

Texas Tech 75
Gonzaga 69

You can analyze this game all day long, but I think it came down to how most really good games end, they made their shots, and didn't make stupid mistakes. We've got to give credit to Texas Tech for making the plays that they did, and nailing down those two three pointers at the end of the game. And they made all their foul shots. So congrats to Texas Tech. This game is a testimony that really tough defense overcomes really good offense. There was no one guarding the Tech shooter when he made those two threes at the end. Missing defensive assignments like that has hurt the Zags before (Tennessee).

As has been said, our Zags had way too many turnovers, and that was a huge part of the reason we lost. But on the other hand, a stifling defense does make a team turn it over. The Zags also had a lot of turnovers against Florida St. I think the difference between Florida St were twofold. Against Florida St we were shooting well from the outside (Norvell). The second is the refs called a closer game against Florida St. The refs yesterday let a lot of reaching fouls go. I think that many teams could have the kind of defense Texas Tech has if refs allowed them to reach in and foul all game long. It's hard to get your offense go if the opponent is always reaching in.

The Zags fought to the very end, and for a moment I even thought they were going to pull it out at the end. But one more time, a HUGE mistake stifled any chance of victory. It's been a great year following this team. I really enjoyed them a lot. It ended sooner than I had hoped, but sometimes that happens. But I'm still very proud of them all. Thanks to you all for 4 months of a really good time. The Elite 8 is a pretty good season.

Do I think this team is better than the 2017? No. That's obvious. Give credit to the '17 team for what they accomplished.I'll never forget Mathews hitting that 3 pointer at the end of the West Virginia game to seal the victory. You need to make those kind of shots (or the 2 that Texas Tech hit) to win big games like these.

Go Zags!!!

[DZ]

The refs didn't beat us, as you note, TT hit the 3s at the critical time of the game, we did not.

But boy did it bother me a ton to see how "active" TT's hands were in turning us over, Few going full red-forehead in screaming about the fouls on Rui, and we were not even in the bonus with 3 minutes left to play. but Tech was.


Just an awful match-up for us. Probably the worst match-up in the entire tournament were lined up as our S16 and E8 games. But, we controlled and led for most of the game. At times I thought we'd get a little separation, yet it never happened. We shot really poorly from deep.


Tech is a very very tough team. Very good. I wouldn't be surprised if they win it all.

[kitzbuel]

Your post-game write ups, Reborn, have been as good as any I have found on line. Great analysis from your basketball player's perspective.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[katman50]

Always enjoy Reborn’s write ups as well as his Zag passion and incurable optimism. Thanks.

[TacomaZAG]

Just too many TO's, with TT playing a big part in that. Can't have 16 TO's in the E8 game and win it. Like in 2017, these games tend to turn on a single play or two, and this year TT made those plays and GU didn't, as opposed to 2017 when the ZAGS made those game defining plays. The ZAGS missed too many wide open 3's, especially in the first half when they could have gotten some separation.

Moretti had 10 of his 12 points in the last 1:50, including the two 3's that were the daggers.

Great year again in 2019. We have really become spoiled when an E8 run seems like a "disappointment". I was really hoping for another Final 4, like we all were, but once again the kids (and they are kids) gave us another fantastic ride, and represented GU with nothing but class and grace. After sleeping on the loss, another E8 banner (the 3rd E8 in 5 years) will look great in the Kennel rafters.

Is it November yet????????????

Go ZAGS

[CdAZagFan]

Appreciate your post-game writeups, Reborn... As for the game, I really wish the GU-TT game would have been like the Purdue-Virginia game. That game was like two heavyweights throwing their best punches, the stars of each team rising to the top. Critical play after critical play from both sides. I thought we played pretty well the first half, but that second half wasn't much happening for us. For me personally, I was thinking how far we have come to be bitterly disappointed not to make the National Championship game. Can't say I've ever felt that way before (in itself, that is a pretty cool feeling). I think this team will just keep coming back to the tourney and keep trying until eventually they will succeed.

[MichZagFan]

I always feel worse during the next day than I do immediately following a loss. Those friggin Red Raiders took out my Zags and my Wolverines. All credit to them.

This sucks. Go Zags!

[Zags11]

I always feel like someone let the air out of the balloon when the season ends. This is just my own selfish reasons. I hate to see the boys leave is mainly why. You get a connection with the players and then they are gone. I will be back year after year god willing but players wont. That is why its so tough for me.

I as a competitor always hated losing more then winning. The losses stuck to me like oatmeal in my stomach. I always go back and over analyze what could of been. The game really came down to turnovers and poor shooting. I don't understand why Tillie was left on the bench when he is as talented as anyone.

Go Zags.

[krozman]

I can't see the argument over the refs, because I saw more missed calls in GU's favor than the opposite. The kicked ball that gave GU the ball immediately before the miracle 3 in the last seconds, for example, is the most notable. The simple fact is that we turned the ball over. Clarke and Rui, for example, are not their best when they're dribbling in the paint against a set halfcourt defense. Against an amazing TTU defensive team, those turnovers are a reflection of that still developing ball handling. Those, while pointed out, weren't all of them. Dumb plays snowballed. It wasn't a St. Marys game. It wasn't a UCLA collapse. It was a game where they couldn't put a run together the entire night, but GU also didn't let them put runs together either.

[Hoopaholic]

I can't see the argument over the refs, because I saw more missed calls in GU's favor than the opposite. The kicked ball that gave GU the ball immediately before the miracle 3 in the last seconds, for example, is the most notable. The simple fact is that we turned the ball over. Clarke and Rui, for example, are not their best when they're dribbling in the paint against a set halfcourt defense. Against an amazing TTU defensive team, those turnovers are a reflection of that still developing ball handling. Those, while pointed out, weren't all of them. Dumb plays snowballed. It wasn't a St. Marys game. It wasn't a UCLA collapse. It was a game where they couldn't put a run together the entire night, but GU also didn't let them put runs together either.

Under the rules that is not a kicked ball as Norvell made no effort to strike the ball with hai leg or foot

The vast majority of turnovers involved our bigs who did not adjust to the double and triple teams that occured from different angles never the same twice

As to the blocked shot out of bounds that was a blatant error and was just as we were trying to make a run to tie game

[bballbeachbum]

I can't see the argument over the refs, because I saw more missed calls in GU's favor than the opposite. The kicked ball that gave GU the ball immediately before the miracle 3 in the last seconds, for example, is the most notable. The simple fact is that we turned the ball over. Clarke and Rui, for example, are not their best when they're dribbling in the paint against a set halfcourt defense. Against an amazing TTU defensive team, those turnovers are a reflection of that still developing ball handling. Those, while pointed out, weren't all of them. Dumb plays snowballed. It wasn't a St. Marys game. It wasn't a UCLA collapse. It was a game where they couldn't put a run together the entire night, but GU also didn't let them put runs together either.

it wasn't a kicked ball.

not that I'm talking about you because I;m not, but that there is a discussion about that play somehow being relevant, led by so many outlets right now, just par for the course. the Man needs representatives to make its case in the trial of public opinion. reminds me of an attorney making a case to the jury, and using false evidence lol

[MJ777]

it wasn't a kicked ball.

not that I'm talking about you because I;m not, but that there is a discussion about that play somehow being relevant, led by so many outlets right now, just par for the course. the Man needs representatives to make its case in the trial of public opinion. reminds me of an attorney making a case to the jury, and using false evidence lol

Speaking of kicked balls, Rui looked like he was playing soccer when on D. He kept kicking his leg out.

[jayray]

The refs didn't beat us, as you note, TT hit the 3s at the critical time of the game, we did not.

But boy did it bother me a ton to see how "active" TT's hands were in turning us over, Few going full red-forehead in screaming about the fouls on Rui, and we were not even in the bonus with 3 minutes left to play. but Tech was.


Just an awful match-up for us. Probably the worst match-up in the entire tournament were lined up as our S16 and E8 games. But, we controlled and led for most of the game. At times I thought we'd get a little separation, yet it never happened. We shot really poorly from deep.


Tech is a very very tough team. Very good. I wouldn't be surprised if they win it all.

I would be very surprised if they won it all. They just aren’t that good of a team. Gonzaga made them look better than they were and the refs aren’t going to give them all the breaks they have been getting the next two games. I’d be surprised if they won the next game.

[MDABE80]

We didn't hang onto the ball and we shot poorly. Shocked at how we got slapped, hit, run over and basically fouled with no calls. A combination of things lost this game. A few of our players were not fierce and sorta rolled over. In the end, we gave up the ball too many times whether fouls were call or not. Doesn't really matter if we prevailed on the boards when we let em have the ball back. Then we shot poorly. No excuses...….we'll be back.

Worst of all is this: We were warned about the 3 pt skill of their 3 guards. And yet they beat us with their 3 pt shooting in the end. Unkindest cut.

[MJ777]

I would be very surprised if they won it all. They just aren’t that good of a team. Gonzaga made them look better than they were and the refs aren’t going to give them all the breaks they have been getting the next two games. I’d be surprised if they won the next game.

Especially if TTU is playing Zuke.

[zagcheer78]

Thank you Reborn for your post it just helps to take a step back and take a look without being emotional. It is what it is and we will be back next year.
I would like to take a moment to say how very proud I am of our BB culture at G.U. I know that we all have the final goal of winning the championship and we are honestly good enough to do so but stuff happens. Some need to quit looking for someone or something to blame when the fact is that we are dealing with kids who are not going to be always on, and our conference is what it is but it is getting better.
If people are looking for the media and pundits to love all over us like they seem to do for Duke, you can forget it. It is not in their interest to do so for many reasons and it probably comes down to there is not enough money to be made in doing so.
Our B.B. culture at G.U. just rubs some people the wrong way as it proves that doing things the ethical way can succeed. To be honest, if we ever stoop to the level that some programs do, then we are doomed. Coach Few and his staff do not recruit players to use them up and then discard them. Instead, they want young men to buy into the Gonzaga way with the focus on team and doing it the ethical way. When these young men leave G.U. they are equipped to be successful human beings. When it is all said and done, that is what really matters.
Love my Zags!

[MDABE80]

Good post Zagcheer. I agree. It's more than a pitstop to a higher basketball level at GU...……. Always good to remember that our goals are likely a bit different with this school. And I hope the values and system doesn't change much.

[TexasZagFan]

Thank you Reborn for your post it just helps to take a step back and take a look without being emotional. It is what it is and we will be back next year.
I would like to take a moment to say how very proud I am of our BB culture at G.U. I know that we all have the final goal of winning the championship and we are honestly good enough to do so but stuff happens. Some need to quit looking for someone or something to blame when the fact is that we are dealing with kids who are not going to be always on, and our conference is what it is but it is getting better.
If people are looking for the media and pundits to love all over us like they seem to do for Duke, you can forget it. It is not in their interest to do so for many reasons and it probably comes down to there is not enough money to be made in doing so.
Our B.B. culture at G.U. just rubs some people the wrong way as it proves that doing things the ethical way can succeed. To be honest, if we ever stoop to the level that some programs do, then we are doomed. Coach Few and his staff do not recruit players to use them up and then discard them. Instead, they want young men to buy into the Gonzaga way with the focus on team and doing it the ethical way. When these young men leave G.U. they are equipped to be successful human beings. When it is all said and done, that is what really matters.
Love my Zags!

Good post. For me, Zag hoops is a journey every year. This year's destination was disappointing no doubt, but it was a helluva ride. We were able to get in our annual road trip, to the Creighton game. It was so cool to meet and greet all the Zag alums and fans at the pregame social. Props to woohoo for setting it up.

I was over the loss a few hours after the game, though I'll have a nice chat with Big D after school on Monday. He's getting better at dealing with tough losses, but after all, he's only 8. He's had a lot of practice at dealing with tough losses, as he's a Dallas Cowboys fan. lol

[JPtheBeasta]

It was an entertaining game with big plays on both sides. The frantic comeback was exciting, and Perkins' play (God bless him) was so deflating because I don't think they were getting the ball in if he doesn't put his hand in the cookie jar in one of the most epically bad mistakes one could make in that moment; this was just after hitting probably the biggest three of his career. It is kind of ironic that this team was so good that they weren't in any of these end-of-game situations and, as-such, didn't have any experience with it. I hated the way this game was called, but the Zags were still in it until the end. The only way for me to keep from having sour grapes after this one is to look at the score and tell myself that there is no way they should have let Texas Tech score that many points. If the Zags play better defense, they still win this game. I thought going in that if the Zags scored 70 that they would be the victors. It's funny how sports go sometimes...

[Birddog]

It was an entertaining game with big plays on both sides. The frantic comeback was exciting, and Perkins' play (God bless him) was so deflating because I don't think they were getting the ball in if he doesn't put his hand in the cookie jar in one of the most epically bad mistakes one could make in that moment; this was just after hitting probably the biggest three of his career. It is kind of ironic that this team was so good that they weren't in any of these end-of-game situations and, as-such, didn't have any experience with it. I hated the way this game was called, but the Zags were still in it until the end. The only way for me to keep from having sour grapes after this one is to look at the score and tell myself that there is no way they should have let Texas Tech score that many points. If the Zags play better defense, they still win this game. I thought going in that if the Zags scored 70 that they would be the victors. It's funny how sports go sometimes...

If they just take care of the ball and don't throw it away they win. They could have easily been up by 10 at the half but they lost the momentum

[krozman]

Ironic that Virginia is the lone 1 seed left in the tourney, so GU definitely not alone in the world of disappointing hard games.

[Skimhvn]

I didn't know how to move on, but I feel better a little. Thanks to MSU, Auburn.

[GeorgiaZagFan]

I can't see the argument over the refs, because I saw more missed calls in GU's favor than the opposite. The kicked ball that gave GU the ball immediately before the miracle 3 in the last seconds, for example, is the most notable. The simple fact is that we turned the ball over. Clarke and Rui, for example, are not their best when they're dribbling in the paint against a set halfcourt defense. Against an amazing TTU defensive team, those turnovers are a reflection of that still developing ball handling. Those, while pointed out, weren't all of them. Dumb plays snowballed. It wasn't a St. Marys game. It wasn't a UCLA collapse. It was a game where they couldn't put a run together the entire night, but GU also didn't let them put runs together either.

there is NO WAY you can have ANY basketball sense and believe that Gonzaga got more missed calls in their favor....for TTech to have only 2 fouls in the 2nd half with 8 minutes left was a joke....play after play the Red Raiders were allowed to get away with fouls to knock the ball away...some of the worst calls... Tillie missed a short shot went up for the rebound with BOTH hands and a TTech player comes flying in and smacks Tillies arm and goes flying out of bounds....should have been a foul on them but the ref called a foul on Tillie....so wrong....another play the defender was BEHIND Clarke and reached THROUGH him to poke the ball away..that should be a defensive foul EVERY time....no call...Rui is in the lane and a TTech defender slaps down and hits an arm...the ball is turned over...no call.....there was play after play like that...on the other end Crandall slaps down on a ball inside ..INSTANT FOUL called....I believe Texas Tech got away with a reputation of being a great defensive team...all I saw was an undisciplined defense team that for some reason the refs refused to call fouls against in the 2nd half.....with that said, the Zags still had their chances but didn't make the shots when they needed to.....even with all that, if the refs had just gotten the easy call when the TTech saved the ball by jumping from out of bounds the game would have been tied with under a minute to go and Perkins probably doesn't pull his blunder play...and by the way...don't make such an ignorant comment about the Zags getting away with a kicked ball when you clearly are clueless to the rules!! That was NOT a violation under the "kicked ball" rule. The refs easily swayed this game 8-10 points in Texas Tech's favor.....

[zagfan1]

Gonzaga missed too many shots in the TT game. If we made a few more and prevented them from hitting those critical threes we win it despite the turnovers. The good news is that Kentucky and Duke also lost. Will miss Brandon and Rui.

[Reborn]

The Elite 8 games were the best ever they say. I believe it. What a great weekend of college basketball. We are not the only fanbase who feels the agony of defeat this this weekend. I knew it would be tough to make it to the Final 4 and win it all. IT ALWAYS IS. Mark Few has always said that it takes luck to win it all, or even to make it to the Final 4, which of course is the goal of every top 20 team. Duke had all kinds of luck over the course of two weeks. They were lucky to even be in the Elite 8. Virginia was certainly lucky. Texas Tech was lucky to have the refs that they had. And Barrett misses a one and one to tie the game up and send it into overtime. Michigan St was very Lucky that he did. I'm not sure of Auburn. I didn't see any of their games. After the Tech dribbler dribbled the ball off of Norvell's shoe, and Josh hit that 3 with 22 seconds left, I thought Lady Luck had finally shown up. But when Josh committed that once in a lifetime freaky technical foul on an out of bounds play, and it looked like Tech was not going to get the ball inbounds, LADY LUCK suddenly disappeared.

There really were a lot of Zag fans who believed we'd go all the way this year. Most I think. There were those who didn't believe that, and maybe they feel like saying, "I told you so." There are always fans who write here who are going to criticize the program. It's just in their nature. So of course so many of us are disappointed and even hurt inside. People like my son Isaac who I have watched these Tournament games with every year for 40 years. He was still hurting today. And so are many fans. Most all fans are disappointed, but I need to say it will wear off. In a few days, or a week, or many a little longer, we will remember this team and these guys and be so grateful to have gone on this journey with them. It's really sad for me to think of guys like Rui, and Clarke, Perkins, and Jones and Crandall, and maybe Tillie and to think we may never see them play in a Zag uniform again. It is sad. Like all of you, I love these guys, and they have given me so many awesome nights and days to watch them play and do their thing. Rui has been my favorite player for a long time, and I will really miss his smile. I will miss how he dribbles up court the full length of the court and dunks it. I will miss his thunderous dunks, and his high leaping rebounds and blocked shots. I will miss how he grew defensively and must have worked so hard on it.

And I will really miss Clarke, who is kind of a freak of nature like Zion. I will ALWAYS miss how he blocks shots. He gave us so many thrilling moments doing just that, and there has never been a Zag like him who's been able to do that. I also miss his thundering dunks. But mostly I will just miss seeing him fly in the air like Superman. Rui and Brandon were quite a duo down low. I really do wish THEY could have made it to the Final 4. They deserved to feel what it feels like. They are that good. Lady Luck was just not on our side. Best of luck to all those we won't see play in a Zag Uni again. I hope to see a few of you in the NBA.

Go Zags!!!

ps It's not very often that I cry these beautiful tears I now shed. But this team was that special. And it's ok to feel the way I do.