Gonzaga vs Texas A&M postgame thoughts and analysis

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

Zags’ go on the road to out tough, out execute and outshoot the Aggies. Granted Texas A&M is a new team learning a new system and perhaps reeling from the news their best player has been suspended. Nonetheless, great win for this young Zags team a team also learning a new system together (frosh; grad transfers) and missing their best player.

CK streaky performances starting to worry me (where was his head?...he had some really bad turnovers and just didn’t seem in the flow at all); nonetheless, great win for Gonzaga. That is a big, strong physical team with quality D1 athleticism and a big home crowd. Have you ever heard a crowd so quiet!!!? Zags just shut that place up

It was so quiet it felt like I was watching a closed door scrimmage.

[Zagger]

Quiet was right .... missing was anything like the Kennel Club. The announcers said it hadn’t been since the 90s that a top 10 team had been there. The game was well attended. Maybe the 15th of each month there is Valium day

CK w/ only 3 points on 1/10 shooting ...... he was fairly well defended but, maybe he didn’t travel well. Woolridge & Gilder did OK. Ayayi too & Petrusev got in a few. Zags had a hard time finding the net here and there.

[jazzdelmar]

On CK, shooting comes and goes; he could be 7-10 next game. Problem is he’s a step slower than rest of the team and the least athletic GU starter since...., well, a long time. Not talking about biceps, but quickness. But he’s earnest and takes directions well. If Few is going to have him eat up 36-38 of PT, which is likely, he will have to contribute in many other ways.

[GoZags]

..... The announcers said it hadn’t been since the 90s that a top 10 team had been there....

That would be "non-conference" Top 10 team (i.e. early in the season). These guys are in the SEC which means Kentucky, Florida et al play conference games in that gym.

[TexasZagFan]

That would be "non-conference" Top 10 team (i.e. early in the season). These guys are in the SEC which means Kentucky, Florida et al play conference games in that gym.

Buzz is the right hire for the Aggies. Last night’s crowd was about 9,000, a big increase from their first two games. My son went to Midnight Yell at Kyle Field, I’ll have to ask him how many were there. Last home football game for the year, too.

[Reborn]

I wasn't able to see the game, but it sounds like the Zags survived a rough and tumble game. Nice to see our defense have a really good night.
Zags win 79-49. Woolridge and Gilder lead the way with 16 points apiece. Nice to see that. Really nice I mean. Woolridge sure seems to ba a really tough player. Petrusev contributed 14 and Timme 11. Ayayi had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists off the bench. Watson had 8. It's really nice to see that the Zags have two guys coming off the bench who really contribute to the game. Gonzaga has had some really good players off the bench in the past, and this may be the best of them all. And it'll only get better when Tille becomes a starter. Wow!!! Zag guards appear to be really good rebounders too. All three of them had 7 rebounds each.

Turnovers appear to have been a problem, and that's why it's good to play a team that plays really tough defense. There will be a few more teams like that. It's nice to see Gilder and Woolridge knocking down some 3s. As you know I like to see our guards making those 3s.

Could someone post a place I could watch the game later today. Thanks.

Go Zags!!!

[TacomaZAG]

First and foremost, A&M is not good..........at all. Second, the guys started slowly in their first road game, no surprise there.

Specifically, Gilder and Woolridge were very impressive during the 20-0 run that put the game away. I thought CK was rushing everything, trying to do too much against the first "quality" opponent of the year. He'll be fine..............

Not to worry, good "lunch pail" road victory in the OOC. Lots to work on, lots of upside.

Go ZAGS

[Markburn1]

Workman like would be my description. Nothing flashy. Great result.

A&M didn't put up as much resistance as I had hoped. Zags needed to face some adversity before hitting the meat of their schedule.

Biggest takeaway for me is the length the Zags present on the wings with Watson and Ayayi. They are both disruptors. I would like Watson to show a little more intensity along with the rest of the team, but maybe it was perception being that they were playing in a library.

Guards did their thing again with all around games that were best described as solid.

Petrusev will have to be stronger against more physical competition.

Timme is going to be a stud. He is not intimidated at all. Makes progress every time out.

Kispert.

[HenneZag]

All and all I was happy with the result. A rough start for sure and CK had a stinker.

My two bright spots personally were Woolridge and Ayayi. Woolridge impacted the game on all levels and showed he could run the offense.

Petrusev had another workman like game as well as Timme. You could see the increase in athleticism from A&M bothered them at the rim, this will only get worse. I want to see our bigs take it up faster and stronger to the rim.

[JPtheBeasta]

Kispert.

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?

[Markburn1]

If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?

Very perceptive. Avoiding the wrath.

[White lightning]

Ayayi impressed me the most. Timme has scored double digits in every game. He probably has the biggest upside as he matures and gets stronger.

The down side Texas a&m missed a lot of wide open 3's. Better teams will scorch us like North Carolina last season. These young bigs really need to toughen up and rebound better.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[HenneZag]

Ayayi impressed me the most. Timme has scored double digits in every game. He probably has the biggest upside as he matures and gets stronger.

The down side Texas a&m missed a lot of wide open 3's. Better teams will scorch us like North Carolina last season. These young bigs really need to toughen up and rebound better.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I agree. If Texas A&M had an average night shooting the game wouldve been much closer. GU got lazy with close outs periodically throughout the game. Not sure if this was because of the large margin we were ahead or not. WCC teams especially will have much better shooters that will make us pay.

[willandi]

I agree. If Texas A&M had an average night shooting the game wouldve been much closer. GU got lazy with close outs periodically throughout the game. Not sure if this was because of the large margin we were ahead or not. WCC teams especially will have much better shooters that will make us pay.

If Kispert had had an average night shooting the ball, the disparity would have been much greater too.

I understand what you are saying, but it has to go both ways.

[JPtheBeasta]

I am bit concerned with some of the passes these guys throw around the hoop. I think Kispert threw one to Woolridge that would have been fun to watch but was such a low percentage play. We aren't going to see the crazy dunks with Clarke gone and I'm going to have to settle emotionally for alley-loop layups from much of this crew. It won't be as aesthetically pleasing but it will get the job done. I expected a better game from this Texas A&M team, considering their coach, but I guess he has a lot of work to do. The Zags didn't have to work to hard on defense, which allowed them to pin their ears back and create some steals. It will be interesting to see how this team responds to a slow start against a better team. Will they play tight, or will they have the confidence and mental toughness to get themselves into the game?

Kispert, thankfully, laid an egg in a win. It allowed the other guys to step up an carry the load. I am concerned that A&M forced him to pick up his dribble then pressured him into turnovers on multiple occasions. You don't want a book like that on yourself for other teams to follow, because he will be harassed all year, otherwise. He's on a team without many weakness, and you don't want to be the weakness that teams try to exploit or it will be a long year (I think the last time we had a player that teams really tried to take advantage of, it was Goodson and his poor shooting, but I don't recall a player being singled out in many years). Kispert is going to have to be better with the ball. I'm not worried about the shooting, though.

Ayayi stole A&M's lunch early and often. He seemed to be in the middle of everything on the glass, on the ball, and in passing lanes. His arms are so long and he's showing that he knows how to use them to his advantage. He had an efficient offensive game, as well, and is another guy that you don't have to run offense for in order for him to be productive.

Timme is unorthodox but he gets the job done. I wish he brought a bit more elevation to his game but he has a great feel that will only get better. I'd like it if he showed less Mallon and more Chunk (Violette). If he makes a jump like Petrusev did from his freshman to sophomore year he will be very good. He had a nifty pass this game and I expect more of that.

Gilder finally got off to a quick start, finally. With Woolridge and him, we have two guards that can really attack the rim. (Ayayi and Kispert also being good, but not in the same way).

Woolridge has surprised me with his 3-point shooting. I thought that he was coming in with that as a weakness in his game. I hope he doesn't regress to the proverbial mean and that maybe he is progressing to a new one (he obviously can't shoot 100% all year, of course).

I like Zakharov. I hope he finds his way onto the floor more. (A tough row to hoe with Tille coming back).

[Zagceo]

replay highlight version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjqktX6YeOw

[VinnyZag]

The defense during the decisive run in the first half was my takeaway from this game. Yeah, A&M isn't great and they missed a lot of open 3s (especially in the second half) but GU really guarded well during that run. A future lineup of Woolridge-Gilder-Ayayi-Watson-Tillie is gonna be really tough to score against.

[jazzdelmar]

Timme is great but I thought he’d be more of a physical big like Mike Daum. He’s very clever but not overly strong, more of a 4 or even a stretch 3.

[jazzdelmar]

The defense during the decisive run in the first half was my takeaway from this game. Yeah, A&M isn't great and they missed a lot of open 3s (especially in the second half) but GU really guarded well during that run. A future lineup of Woolridge-Gilder-Ayayi-Watson-Tillie is gonna be really tough to score against.

Right. Never happen.

[BigZagFan]

Gilder finally got off to a quick start, finally. With Woolridge and him, we have two guards that can really attack the rim. (Ayayi and Kispert also being good, but not in the same way).

Woolridge has surprised me with his 3-point shooting. I thought that he was coming in with that as a weakness in his game. I hope he doesn't regress to the proverbial mean and that maybe he is progressing to a new one (he obviously can't shoot 100% all year, of course).

In the past, we would fear "athletic" guards on the opposing team that could drive to the basket and would be quicker than our guards. This year, I think our opponents will begin to fear our guys.

I miss Clarke and Rui, but those folks don't come along every year.

[bartruff1]

The team is really fast and pushes the ball up court like no other Zag team I can recall......and it has the athleticism to win games with defense...… I am drinking the kool aid... already...

[Zagceo]

Have Zags ever had a team push the ball this fast?

I love it!

[jazzdelmar]

Have Zags ever had a team push the ball this fast?

I love it!

Dan and Blake pretty fast. It’s not foot speed, its brilliant passing. Blake was best LD passer we’ve ever had.

[FloridaZagFan]

This GU backcourt is intriguing. I think all were somewhat skeptical of how it would look, I know I was. Clearly T. A&M is a huge work in progress at the moment but to keep any team without an assist in the entire first half is a crazy stat.
The guards were extremely disruptive and forced A&M to panic on offense 80% of the game, allowing GU to get in transition.
Its easy to be a monday morning quarterback and just state the obvious and no question I have done that!
I'm pleasantly suprised by the backcourt play overall and I include CK in that group. If Corey is a (glue guy) and he is, then Ayayi is (glue guy)2.0!.
Anytime one of your primary scorers has an off night this early in the season scoring the basketball and you still blow out a team that has some nice pieces (maybe not collectively) on the road its a good sign.

[Zagceo]

Dan and Blake pretty fast. It’s not foot speed, its brilliant passing. Blake was best LD passer we’ve ever had.

Blake reminded me of QB with his passes.