Gonzaga vs San Francisco II Post Game thoughts and analysis

[Reborn]

Gonzaga 71
San Francisco 54

This game sure reminded me of the first time we played them in San Francisco. We were behind by 8 at the half. Tonight we were behind by 9. We came out in the second half tonight and went on a 22-2 run, and just destroyed them. It was pretty cool to see because our team looked so bad in the first half, both on O and on D, We had like 22 points the first half and looked like we didn't know how to play basketball. I'm not sure what happened at half but something sure did. The coaches must have a way of talking to the team. We finally looked like the Zags the second half scoring 49 points. Tillie did play and led the team with 22 and 9, and he looked awesome. He had two really nice dunks on fast breaks. Petrusev was the second leading scorer with 16, but may have had his worse game this year. That's all I'll say. The same for Timme.

Our bench played by far their worse game. Gilder had 4 points and Timme 2. USF wouldn't even guard Timme, and he couldn't make a shot outside 5 feet. USF used this strategy against Petro too and he too had a hard time scoring in the middle of the key. Gilder just looked like he had just woke up and hadn't washed his face or brushed his teeth. AND now that I'm thinking about it, Ayayi looked the same way almost. He looked like he was sleep walking. He must have missed 3 or 4 layups the first half. And KISPERT played real poorly the first half, but must have taken a shower and cleaned up at the half. He came out shooting well, hitting two consecutive 3's to help the Zags pull away after the half. Kispert finished with 11 as he made 3-5 three's in the second half. I think he made all 11 points the second half.

I thought Woolridge played really well. He and Tillie working hard the whole game. Woolridge was real good on D as he usually is and handled the ball well MOST of the time.

It certainly wasn't the best game of the year that's for sure, but it was a good win and a very good second half. That 22-2 run after the break was really awesome. Honestly, I was somewhat worried at the half, but fortunately I remembered we looked real bad the first half in San Francisco. The reffing was very weird. ALMOST NO FOUL CALLS. Very strange. San Fran 4-6 and Gonzaga 8-15....another horrible FT shooting night. Maybe because the fans here on GUboards were so negative about the foul shooting. They may have jinxed the Zags. Glad that one is over. ON to BYU on SATURDAY.

Go Zags!!!

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

I loved Kispert’s buzzer beater to end the game. If they’re going to trap while we’re trying to dribble the clock out, that shot is fair game.

[Zag_Dad]

I loved Kispert’s buzzer beater to end the game. If they’re going to trap while we’re trying to dribble the clock out, that shot is fair game.

Was thrilled he hit that shot. Absolute garbage that USF trapped and went for 5he steal (three times) when game was OVER. If they want to defend then the have to suffer The consequences .... a three in their face.

Besides the the extra three helped GU cover the spread.

[U Zig, I Zag]

It says something about the team that they can just grind through it, down 9 and come out looking way better. Agree with Fran to some extent, USF started playing poorly as much as it was what the Zags did for that first several series in the 2nd, but then Zags just overwhelmed them.

I think it works best if Petro and Timme have Tillie in there, against teams with some size and athletes. Timme was non factor on offense and he needs that shot at 5-15 out. Teams will give that to him all day. Needs to hit it.

Ajayi gets his in transition, off scramble plays and off being left open from deep. None of that happened tonight.

Gilder is the one I can’t figure out.

[zagdontzig]

I loved Kispert’s buzzer beater to end the game. If they’re going to trap while we’re trying to dribble the clock out, that shot is fair game.

Was thrilled he hit that shot. Absolute garbage that USF trapped and went for 5he steal (three times) when game was OVER. If they want to defend then the have to suffer The consequences .... a three in their face.

Besides the the extra three helped GU cover the spread.

Agreed. The announcers and USF complained about it last year when Ferrari fouled Clarke with seven seconds left but nobody talked about how USF was still defending or that going under Clarke was incredibly dangerous.

For the reasons already stated, I loved Kispert’s three.

[Stache]

This was a helpful game. There was a lot of uncalled contact and we didn’t respond well in the first half. It would be nice to see Petro and Timme get balanced and just shoot the 10-12 footer. Instead, they were drifting and leaning on those shots or dribbling right into contact that wasn’t getting called. We will need those shots because sitting off of them worked reasonably well. Saturday is going to be a tough game.

[zagamatic]

I haven't heard anyone mention it on here or on tv, but didn't the ZAGS clinch at least a share of the regular season title tonight? And with 1 more win, they win it outright? I realize that it's kind of business as usual for the ZAGS, but in a year when the WCC as a whole is much improved, it's really impressive to me that this team, with all of the turnover from last year's squad and all of the injuries this year that we still have a shot to run the table. It makes this fan very proud of this year's team!

[gonstu]

I haven't heard anyone mention it on here or on tv, but didn't the ZAGS clinch at least a share of the regular season title tonight? And with 1 more win, they win it outright? I realize that it's kind of business as usual for the ZAGS, but in a year when the WCC as a whole is much improved, it's really impressive to me that this team, with all of the turnover from last year's squad and all of the injuries this year that we still have a shot to run the table. It makes this fan very proud of this year's team!

Most probably saving the cheering and congrats for the inevitable outright clinch.

[JPtheBeasta]

USF hit a lot of tough shots in the first half, made some big rebounds, and erased 3 fast break layups with blocks, I think. Meanwhile, the Zags missed several wide open threes and took some crazy shots down low. USF got a way with pushing on post players with two hands multiple times. Other times, they threw Timme and Petrusev off by sagging extremely far off. I agree that these guys need to be ready to hit some mid-range shots in case another team tries to employ that strategy (although I think it is a desperate move by SFU and don't think most coaches would intentionally give a player wide open looks 6 feet from the basket).

I think that USF came down to earth in the second half and regressed to their mean. I didn't appreciate the hard foul when the Don player hooked Petrusev's arm when they went into the Hack-A-Zag strategy at the end; I thought it was an excessive, non-basketball play and that the player was not making a play on the ball. Kispert had a great dunk off the dribble in the second half, and Tillie threw down 2 more, if I recall.

Reflecting back on the last game, SFU managed to keep their big man on the floor for the second half this time around and he was rarely a factor. SFU's coach can't make that excuse this game. I wonder what it would be?

[RenoZag]

I haven't heard anyone mention it on here or on tv, but didn't the ZAGS clinch at least a share of the regular season title tonight? And with 1 more win, they win it outright? I realize that it's kind of business as usual for the ZAGS, but in a year when the WCC as a whole is much improved, it's really impressive to me that this team, with all of the turnover from last year's squad and all of the injuries this year that we still have a shot to run the table. It makes this fan very proud of this year's team!

It was mentioned in the Game thread and the Player of the Game thread. And it is impressive. Might be Coach Few's best effort ever, considering the roster turnover and injuries.

[caduceus]

I loved Kispert’s buzzer beater to end the game. If they’re going to trap while we’re trying to dribble the clock out, that shot is fair game.

Two points:

1) Zags probably would have lost by double digits without Tillie's effort tonight.

2) (referring to your post, MCMM) The spread tonight was GU -17. After Kispert's last shot, Zags win by that very number. I'm not a gambler, but Vegas' odds never cease to amaze me.

[Zagal]

Agree with cadeseu.. tillie was clearly the best player on the floor. He does everything and controls the flow. If he stays healthy...

[CdAZagFan]

Thought it was an incredible turnaround - that first half was woeful. That second half was a thing of beauty. Great to see this team be able to turn things around like that. Thought Tillie was amazing and Woolridge really played well. I'm sure other teams will try laying off Timme and Petro - leaving them open at the free throw line, but I think they'll be able to make them pay. I was hoping to see some zone D in that first half to stem that penetration and those kick-out 3's - but overall the D was good.

The only thing I was discouraged about was that it sounded like Fran was really trying to play up the "Zags don't play tought competition during the season" argument. I thought after the great NCAA runs we have had - especially the past five years - that argument was in the rearview mirror (I heard it again while watching the Pardon the Interruption rerun after the game – Kornheiser keeps making the same argument).

[Zags11]

First half was....


2nd half was amazing and great to see. I felt like the team was sloppy with turnovers but tillie and kispert were really good.


Go zags and love to see brook stepp.

[Markburn1]

First half....two left feet at the disco.

Second half...Rudolf Nureyev at the ballet.