Gonzaga vs St Mary's Post Game analysis and thoughts, feelings

[Reborn]

Gonzaga 86
St Mary's 76 (thanks to the refs giving them their last five points at the foul line)

Yippy eye aye!!! What a game. haha Love games vs St Mary's. It was a very fun and entertaining game. Both teams played well. Petrusev and Kispert were awesome for the Zags in 2nd half, and Ford equally as awesome at times, especially when Woolridge was guarding him. Gilder played great D on him and then when Few takes him out and puts Woolridge in, Ford goes off on the Zags for about 14 of his 28 in about a five min span. Few puts Gilder back in and Gilder holds him down. It was cool to see Fitts come alive toward the end of the game. He's really a good player, and so far Gonzaga has been able to contain him pretty well. It was a really good battle between two really good rivals.

It was just as bad for St Mary's in their attempt to stop Petrusev. Petrusev went on about a 14 points scoring spree as well in the second half, and ended up with 27 points. Kispert had a real nice second half hitting a couple of three's when the Zags needed them when St Mary's was making a run at us. He ended up with 20 points on 4-5 from beyond the 3 point line and canning 7-12 for the game. Ayayi had an excellent 2nd half as well. He made a couple of 3's when the Zags really needed them. He ended up with 12 points and led the team in rebounding with 8. Although Gilder only scored 6 points, all in the second half, all three baskets came at times when they were really needed. Gonzaga had a nice 13 point lead with about 6 min to go and St Mary's really started hitting and cut the lead to five points. This was the point in the game, that Ayayi and Gilder made huge baskets. It was really awesome. They helped get the lead back up to ten.

The Zags shot 59% from the field, and 54% from behind the arc. They shot quite well from the line too making 15-18 for 83%. It seems like the Zags really do shoot well from the line in the big games. One stat I did not like was 14 turnovers.

The first half was close. I think tied at the half. Zags as usual didn't play all that great. But just as much as has been usual they wake up in the second half. Both teams played really well the second half. The Zags got the lead up to around 15 when St Mary's made a valiant run at the Zags. So that's it for conference play. The game was the end of playing at K2 for the Seniors. I'm glad we still have the most important games ahead because I really like these seniors. So on to the Conference Tournament next week.

Go Zags!!!

[SorenTodd45]

Here's my post from my other general sports board:

Kudos to the St Mary's Gaels for playing like their NCAA tournament lives were on the line (and they very well still could be). Whatever happens in Vegas will happen, but the Gaels are going to one of the dances, either NIT or the biggie. I'm just glad they didn't play dirty, unlike that certain other team in the WCC.

I got a response and we think the Gaels are big dancing. I will root for them. They don't play dirty. I hope they play a Pac-12 team and beat them, that will warm the cockles of my heart.

[Reborn]

Here's my post from my other general sports board:

Kudos to the St Mary's Gaels for playing like their NCAA tournament lives were on the line (and they very well still could be). Whatever happens in Vegas will happen, but the Gaels are going to one of the dances, either NIT or the biggie. I'm just glad they didn't play dirty, unlike that certain other team in the WCC.

I got a response and we think the Gaels are big dancing. I will root for them. They don't play dirty. I hope they play a Pac-12 team and beat them, that will warm the cockles of my heart.

I am with you 100%.

[Section 116]

Brian Michaelson gave props to Randy Bennett for making some subtle adjustments in his game plan. Michealson noted there is a reason the Gaels win 20-25 games a year and Bennett is the answer. Michaelson said the Zags had to make adjustments, basically at the half, to counter what Bennett put in and the Zags weren't ready for. Also noted were the two huge late buckets from Gilder who had struggled some offensively early, the return to form of Ayayi who had struggled the past few games and had two early turnovers, the steady hand of Woolridge but most of his praise, other than of course the big game from Petrusev, was reserved for Tillie. Michealson said most folks don't know and never will know all Tillie has gone through to get himself game ready. He made every rehab appointment, he did everything the docs and trainers told him to do and he has played in some pain for a lot of the season. Michaelson said Tillie is one tough kid and deserves a shot at the league.

[Markburn1]

Welcome back Joel. Outstanding.

Kispert played like he would have died if the seniors had lost.

I have a lot of respect for Bennett and the consistently good product he puts on the floor.

Tillie looks healthy, praise the Lord.

[hooter73]

We are as bad in the first half as we are good in the second. That’s no way to win in the end and won’t work against ncaa teams.

I doubt SMC makes the dance if they don’t win the WCC tourney which is too bad.

[Section 116]

In this year of "parity", I'll be shocked if the Gaels don't make the tourney. Hudson and Morrison talked about the subject in the pregame radio show and felt even if SMC lost tonight and lost the semi-final game vs. BYU in Las Vegas they would still get in. Also regarding the surprise appearance of Rui, Michaelson said Rui pretty much set the whole thing up himself. He knew he was going to be on the west coast with an open date as the Wizards play at Golden St tomorrow and figured out how to make things work. It was a surprise and he spoke a bit during the post game celebration though he noted tonight was not about him, it was about his brothers comprising GU mens basketball.

[GonzaGAW]

- i like it when there is so much room to spread the praise around and this game certainly leads itself to that.

- it seems of late the game plan has been to pound the ball inside the first half, to the point that our guards often have 2 points at half.
- but then the guards exert themselves more in the second half and end up with something close to their 10 point averages.
- only mention it as i wonder if that game plan will work against tourney competition? i do not know, i'm not an x and o guy. but i would like to see more balanced involvement by our guards in the first half.

- sorry off track there a bit. good effort guys, petrusev at the line, ayayi on the boards, gilder on defense, kispert from 3, tillie rock solid. good coaching adjustments....kudos to spread around.

[krozman]

Not to be a downer here, but the turnovers were crazy this game by our guards. Some of it was silly stuff, but when St. Mary's makes a lot of shots and limits our fast break opportunities, the half court offense was pretty poor in terms of taking care of the basketball.

[GrizZAG]

St Mary’s played great basketball in the first half. Ford & Fitts are terrific players no question. Petro FT’s and Kispert hot hand made a critical difference in this game. Other than 14 turnovers we beat the Gaels hands down.

[JPtheBeasta]

Ford has an uncanny ability to get by guys and put the ball in at almost full speed. I don't know how he puts the ball up so soft on the rim after sprinting past people. The game turned when Admon guarded him. Admon is slower, so he must have made it hard for Ford to get moving down hill. Admon has great hands and picks quite a few pockets, so maybe Ford just couldn't get the ball on the floor and get the few dribbles he needed to accelerate to the hoop. in such a way to turn the corner. As Barney Fife said, "You've got to nip it in the bud."

Kispert was hunting his shot and looked great. Petrusev, who I have been hard on, finished through contact. I thought he got fouled by Fitz when rolling to the basket in that play when he ended up on the ground, resulting in Woolridge throwing the ball away. It was nice to see Ayayi put the ball in the hoop a few times.

SMC plays an infinitely more entertaining brand of basketball than BYU-- and SMC is the team I used to love to hate.

This was a nice effort on Senior Night. The first half was a little slow but I think that SMC had a lot to do with that. The Zags have had some slow starts and have shown poor effort effort in the past, but it seems that part of this is that teams put together good game plans with wrinkles that the team just didn't prep for, and it takes the halftime adjustments to turn the corner on these teams.

[ProVeeZag]

Not to be a downer here, but the turnovers were crazy this game by our guards. Some of it was silly stuff, but when St. Mary's makes a lot of shots and limits our fast break opportunities, the half court offense was pretty poor in terms of taking care of the basketball.

Agree totally...the turnovers were cringe-worthy. This has happened enough lately that it seems to becoming a trend. Many of the turnovers are a product of speed and oftentimes occur in traffic in the lane. Speeding up the game is a two-edged sword and can result in some great transition basketball. On balance, this Zags' team benefits from a sped-up offensive pace ... I guess we have to accept there are going to be turnovers with that frenetic pace. Woolridge, while a stellar point guard, has been too loose with the ball lately IMO.

[ZagsGoZags]

yes,
and I hope Gaels defeat Cougs in the semi finals,
and also hope we defeat Pacific, cuz they will do everything in their power to chop us down

[GeorgiaZagFan]

We are as bad in the first half as we are good in the second. That’s no way to win in the end and won’t work against ncaa teams.

I doubt SMC makes the dance if they don’t win the WCC tourney which is too bad.

They have impressive wins against BYU(13), Wisconsin(24), Arizona State(58), Nevada(78), and Utah State(41) ...I think they are in!

[HenneZag]

I would agree with many on the turnover front, we need to clean this up a bit if we want to make a deep run. I love the up tempo game GU plays but the guards especially need to recognize quickly when to kick the ball out when the space closes. All to often lately we are taking very low percentage shots and forcing when in turn we need to bring the ball back out, kick out or swing etc. This is what separates the way we play (being unselfish) and has given us our success.

With all that said, the team made the plays they needed to to keep the Gaels at arms length.

[ProVeeZag]

I am curious about Drew Timme's limited minutes tonight - just 8 minutes and only 2 points scored. I had the volume turned down for part of the game, so may have missed an explanation for this. Was it related to his foul situation, quality of play. Hope he didn't get banged up. Any insight would be appreciated.

[MickMick]

I am curious about Drew Timme's limited minutes tonight - just 8 minutes and only 2 points scored. I had the volume turned down for part of the game, so may have missed an explanation for this. Was it related to his foul situation, quality of play. Hope he didn't get banged up. Any insight would be appreciated.

I'm thinking senior night for Tillie with a lot of Kispert at the four spot.

[CdAZagFan]

I am curious about Drew Timme's limited minutes tonight - just 8 minutes and only 2 points scored. I had the volume turned down for part of the game, so may have missed an explanation for this. Was it related to his foul situation, quality of play. Hope he didn't get banged up. Any insight would be appreciated.

I believe his lack of playing time was more to do with his foul trouble than anything else...

[ZagOD7540]

I was thinking it was a match up issue. I was at the game and was curious myself. It seemed like Coach Few and Bennett were playing a little “cat and mouse” game with substitutions. Timme battled. He was never out there long enough to get into the flow of the game. He picked Ford and dang near had a steal.

[ProVeeZag]

Thx to each of you (MickMick, CdA, ZagOD) for your comments. Was hoping it wasn't any type of injury ... sounds like it was not.

[Zags11]

Wcc has 3 teams in the tourny. This was a great game to be at and another fun regular season.

[Zagger]

Excepting the TOs ..... I liked this game. Filip making FTs was a huge improvement. His distaste for getting fouled should certainly give the big guy plenty of initiative to make FTs. The more he makes the less he’ll be fouled. SMC played well. The Zags played better. I especially liked the spiffy ball work by the Zags in the second half. Still have Vegas yet but I think SMC will do well enough to make the Dance.

[A to Zags]

Excepting the TOs ..... I liked this game. Filip making FTs was a huge improvement. His distaste for getting fouled should certainly give the big guy plenty of initiative to make FTs. The more he makes the less he’ll be fouled. SMC played well. The Zags played better. I especially liked the spiffy ball work by the Zags in the second half. Still have Vegas yet but I think SMC will do well enough to make the Dance.

I do not understand the referreing of post play. Filip was called correctly for hooking once tonight. I thought he used his arms extra physically to get off shots that I thought could have been offensive fouls. Can anyone explain how refs call post play physicality?

[ZagsObserver]

I can’t put my finger on the precise issue, but we aren’t playing like we did a month or two ago. That team was final 4. This team is probably sweet 16. I keep hoping for a return of the former, but idk if we’ll see it again.

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

I do not understand the referreing of post play. Filip was called correctly for hooking once tonight. I thought he used his arms extra physically to get off shots that I thought could have been offensive fouls. Can anyone explain how refs call post play physicality?

They allowed a lot of contact from Petrusev against the defenders. There was one play where he dipped a shoulder straight into the defender, knocked the defender back, and then leaned away for a hook shot. They called a foul on the defender and sent him to the line for an “and-1” opportunity. It was while SMC was trying to claw back into the game. It would have been a huge turning point if that call had gone against him.

He may not get that call in March.