Gonzaga vs Pepperdine postgame thoughts and analysis

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

Zags dial up their focus and intensity in 2nd half to outscore Pepperdine by 21 points and flatten the Waves en route to a 25 point victory in a game that seemed tougher than most this season.

Better focus and intensity on D in the 2nd half and determination to feed Timme down low so he could go to work after Pepperdine stymied Zags free flowing fast breaking offense in the first half. Pepperdine did a great job of getting back on D and clogging up the middle throughout the first half. Bilas kept saying Zags weren’t passing and moving like they usually do; I couldn’t tell if that was the issue or just Pepperdine packing it in and leaving no room for clear lanes to drive or cut to the hoop.

Ayayi and Watson had great games imo. Joel doing everything and no TO’s and Watson dominated the boards, played great D most of the night and just looks more athletic and confident overall to me. Great to see. Timme, Kispert and Suggs all seemed to just have stretches of offensive outburst but look at box score postgame and suddenly each has big scoring nights. Zags went from being in a tight game to up by 15+ in the blink of a 2nd half eye. Happy to see Cook getting healthier and earning minutes.

Has young Mr Gregg already leapfrogged Arlauskas and Zakharov on the depth chart? Ballo is next imo as he seemed to revert back to being in the game but not impacting it in any way. Love em all and it’s a team sport but gotta compete and earn your PT and seems to me Gregg is trending upward in short order.

[Bogozags]

It was a very, very sloppy game (18 TO's) but then people/teams have an off day and we were able persevere...

CK had a GREAT shooting night along with 8 rebounds!

I also thought the officiating kept this game close as there were many "anticipated calls"...can't recall when our guards were called for so many fouls...must have been a sale on new whistles

[jazzdelmar]

Gregg looks like the most confident, relaxed player among the so called bench guys. Even more than Harris and Straw who often press for points or praise. Like to see Gregg w the starters a couple of minutes.

[zag67]

I thought Ballo played solid and hard during his court time. When the starters are not in they do not look to the middle enough. He was open many times but the ball did not go inside

[billyberu]

It was a very, very sloppy game (18 TO's) but then people/teams have an off day and we were able persevere...

CK had a GREAT shooting night along with 8 rebounds!

I also thought the officiating kept this game close as there were many "anticipated calls"...can't recall when our guards were called for so many fouls...must have been a sale on new whistles

Five minutes into the 2nd half, the refs had called 6 fouls on Gonzaga to Pepp's 2.

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[JPtheBeasta]

Five minutes into the 2nd half, the refs had called 6 fouls on Gonzaga to Pepp's 2.

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Seemed like a lot of offensive fouls last night. Are these counted in statistically as turnovers?

[BayAreaZagFan]

Too many whistles. Maybe I've gotten too used to GU getting the benefit of the doubt on close calls, but the refs seemed determined to have an impact on this game, whether it was a close call or not. It got to the point where every time they scored, I expected to hear a whistle. But still, the Zags almost scored 100 in spite of them.

Also thought that Pepperdine did a good job on defense - they were everywhere at times. They definitely didn't look like a team that had just come back from a long layoff.

[GonzaGAW]

- i was very pleased how the team played defense on colby ross. probably held him to what will be his season low. he got his 7 assist per game average but at expense of 6 turnovers. very well done. that is the type of effort needed come tournament time when we face an elite guard.

- speaking of tournament time, a sloppy effort (turnovers 18) and poor shooting (first half) is the type of game that will get you bounced right out of an elite 8 game. that is why it is so hard to win 'every' game and to win a 'championship'. that is underscored by vegas, while zags are far above all other teams with chance to win the national title, still they are only at a 22% probability of running the table.

[GonzaGAW]

Seemed like a lot of offensive fouls last night. Are these counted in statistically as turnovers?

- yes, a charge is counted as a turnover on the stats sheet.

[FloridaZagFan]

Gregg looks like the most confident, relaxed player among the so called bench guys. Even more than Harris and Straw who often press for points or praise. Like to see Gregg w the starters a couple of minutes.

Happy I'm not the only one who thinks Gregg should get some minutes!

[zaguarxj]

- yes, a charge is counted as a turnover on the stats sheet.

That makes me feel a little better about the 18 turnovers. At least 3 of those charges were completely bogus. The announcers even seemed perplexed.

[Spike#1]

AP article on the game:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/no-1-go...90--ncaab.html

[TexasZagFan]

AP article on the game:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/no-1-go...90--ncaab.html

The Bulldogs are 95-0 against West Coast Conference teams not named Saint Mary's or BYU since 2014.

Let's go for 100!

[Birddog]

Some questions and observations
Why is Suggs dribbling off his foot and leg so often, is he just hurrying too much?
Does anybody recall a Zag player other than Suggs that makes better passes from a prone position on the floor?
How many out of bounds saves has Suggs made this year?

Does anybody else think "gazelle" when watching Ayayi? sometimes I think spider.

What do you think they say to Timme at the half? that's at least 2 times now that he has become energized in the 2nd half.

I've missed a few opening tips, have the Zags lost all of them?

I think Watson and Ballo are going to be very valuable by the end of conference play.

[Spike#1]

One thing I noticed, or was perturbed by... Romar got more minutes on the floor than any of his starters. In addition, he is oblivious as to what the Coaches Box is, and the rule pertaining to it.

In one exchange, loose ball gets into Romars hands on the sideline, in frustration, he slams it to the floor, only to have it rebound and almost knock him right square in the face. He missed it by "that"
much...

[TexasZagFan]

Some questions and observations
Why is Suggs dribbling off his foot and leg so often, is he just hurrying too much?
Does anybody recall a Zag player other than Suggs that makes better passes from a prone position on the floor?
How many out of bounds saves has Suggs made this year?

Does anybody else think "gazelle" when watching Ayayi? sometimes I think spider.

What do you think they say to Timme at the half? that's at least 2 times now that he has become energized in the 2nd half.

I've missed a few opening tips, have the Zags lost all of them?

I think Watson and Ballo are going to be very valuable by the end of conference play.

Sometimes Jalen's mind is 3 steps ahead of his body. If he played chess, he'd be a grandmaster.

Jalen's passing is at the level of Josh Perkins in his senior year. IMO, it took Josh that long to realize he didn't need to make the high risk, ESPN Top 10 pass, just the fundamentally sound pass.

A bunch.

Joel is like Connie Conehead off the diving board...utter smoothness, no ripple, perfect finish.

I don't think anyone has to say anything to Drew...his motor never leaves the red zone.

Missed tips? Maybe the Zags are giving the opponents their best chance at a lead, before getting crushed.

I think Harris and Strawther will be contributing before the regular season is complete. Ballo's still a work in progress, but Anton is getting it together in a big way.

[Spike#1]

Some questions and observations
Why is Suggs dribbling off his foot and leg so often, is he just hurrying too much?
Does anybody recall a Zag player other than Suggs that makes better passes from a prone position on the floor?
How many out of bounds saves has Suggs made this year?

Does anybody else think "gazelle" when watching Ayayi? sometimes I think spider.

What do you think they say to Timme at the half? that's at least 2 times now that he has become energized in the 2nd half.

I've missed a few opening tips, have the Zags lost all of them?

I think Watson and Ballo are going to be very valuable by the end of conference play.

Opening tips: Not exactly sure, but I'm with you, we never win them with Timme at the jump. Not a knock on Timme, love the guy, just is what it is. I've noticed the same thing, actually look for it every tip, I just can't remember for sure. If we have won any tips, it's only 1 or 2 from what I can remember.

[jazzdelmar]

Some questions and observations
Why is Suggs dribbling off his foot and leg so often, is he just hurrying too much?
Does anybody recall a Zag player other than Suggs that makes better passes from a prone position on the floor?
How many out of bounds saves has Suggs made this year?

Does anybody else think "gazelle" when watching Ayayi? sometimes I think spider.

What do you think they say to Timme at the half? that's at least 2 times now that he has become energized in the 2nd half.

I've missed a few opening tips, have the Zags lost all of them?

I think Watson and Ballo are going to be very valuable by the end of conference play.

Suggs has a two guard’s handle, not a point guard’s. It needs work if he’s truly a high lotto pick.

I think Mercury, the god, not the element, when Joel zooms.

Zags have lost all jumps I’ve seen. Dunno why. Let Suggs jump. Tims and Watty are below the rim players. Or get JW3 in to tutor them; did he ever not win one?

Your optimism w respect to AW and MB is laudable but borders on pollyanish, IMO. I see a lot of work needed with both. Off season work.

[bballbeachbum]

One thing I noticed, or was perturbed by... Romar got more minutes on the floor than any of his starters. In addition, he is oblivious as to what the Coaches Box is, and the rule pertaining to it.

In one exchange, loose ball gets into Romars hands on the sideline, in frustration, he slams it to the floor, only to have it rebound and almost knock him right square in the face. He missed it by "that"
much...

ha, good call, have mentioned it before as well. he does it a lot

[bballbeachbum]

re. Suggs, maybe a little dinged up? I have no source, just an observation

on comparisons, he reminds me of LeBron the most. Suggs in the post/post extended like with Bouldin, smashing any matchup in there and facilitating by scoring/demanding the double, etc. could be fun

[JPtheBeasta]

- yes, a charge is counted as a turnover on the stats sheet.

Thanks

[zagzilla]

Amazing that a so-so night by the Zags puts 95 points on the board and a 25 point margin of victory. They really clamped down on Ross who I thought was headed for a big night after the first 7 minutes or so. Waves were able to get downhill on cuts to the rim and dribble drives in the first half. USF did the same to us for awhile too-Few needs to look into that. Waves also got a lot of deflections which I initially was blaming on weak or overly ambitious passes by GU but could have just been good coaching for them.

I loved seeing the Zags diving to the floor and saving loose balls even though my heart skips a beat when Suggs goes flying. This year's team, seems to be more committed to leaping out of bounds and scooping balls back into play to either save a possession or ignite the transition including the play where Corey finished after 3 beautiful passes.

Some great individual highlight plays including the Euro-step drive by Timme and the Suggs drive to split the defenders for a layup. Watson with 10 rebounds to follow up his 23 point game Saturday is promising. Bench didn't do much and Nembhard was quiet with 3 turnovers and 4 fouls to go with his 4 assists.

Finally, I will add to the chorus that the whistle last night wasn't very good. Pepp got about 5 fouls in a 3 minute stretch in the first half while our guards got pinned with a series of weak calls in the opening minutes of the second half. Continues the pattern of WCC refs calling everything which both mars the game and weakens the conference teams when they play in the post season. Let em play!

ZZ

[bballbeachbum]

I thought Ballo played solid and hard during his court time. When the starters are not in they do not look to the middle enough. He was open many times but the ball did not go inside

agree 67...feed the big guy! he'll miss and mess up, but also good things too and grow

[JPtheBeasta]

Some questions and observations
Why is Suggs dribbling off his foot and leg so often, is he just hurrying too much?
Does anybody recall a Zag player other than Suggs that makes better passes from a prone position on the floor?
How many out of bounds saves has Suggs made this year?

Does anybody else think "gazelle" when watching Ayayi? sometimes I think spider.

What do you think they say to Timme at the half? that's at least 2 times now that he has become energized in the 2nd half.

I've missed a few opening tips, have the Zags lost all of them?

I think Watson and Ballo are going to be very valuable by the end of conference play.

I almost voted for Timme for GUnit because the team turned the corner after he started scoring. I didn’t give it to him because he was AWOL in the first half.

[JPtheBeasta]

One thing I noticed, or was perturbed by... Romar got more minutes on the floor than any of his starters. In addition, he is oblivious as to what the Coaches Box is, and the rule pertaining to it.

In one exchange, loose ball gets into Romars hands on the sideline, in frustration, he slams it to the floor, only to have it rebound and almost knock him right square in the face. He missed it by "that"
much...

When a player pounds the ball and it gets away from them it is usually a technical foul. I was waiting for the call but it never came.