Gonzaga vs Santa Clar Post Game thoughts and analysis

[Reborn]

Gonzaga 89
Santa Clara 75

Wow! Finally a good game. I enjoyed this one a lot. The Zags need a tougher game right now. This was a good win on a night Gonzaga did NOT play it's A game and maybe not even it's B game. Timme was in foul trouble the first half and maybe played 6-8 minutes and just scoring two points. He finished with 18; so he had a great 2nd half scoring 16. Kispert had a really great night and scored 25 as he hit 3 three pointers. I loved his all around game, and this year he has learned how to score from all over the court. Ayayi also made 3 three points, and each of them was timely.

I thought the Zags were really sluggish and careless with the ball as they turned it over 17 times. I feel that that's way too many turn overs and I'm sure Few will be unhappy about that. A championship team just can not play that way. Suggs was especially careless with the ball as he turned it over 4 times. The passing tonight was definitely not as sharp as I'm used to seeing from the Zags.

The Zags did have 5 players in double figures: Kispert, Timme, Suggs `13, Ayayi 11 and Cook 10. I felt Cook had another real good game off the bench. He is a great sub and ALWAYS helps the team when he comes in.

The 3 point shooting was not good at all. Outside of Kispert and Ayayi the shooting was poor. The ended the game just shooting 29% from beyond the arc.

That's about it for tonight. I was impressed with Kispert a lot. He has really become and All-American and he's just really fun to watch. Timme too really. He had a great second half when it was needed. I really was not impressed with Suggs. And Ayayi just so so.

GEt ready for Saturday now.

Go Zags!

[GonzaGAW]

- 'wow, what a good game', reborn they way you always see an upside to everything blows me away sometimes. hey good for you and don't quit.
- i'm a middle of the road, optimist, but i did not think that was a 'good game'. granted it was closer than most and hopefully the team learns from it.

- i thought santa clara did an excellent job of taiking gu out of its offense flow and sets. too often any number of zags looked scared to shoot.
- liked that gu seemed mentally tough, i.e. did not crack and wilt when santa clara got back to within 6 midway thru the second half.

[JPtheBeasta]

I didn't get to catch the first 2/3 of the game but the Santa Clara bigs looked too comfortable in the parts I saw.

[BayAreaZagFan]

A rough night shooting, some really inconsistent ball-handling. Mix in a few unnecessary (and in some cases, questionable) fouls. All against a team that they should have beaten handily. I agree that they can take away some learnings from a game like this, but they're really so good that a game like this shouldn't happen at this point.

I thought Santa Clara played a pretty good game and dictated the flow in the first half. They made it tough for the Zags to get the ball inside, and used their height advantage well.

It was good to see Gregg get some first-half minutes.

[daskim]

16 maybe 17 turnovers.

Some by our guards were just bewildering.

Suggs two assists away from a triple double.

[Razorzag99]

Good minutes from Gregg in the 1st half. I have a feeling we're gonna need him in spots deep in the tournament.

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[GonzagasaurusFlex]

I have two thoughts on this game, both are honest personal opinions that I hope don’t cause any offenser result in board drama. They’re just my opinions.
- Zags are far and away my favorite team and I will be rooting like crazy for them to have a dream finish to this dream season.
- I won’t be shocked at all if Zags suffer a humiliating beat down in the tourney and I’m pumping the brakes on my expectations. Lack of post depth, below average 3 pt shooting, only one impact player off the bench (Cook) and the really high quality games I’ve seen in college hoops of late have me surprisingly pessimistic regardless of all the sexy efficiency stats this team has. My eyes tell me they are trending downward. Hope Few and players can flip the switch.

[StatZag19]

I have two thoughts on this game, both are honest personal opinions that I hope don’t cause any offenser result in board drama. They’re just my opinions.
- Zags are far and away my favorite team and I will be rooting like crazy for them to have a dream finish to this dream season.
- I won’t be shocked at all if Zags suffer a humiliating beat down in the tourney and I’m pumping the brakes on my expectations. Lack of post depth, below average 3 pt shooting, only one impact player off the bench (Cook) and the really high quality games I’ve seen in college hoops of late have me surprisingly pessimistic regardless of all the sexy efficiency stats this team has. My eyes tell me they are trending downward. Hope Few and players can flip the switch.

Certainly an unpopular opinion, but I have felt this way at times lately. Seems like some teams like Michigan are red-hot at the perfect time. This is the one downside of playing WCC teams. Can't sharpen iron with dull instruments.

The one argument I've been telling myself is that the team is perhaps looking forward just a little bit and are bored/done with the WCC & Just want to move on to the games everyone wants. Their focus/intensity will pick back up come the big dance.

[Zags11]

It was a tough game and we won. I think watson has a short leash by few now and timme is our only big. I do think we go far in march.

[Zagceo]

Zags not as dominate as media/pundits/coaches/players believe they are











imo

[zagsfanforlife]

I think we are the second best team in the nation right now, maybe third and I don’t think it’s necessarily our fault. Tough to peak when you’re playing this level of competition the last two months.

[Spink]

My eyes tell me they are trending downward. Hope Few and players can flip the switch.

One game trend?

[White lightning]

Santa Clara came out and punched Gonzaga in the face. This is their biggest game of the year and gave it their all. Good for them. Shots didn't fall for the Zags but the effort of S.C. made this happen. Early blocks and great effort made this game close early. Doom!!! for those who can't stand a game thats close.

Baylor has trailed numerous games and Michigan beat teams that Gonzaga can beat. Gonzaga is fine!!!

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[TacomaZAG]

How many wide open 3's did the guys miss tonight, especially in the first half?? Make half those wide open misses and this is another 25+ point blowout. The TO's were just the result of carelessness brought on by boredom and the result being a foregone conclusion.

Regarding not having bigs or being able to handle a team with bigs...........one word................IOWA. The guys did just fine against the favorite for POY and his supporting cast.

Nothing to see here. Just finish out the conference season and Tourney with no injuries and reload for the Dance, just like every year.

On a positive note, the guys won their third opening tip in a row, so there's that............

Go ZAGS

[MickMick]

A dozen years ago, we would have collectively rationalized that any given double digit win in WCC play should be categorized as a "beat down".

We weren't necessarily wrong then and it isn't necessarily wrong now.

Tonight, the double digit loser appears to be getting a participation trophy for their moral victory from a GU board that is quaking in it's boots at the thought of some potential BIG opponent at the 8/9 slot. Well....some of us are. Not me.

I've only got one thing to say about all of that.

Relax

GU NEEDS games like this. You find out NOTHING about how your team will react to adversity if every victory is by 25+ points and the other team has quit by halftime. The teaching moments are valuable and needed. The player's exposure to situational dependent scenarios are measurably beneficial in terms of dress rehearsal. The concept of requiring serious halftime adjustments shouldn't be taken for granted to be routinely unnecessary.

[TexasZagFan]

With the exception of Drew playing only 25 minutes, the other four starters played 34 or more minutes...Corey credited with 39 minutes tonight. I'd say we needed a test like that, SC was grabby and floppy all night long, they gave the Zags their best shot.

[Hoopaholic]

A dozen years ago, we would have collectively rationalized that any given double digit win in WCC play should be categorized as a "beat down".

We weren't necessarily wrong then and it isn't necessarily wrong now.

Tonight, the double digit loser appears to be getting a participation trophy for their moral victory from a GU board that is quaking in it's boots at the thought of some potential BIG opponent at the 8/9 slot. Well....some of us are. Not me.

I've only got one thing to say about all of that.

Relax

GU NEEDS games like this. You find out NOTHING about how your team will react to adversity if every victory is by 25+ points and the other team has quit by halftime. The teaching moments are valuable and needed. The player's exposure to situational dependent scenarios is measurably beneficial in terms of dress rehearsal. The concept of requiring serious halftime adjustments shouldn't be taken for granted to be routinely unnecessary.

Classic post
And after Saturday all that matters is win and advance

[HenneZag]

I've been saying it all year. We need a second big to round this team out. We have always seemed to have that 1-2 punch with the bigs...this year we are light. We can't rely on Timme to carry the load down low every game, especially in the tournament. If Timme has an off game we may be in trouble. I'm hoping we can find our shooting rhythm soon.

[caduceus]

Lots of good comments here. I really do think this was a game the Zags needed. This SCU team is very different from most of our WCC opponents. They have size and defensive chops (without slowing the game down to turtle pace), and obviously game planned substantially for their "game of the year." Credit to the Broncos for making a real game out of it. Refs didn't help (on both sides), making it even more sloppy. I didn't think GU was going to be anywhere near the 30 pt. spread. SCU's record isn't the best, but coming into this game, GU had only 3 of the four factors above SCU.

Anyway, SCU's game plan (particularly defensively) combined with key GU foul trouble forced Few to really mix up the roster at times -- something he hasn't had to do in a while. We saw some really bright spots in Cook, Gregg, and Watson when the team was trailing by double digits. Losing Timme for long stretches is an Achilles heel, as it makes Kispert's job a lot harder when opponents can focus more on him instead of the double threat.

Suggs again showed flashes of brilliance, but he has to be careful not to speed up the game too much (and he wasn't the only one). Nembhard had trouble dishing dimes (even though he got 7), as the Broncos really packed the paint and passing lanes. SCU had 8 steals, 4 blocks, and scored 15 off of 16 turnovers. They were clearly planning to deny the 2, and let the 3's fly (except vs. Kispert). We fell into that trap for a good spell.

SCU made GU look vulnerable tonight, but the Zags figured it out pretty much in the 2nd half. Good teaching moments, and it's good to have some pressure situations this time of year. I think a rematch of this game wouldn't be anything like this one.

Still #1.

[WallaWallaZag]

zags lack of perimeter shooting really stood out in this game...scu packed the paint and dared the zags to shoot. ayayi actually took 9 three's but he passed up about 9 more that would have been wide open.

[cscz28]

I think criticisms of this team’s flaws are usually spot on and well thought out. The flaws feel especially magnified when you follow the team so closely and care so much about their success.

I don’t watch the other championship competition religiously but I’m pretty familiar with Ohio state, Michigan, Baylor etc. and there’s reason and weight to why GU is considered the cream of the crop this year.

[MDABE80]

Bigs needed! Anton isn’t one. Ballo sits. We are seeing Ben because he’s pretty much the last one. I cannot figure out why Few hasn’t developed Zakharov. We’re headed to playoffs with one functioning big. Fortunately the rest of the team is made of good 6 4 to 6 5 athletes who rebound. Also the 3 guard 1 wing team is really good except tonight’s lousy 3 pt shooting and the 16 turns. Those 2 things need to be solved.

Cook is the only outstanding Bench guy. Anton isn’t doing much and the 2 frosh are limited. Playoff time things come alive. More so in The NCAA. The thing saving this team as we go forward is that these guys play soooo well together. Defense needs to improve from tonight and the shooting must improve. Other teams have improved and are hitting their stride. I wonder about us. If we can get 4 wins in the NCAA and then compete a title, it’ll be a squeaker. We can but it’ll be tougher than I thought earlier.

Few has put in a newer system that fits this team. The thing that might be limiting is the scarcity of bigs. Drew has been amazing but he's getting banged around like crazy if you focus on the down low play. He's amazing.

[FloridaZagFan]

Zags didn't have a great game and had more turnovers than usual period! Maybe its just me but its seems like some think that a team like SC is just going to roll over and die when facing Gonzaga.
7 Zags attempted 3's Cook, Gregg, Timme, Suggs only attempted 1 each and in total were 0/4. No bad shots and all are capable shooters, are they only supposed to shoot when they know its going in? Ok as a team they didn't shoot it great from the three but they scored 89 points. The lack of respect for some WCC teams is ridiculous. When the Zags are rolling ok they will beat up on most teams. I dont think its any great secret that if Timme isn't on the floor its not the same team, he only played 18 min and Zags shot it a little below average from 3 and had some unusual turnovers. STILL STILL Its the 20th straight win by double digits while being ranked #1!!!! Does anyone here know how hard that is to do? Or how often that has happened, I don't but I know its beyond rare air!!!

[jazzdelmar]

This was an opening round type game, vs a solid, tall but not Uber talented team with a very experienced coach. So some caveats there. The lack of bigs depth is glaring. All American guards galore, one dependable big.

[katman50]

Nice win against a good and fired up Santa Clara team that had nothing to lose. Lately too much hero ball, too much dribbling, players trying to go one on one right into the scrum, resulting in turnovers, charging fouls, etc. All of this at the expense of crisp passing the ball around.Gotta love Suggs, but the guy has got to settle down. Way too many turnovers from our guards.