Not to brag, but my prediction was pretty close in last week’s post:  “My bold prediction is that Gonzaga surpasses the century mark on Valentine’s Day Eve, and holds San Francisco under 70.”  I went a little overboard and ventured a score of 105-68.  On Saturday afternoon, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball came close to my prediction and pummeled the Dons in San Francisco, winning by an even larger margin than I’d ventured:  100-61.  It was 40 of the best minutes of basketball the team has put together all season as the Bulldogs dominated on both sides of the floor, showing an intensity on the defensive end that bodes extremely well for Gonzaga’s already great chances in the NCAA tournament.

Drew Timme led the Bulldogs in both scoring and rebounding, managing a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes.  He was a very-nearly-perfect 11 for 12 shooting from the field, 2 for 2 from beyond the arc (!), and added an assist, a steal and 2 sweet blocks to his stat line.  Mark Few knew that San Francisco couldn’t match up against the 6’10” native of Texas whose footwork in the post is nothing short of brilliant, drawing comparisons to the likes of Kevin McHale.  In his pregame talk, Few must have told his backcourt:  Just feed the post.  Just feed the post.  When the Zags went on a 17-2 run to open the game, Timme had 15 of those points off post moves down low and a (why the heck not?) 3-ball from deep to cap Gonzaga’s evisceration of the Dons early.  He would hit another 3 at the 7-minute mark in the first half and would miss his first and only basket in the game with 1:54 left in that half after scoring 21 points.  Keith Ybanez of The Slipper Still Fits put it well in his 10 observations about the game:  “Few was the only one in the gym who was able to slow Timme down.”  That is, by putting him on the bench.  Timme and the Zags were up 48-26 by halftime.

That pummeling continued in the second half, even when Timme wasn’t on the court—even when Mark Few cleared the bench.  One great sign for upcoming success in Gonzaga’s postseason is great play from the bench.  The Zags, in fact, went from some hot shooting in first half to some lava-hot shooting in the second half where they shot 75% from the field, a mark they haven’t hit in another half of play in nearly 20 years.  And it wasn’t just from close range as the Bulldogs saw nearly 50% of their attempts from deep fall in a 10 for 21 effort for the whole game, highlighted by Timme’s 2 for 2 and Andrew Nembhard’s 2 for 4.   Four players off the bench hit from beyond the arc, including Gonzaga’s newest member, Ben Gregg (who hit the late 3 that put Gonzaga into triple digits at 100), as well as Dominic Harris, Julian Strawther and Aaron Cook.  Cook, who has been cooking with some serious spice lately, went 4 for 5 from the field, scoring 12 points, adding 4 assists and 3 steals in just 14 minutes.  Particularly impressive in the second half were quick transition baskets like the alley-oop, fast-break dunk Harris stuffed home off the assist from Cook, and deep 3’s from Suggs’ “tricky-trio” cohorts Strawther and Harris. 

The ball was dropping relentlessly through the net for the Zags while the exact opposite was happening on the other end, as San Francisco couldn’t seem to buy a basket, especially from deep.  The Dons, who rely heavily on shots from beyond the arc, finished a dismal 7 for 33 from deep.  Needless to say, Gonzaga’s defense was spot-on everywhere, even making it repeatedly difficult for San Francisco to in-bound the ball.  On one in-bound along the baseline, the Zags smothered the cutting San Francisco players and forced the Dons to call a time out before a five-second violation was called.  On another, a Dons player was forced to jump out of bounds to receive the in-bounds pass and the Bulldogs forced a turnover.  That sort of defensive effort is going to get them wins in any game they play, even if their shooting cools off.       

Besides Timme with his game-high 28 points, 4 other Zags scored in double figures including the aforementioned Cook (12), as well as starters Corey Kispert (12), Jalen Suggs (11) and Joel Ayayi (12).  Andrew Nembhard was just short of that mark with 8 points, shooting 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and adding 5 assists.  Suggs also had 5 assists along with 5 rebounds and was particularly effective at pressuring the Dons defense off his dribble-drive, often getting fouled on the way to the hoop.  Suggs (6-6) and Kispert (3-3) shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the charity stripe.  In fact, the team had one of its best nights of the season at the foul line, hitting just under 86%.

On Thursday, the Saint Mary’s Gaels are going to come to Spokane and look to cool down Gonzaga’s hot-hands.  I suspect that is going to be too difficult a task for this Gaels team.  Saint Mary’s is often able to tough themselves into at least a respectable loss to the Bulldogs, but Gonzaga is just too good right now and I think they’re going to be looking to keep the defensive momentum going.  I say Gonzaga gets another big win, lots of chances at the free throw line, and puts emphasis on stopping Tommy Kuhse on the defensive end.  I’ll venture 97-66.  Have a great week.  GO ZAGS!!!   

~ Clark Karoses

Gonzaga Men’s Basketball put another notch in the win column this week and avenged last season’s only WCC conference loss with a road victory over BYU in Provo, Utah on Monday night.  Now 19-0 overall and 10-0 in WCC play, the Bulldogs beat the Cougars by a double-digit margin for the second time this season thanks to some last-second free throws from Corey Kispert to make the final score 82-71.  While an 11-point victory on BYU’s home floor is something the Bulldogs should celebrate, their play in the game and over the last few weeks hasn’t been stellar.  There have been stretches of brilliance, but Gonzaga seems to have equally long stretches highlighted by poor defense and some questionable decision-making on the offensive end as well.  I suspect higher-level competition will bring out the best in the Zags when March Madness rolls around, but inconsistency can spell disaster and I hope to see the brilliance this team is capable of (the victory against Virginia, for example) soon and for a full 40 minutes no matter who they’re playing.       

We did see flashes of that brilliance early in the game against the Cougars on Monday night.  The Bulldogs came out with guns a-blazing to open the game when Corey Kispert hit the first basket of the game—a 3-pointer, assisted by Jalen Suggs.  Then, after Kispert missed his second attempt from long range, he collected his own rebound and sent a bullet pass to Joel Ayayi cutting under the basket for an easy lay-up.  Andrew Nembhard stole the ball on BYU’s next possession, and it was Ayayi’s turn to serve it up to Nembhard who hit a shot from beyond the arc to put Gonzaga up 8-0.  The pummeling continued from there as Ayayi got another assist when he sent the ball to Drew Timme at the top of the key for a rare 3-pointer from the big man.  That was followed up by another steal and a break-away lay-up for Suggs, followed by a jumper from Suggs—those 4 points putting Gonzaga up 15-2 with just 3 minutes and 12 seconds gone from the clock.  At that pace, the Zags could have scored well over 100 points easily—and when the Bulldogs are passing well and getting transition baskets off steals on the defensive end they’re rarely far from the century mark. 

However, the blistering pace they started the game with wouldn’t continue as the Bulldogs seemed to let up on the gas and invite BYU back into the game.  BYU’s leading scorer, Alex Barcello, hit some excellent shots throughout the game and finished with 20 points and 5 assists.  Apart from some of the Cougars’ well-defended shots that fell, it seemed like Gonzaga got lazy on defense, missed assignments and rotations, and allowed some lay-ins that must have had Mark Few slapping his forehead repeatedly.  The game seemed like the sort of Cat and Mouse scenario you may have witnessed at some time in your life where a Cat (Gonzaga) has an injured mouse (BYU) and toys with it, allowing the mouse to very nearly get away (Gonzaga lets BYU score a bunch of baskets and get within 10 points) before it swats it back into its clutches (Gonzaga scores and widens the lead).  And some frustration develops in the observer/fan at not seeing the cat simply put the mouse out of its misery.  That inability to put BYU away led to a 41-31 score at halftime and a consistently less-than-out-of-reach lead for the Bulldogs.

Part of the reason BYU was still in the game throughout was a really poor performance at the charity stripe from many Zags players, especially Drew Timme.  It was Kispert’s 2 free-throws at the end of the game that helped Gonzaga raise their free throw percentage over 50%, finishing 12 for 21 as a team, including Timme’s 3 for 9.  One is inclined to forgive the second-leading scorer for Gonzaga for a bad night at the line as he was brilliant everywhere else.  Timme managed a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 8 for 12 from the field, adding 2 steals and 1 block.

Timme, however, wouldn’t end up leading the game in scoring as Jalen Suggs simply took a whole lot of Cougar defenders to school.  He was deadly from deep, shooting 2 for 4 from beyond the arc—and he went 10 for 18 from the field overall.  It was Suggs’ 4 field goals in a row in the second half between the 11 and 8-minute marks that brought the Bulldogs’ lead to its largest margin at 72-50.  It would remain a  comfortable margin that the Cougars could never muster the firepower to make uncomfortable again even as that lead dwindled in the last few minutes.

Suggs had a game-high 24 points, adding 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to his stat-line.  His propensity to foul too often has been the only thing keeping a cap on his statistics lately in WCC play.  Nothing short of brilliant in his ability to drive by defenders on his way to the basket and finish from all angles, we saw him hit mid-range jumpers and score on a few floaters from 8 to 10 feet in the BYU game as well.  His ability to pass and defend are elite and with his shooting stroke from deep becoming more and more consistent, there will be no stopping Jalen Suggs short of a superhuman effort in the NCAA tournament.  Foul trouble could become a difficulty, but even if Suggs continues to have trouble in that area, Andrew Nembhard is always there to fill any gaps in play at point guard—and to play along-side him on the wing as well.  Nembhard, a transfer from Florida who has proven to be an absolute blessing for Gonzaga this season, got a rare start against BYU in place of power forward Anton Watson.  Nembhard finished his night with 15 points on 6 for 10 shooting.  Off the bench, Watson continued to be a force on the defensive end and remained highly efficient on offense, going 3 for 3 from the field for 6 points.   

Though Corey Kispert struggled most of the night in a 4 for 10 effort shooting, he was the fourth Zag player with double digits scoring, earning 13 points and hooking up twice from beyond the arc in four attempts.  Joel Ayayi’s struggles were even more severe as he couldn’t hit from deep on three attempts and went just 1 for 6 from the field.  Ayayi remained productive, however, by adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists to his 4 points.  Kispert is bound to be hounded by opposing defenses as the Zags leading scorer, but look to both Kispert and Ayayi to redeem themselves in the next couple of games.

After Thursday’s game against Santa Clara was postponed and/or cancelled, Gonzaga’s next game is another road contest against San Francisco on Saturday.  After some lackluster performances lately in WCC play, I think the Bulldogs are going to use this afternoon (3 pm Pacific) game on ESPN 2 to show just how brilliant they can shine.  My bold prediction is that Gonzaga surpasses the century mark on Valentine’s Day Eve, and holds San Francisco under 70.  105-68, the Bulldogs bark loud!  GO ZAGS!!!

~ Clark Karoses

Gonzaga Men’s Basketball travelled to Malibu and picked up another win against the Pepperdine Waves this last Saturday evening, 97-75, staying a perfect 17-0 overall this season and 8-0 in WCC play.  Despite dominance in both their non-conference schedule before the New Year (perhaps the most difficult non-conference schedule of any D-1 team this season) as well as their 2021 slate so far in the WCC—a dominance that has had the Bulldogs winning by double-digits over every opponent this season except West Virginia (87-82)—naysayers still persist in Tweeting trash talk about the unanimous #1 team in the nation.  One such tweet, posted in the middle of Gonzaga’s game on Saturday, said something to the effect of:  Gonzaga should be stripped of their #1 ranking as they don’t deserve it because they play cupcake games in the WCC and they need to be in a power conference or at least in the PAC-12 to deserve being called #1.  The tweet went on to accuse the Zags of “dodging” the Gonzaga-Baylor game earlier this year on 12/5 when Covid protocols demanded the game be either postponed or cancelled.

The imbecility of such tweets always irks me.  Based on the assumption that a team like Gonzaga can simply choose to be in a power conference or in the PAC-12, the authors of such drivel must have been told at one time or another that there are eligibility requirements for universities to be members of particular conferences, and conferences with some of the larger universities often require 1. a certain enrollment (Gonzaga’s student population is much lower than many of the larger universities and likely wouldn’t exceed the threshold set to be part of a conference like the PAC-12), 2. a football team (Gonzaga doesn’t have a football team and wouldn’t likely be a welcome member of the PAC-12, the Big 10, the Big 12 or the SEC, all of which likely make more money on football than basketball), and 3. proximity to the other universities in the conference (Gonzaga isn’t in the ACC because Florida and Wahington State are quite a ways away from one another, plus 1 and 2).  This tweeter seemed to think that Gonzaga could just be a part of any old conference it chooses, but it continues to choose to be in the WCC because the Zags want a bunch of gimmie games in conference play instead of a challenge.  Everything is wrong about that assumption.  Challenging the team in every possible way and getting as many games with ranked opponents on the schedule has been a trademark of Gonzaga basketball for years—and it is especially true this season.

The idea that Gonzaga should be stripped of its #1 ranking is also ridiculous.  The Bulldogs have earned their #1 ranking by going 17-0 so far this season and by beating a number of very good, ranked teams in their non-conference schedule.  And who has decided they are #1?  Coaches and experts who know college basketball well.  If you don’t believe in the judgement of some of the best coaches of college basketball teams in the country, or you don’t like the decisions made by the AP pollsters, then go ahead and throw the numbers out the door.  Ignore them.  If you’re willing to listen to those folks, they seem to think pretty highly of Gonzaga.

If, as I suspect, what this guy was actually saying in his tweet was that Baylor should be #1 in the country, he might have a decent argument (especially after getting the win against Texas on Tuesday) and a few of the coaches and experts who vote for those rankings agree—but don’t knock Gonzaga while you’re making that argument.  Both the Bears and the Bulldogs are undefeated so far, both have records of 17-0, and both teams have faced quality opponents on their way to being undefeated.  That Baylor is in a conference with consistently more highly ranked opposition is true, but you can’t fault Gonzaga for not trying to schedule high-quality opponents.  If the Bulldogs were trying to dodge the Baylor game on December 5th, why would they schedule the game in the first place and travel to the venue to play?  They didn’t have to schedule games with Baylor, West Virginia, Iowa, Virginia, Kansas etc.  They scheduled them, often on very short notice, because Mark Few and the program wants to compete against the best teams in the country.  The cancellation of the game against Baylor was just the bad luck that comes with (perhaps the tweeter has heard of it) the Covid-19 pandemic.            

The funny thing is, when this guy tweeted about Gonzaga not deserving it’s #1 status because it plays “cupcake” games, Baylor had just played a conference game against Auburn.  Auburn, a member of the Big-12 conference with Baylor, is by no means a cupcake, but who else played Auburn this year?  Gonzaga did, in the second game of their non-conference slate, the day after the Bulldogs beat Kansas (another Big-12 team) on Thanksgiving, 102-90.  The Zags prevailed 90-67 in that Black Friday game against Auburn.  Last Saturday, Baylor beat Auburn 84-72.  If this guy is trying to say that Gonzaga is trying to avoid playing games against the teams in the Big 12, he’s definitely wrong.  Not only did the Zags have that game against Baylor scheduled with every intention to play, but the Bullodgs played West Virginia, Kansas and Auburn in the non-conference schedule this season and beat them all.  Before early scheduling went awry this season, Gonzaga had scheduled games or potential games in a tournament against Texas and Texas Tech (both in the Big 12) in the non-conference, and they filled the slots when cancellations happened with teams like Kansas and West Virginia. To say that the Bulldogs are dodging any challenge is not only wrong, it’s insulting, because Mark Few and his staff are putting every effort into playing as many challenging teams as possible.

If one wanted to argue that Baylor, Villanova, Michigan, Houston or any other deserving team should be #1, one might say that though Gonzaga’s record is perfect, their quality of play hasn’t been exceptional at times.  Lately, one might have a good point in saying so.  Having played a few WCC games recently that saw the Zags struggle in the first half of play, often falling behind for some minutes at the outset, the Bulldogs have shown some weakness early in each contest.  Last Saturday, Gonzaga was down 16-7 against Pepperdine with 15:41 to go in the first half before they turned things around.  Last Thursday, against San Diego, the Bulldogs didn’t pull ahead with a comfortable lead until there was 8:09 left in the first half, when Jalen Suggs hit his second three-pointer.  On January 16th, Gonzaga found themselves down by double digits to Saint Mary’s, 12-22 with 9:03 left in the 1st half and the Bulldogs were only able to turn that into a lead they would maintain after Joel Ayayi made a layup with 1:53 left before halftime.  Gonzaga did end up winning those games by 22, 28, and 14 points respectively, but there’s no doubt about the fact that the Bulldogs have had some trouble bringing the energy they need to coming right out of the gate. 

In upcoming games we’ll look for Gonzaga to bring some fire early.  Now, if you’re doing the opposite of nit-picking for weakness, and are instead looking for good reasons to argue that Gonzaga deserves their #1 ranking, I think the best sign (besides continuing to win) for the Bulldogs lately has come from some excellent play from Anton Watson and many players off the bench.  Of course, Gonzaga’s starters are extremely talented and solid.  Kispert, Timme, Suggs and Ayayi all average double-digits in scoring per game, with Kispert at the top with 20.2 points per game, just in front of Timme who is averaging 18.7.  Ayayi and Suggs are both phenomenal in all categories—Ayayi in scoring (11.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) in particular, Suggs in scoring 13.5 ppg), dishing assists (4.5 apg) and stealing the ball (2.3 spg) on the defensive end.  Anton Watson, the fifth starter for Gonzaga, who shares big man responsibilities down low with Drew Timme, hasn’t had the stellar scoring numbers of the other 4, but seems to be progressively becoming more of a dangerous offensive threat with each game.  With a steadily increasing average of 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, it’s Watson’s efficiency that is so impressive lately. In the last two games the Zags played, Watson has a combined total of 22 points on 11 for 14 shooting from the field (including a 5 for 5 effort against San Diego) and has gathered 10 rebounds.  Watson continues to struggle shooting from deep, but his near-perfection from everywhere else—including on the defensive end where he is a tenacious disrupter of opposing offenses—makes him an ideal 5th man.

The first man off the bench for Gonzaga is almost always Andrew Nembhard, a veteran transfer from Florida.  Though he comes off the bench for the Bulldogs, Nembhard averages the 4th highest minutes per game of any player on the roster, and he’s just below the double-digit mark with 9.4 points per game while leading the team with 4.6 assists per contest.  His contributions all over the court, but especially as a back-up for Jalen Suggs, have been monumental since the beginning of the season.  With a combined total of 22 points and 18 assists in the last two games for the Zags (both games found Suggs sitting for long stretches due to foul trouble) the Zags never lost a beat even when their freshman phenom had to take a seat.  Shooting better from 3-point range as the season progresses, Nembhard’s ability to execute the offense without turning the ball over makes him an ideal sub in the point guard position.  He averages only 1.1 turnovers per game while Suggs, who can sometimes get overly creative with some of his passes, averages 2.9 turnovers a contest.  That is not to say that Nembhard is a better choice, as Suggs brings a vast array of excellence to the court that no other player on the roster can—it is only to say that Nembhard is ideal in his absence.   

Though Aaron Cook, another veteran transfer, lingers in the shadows of the talented Gonzaga backcourt this season, he is proving his worth as a steadying force when things go awry. It seems that every time the Bulldogs seem to be going in the wrong direction, Mark Few sends Cook in to right the ship.  That was definitely the case on Saturday against Pepperdine.  When Gonzaga was down 16-7 to the Waves early, it was Cook who cooked up some hard-nosed defense as well as some steady shooting on his way to 15 points, 3 steals and 1 block on 6 for 8 shooting from the field and 2 for 3 from beyond the arc in 21 minutes on the court.       

Oumar Ballo, the biggest force off the bench down low for Gonzaga this season has unfortunately been out with a thumb injury—and will likely miss a few weeks.  His presence down low is going to be missed against any opponents with big frontcourt players.  Hopefully he’ll be back quickly, but in the meantime his absence may provide more minutes for up and comers Dominic Harris and Julian Strawther.  Both freshman for the Zags have had up and down moments this season, but their hard work seems to be paying off with some consistent excellence on the court.  Strawther had a big night against San Diego last Thursday, where he scored 11 points in just 10 minutes of play, going 4 for 5 from the field and 2 for 3 from deep.  Harris had a similar night the week before against Pacific, scoring 11 points on a perfect shooting night where he went 3 for 3 from the field, 2 for 2 from downtown and 3 for 3 from the charity stripe. 

To me, it is a good sign for Gonzaga that their starters and consistent subs continue to shine and develop while the deeper bench gains confidence.  This coming week, it looks like Gonzaga has run into some bad luck as both WCC opponents they had scheduled, Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara seem to be unable to play due to Covid issues.  It was rumored that Gonzaga might be able to turn that bad luck into good luck by scheduling one or more ranked foes in their place.  Karthik Venkataraman of KREM 2 news considered the possibilities for potential high-profile Gonzaga opponents should a program step up to the challenge.  Zags fans everywhere were licking their chops, waiting to see if the Bulldogs would get to play Houston, Villanova, Saint Louis, or perhaps UCLA—all of whom had openings.  It wasn’t to be despite the Zags reaching out, especially to Houston and Villanova.  Instead, the WCC has rearranged things and is going to give Gonzaga a game against Pacific on Thursday in California and against BYU in Provo on Saturday.  A bit of a let-down when everyone was hoping for Houston or Villanova—but a bit less of a let-down ever since both of those teams lost on Wednesday night.  Villanova fell to Saint John’s, 70-59, and East Carolina got the upset over Houston, 82-73.  So it goes in the crazy world of College Basketball.  I doubt the Zags will take either of these WCC games lightly on the road, especially the trip to Provo where they lost their only WCC game last year.  Have a great week!  GO ZAGS!!!    

~ Clark Karoses

It wasn’t a pretty first half in either of Gonzaga Men’s Basketball’s games this last week, as the Bulldogs found themselves in the rare position of not being in the lead for some short stretches both Thursday and Friday nights.  The Zags showed some resilience and shook off both opponents on their way to a still perfect 14-0 record that includes 5 straight wins in the WCC conference.  After a 1st half that had Gonzaga players, coaches and fans disgruntled on Thursday, the Zags put together an outstanding 2nd half in Spokane and put Pepperdine away convincingly to extend the longest home winning streak in the nation to 46 games.  In the last installment, I guessed 90-75 as a final score in that game, but Gonzaga exceeded my expectations in the 95-70 win. 

On Saturday, in Moraga, California, Saint Mary’s imposed a plodding tempo on a Bulldogs team that hates to go slow.  The frustrated Zags, instead of sharing the ball in the way that has been so productive for them this season, tried to create baskets individually where there was little room to create.  It led to an all-time team-low of 6 assists in the whole game.  The Gaels’ strategy worked at putting a damper on Gonzaga’s offense through the first 11 minutes of the game and Saint Mary’s jumped out to a surprising 22-12 lead behind some good shooting from beyond the arc.  Aaron Cook came off the bench for the Zags at a low-point and offered some veteran help to right the ship and the Bulldogs were able to go into the locker room with a 32-25 lead at the half.  Though the Zags were able to go up by as much as 18 with 4 minutes left in the game, the Gaels would put an end to Gonzaga’s 13-game streak of 85+ points scored, and the Bulldogs left Moraga with a 73-59 win.

Having played perhaps the most disappointing two halves of basketball that they’ve played this season, yet still able to win by 25 and 14 points, Mark Few summed it up best on Saturday night:  “Got through it and we’re moving on.”  Against Pepperdine, Gonzaga took a narrow 43-39 lead into the locker room after the Waves’ Darryl Polk Jr. hit a running 3-pointer to close the half, and every indication was that the Waves could turn tsunami on the Bulldogs and crash in for a torrential upset.  It was not to be as the Zags got to business early and often in the 2nd half, shooting well and playing some excellent defense to hold Pepperdine to just 31 points in the final 20 minutes while scoring 52 themselves. 

Starting forward Anton Watson, had 28 great minutes in the game against Pepperdine, and for the 2nd time this season led the team in rebounds.  Hyper-efficient when he does put the ball up on offense (he shot 3 for 3 from the field on Thursday), he troubled the Waves on the defensive end while going hard to the glass on both ends.  One of the few bright spots early for Gonzaga, Watson jumped into Pepperdine’s passing lane with 3:23 left in the first half, stole the ball and went in for an easy, break-away dunk.   A force whose contributions don’t always garner numbers, his 6 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals are exactly what Gonzaga needed against a very physical, persistent Pepperdine squad.  Unfortunately, that same Watson wasn’t there against the Waves.  On Saturday, besides a turnover, 2 fouls, and 2 steals, Watson had neither points nor rebounds in his 22 minutes of play.   

Watson is the only starter on the Zags not averaging double-digits scoring.  And while an occasional 10 or 15 points from the sophomore have been appreciated at times this season—simple efficiency on the offensive end along with consistent aggressiveness on defense and on the glass will keep him in his starting position.  Like I said last week, when you’ve got 4 starters who can put up 20+ points on any given night, the 5th man doesn’t necessarily need to be anything besides a serious threat to score.  On Thursday it wasn’t just one or two of Watson’s fellow starters putting up serious points.  Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs and Joel Ayayi combined for 80 points, getting totals of 20, 23, 18 and 19 respectively.  Impressive balance, no doubt, but impossible without the 15 offensive rebounds and 47 rebounds total for Gonzaga in the game compared to 6 offensive and 28 total rebounds for Pepperdine.  Gonzaga’s poor performance on the glass added to a frustrating Saturday night against Saint Mary’s, where the Gaels had 32 rebounds to Gonzaga’s 29, and 9 offensive rebounds to the Zags’ 3.

Against Saint Mary’s, the same balanced scoring among the starters emerged despite the dragging pace and a less impressive night on the boards.  Timme and Suggs both scored 14 a-piece against the Gaels, while Kispert and Ayayi found 17 and 16 respectively.  Suggs, Kispert and Timme snacked at the free throw line—Kispert and Suggs both getting a perfect 4 for 4 at the charity stripe while Timme just missed one, going 4 for 5.  It is a bit of a wonder why Timme wasn’t fed more consistently on Saturday.  He was a near-perfect 5 for 6 from the field and led the team in both blocks (3) and rebounds (8).  The out-of-sorts Zags should have leaned on their tried and true big man in the paint. 

Timme went to the glass hard against both the Waves and the Gaels.  Against Pepperdine, he gathered more offensive boards than defensive ones (4 offensive and 3 defensive) and came away with an impressive stat line of 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a charge taken.  He struggled a bit at the free-throw line (4-8) in that game and had a poor start shooting from the field, going just 3 for 11 to begin the game.  However, after about the 13-minute mark in the second, he more than redeemed himself with 2 beautiful and-1 baskets down low, both of which had him celebrating from the floor and converting from the charity stripe.  Around the same time, he went to the floor again on the defensive end, taking a charge and spurring on the Gonzaga run.  That run included at least 2 more Timme baskets, and would lead to the Bulldogs largest point separation (92-66) with 2:13 left after Jalen Suggs made a dunk on an Andrew Nembhard dime right after Suggs sunk his lone, long-range 3-pointer of the night.  

Speaking of 3-pointers, Kispert—luke-warm from deep in the first half (3 for 7) against Pepperdine—had a hot hand in the second (3 for 4) and boosted his shooting percentage over 50% for the game with a busy 6 for 11 effort from beyond the arc on the night.  He added 8 rebounds, an assist and a steal to his game-high 23 points Thursday—including 3 for 3 from the foul line.  With another game-high night scoring Saturday with his 17 points, Kispert was 3 for 6 from deep, adding an assist, a steal and 5 rebounds to his stat line.  With a 48.9% average from beyond the arc, it’s mine and many Zags fans hope that Kispert might finish over 50% from 3-point range this season—not that numbers matter that much, but it would be quite an accomplishment and could boost the value of his NBA-prospect stock.

Speaking of NBA-prospect stock, Jalen Suggs. . . what can you say?  The kid is outstanding.  He was able to showcase some of that excellence on Thursday, shooting 8 for 13 from the field, with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals to go along with his 18 points.  Much of his contribution against Pepperdine came on the defensive end where he stepped up to the assignment against the WCC’s leading scorer last season, Colbey Ross.  While defense is always a team effort and Suggs shared the assignment with many others, he helped limit Ross to 2 for 10 shooting from the field and 0 for 3 from deep for just 9 points (Ross averages about 19 a game) that came mainly from the free throw line.  The Gonzaga defense created 16 Pepperdine turnovers, 6 of which came from Ross.  Unfortunately, Gonzaga exceeded those 16 turnovers by a couple, getting 18 turnovers themselves, 4 of which came from Suggs.  Turnovers and effectiveness shooting from long range have become the biggest worries for Jalen Suggs as an NBA prospect.  Saturday’s game in Moraga saw Suggs out of sorts and, like many of the Zags, he’ll likely take some lessons away and try to forget about it ASAP.  With more turnovers (5) than rebounds (3) or assists (2), Suggs’ 14 points came off a 5 for 12 shooting night (0 for 3 from deep).  Suggs’ shooting woes and his propensity to make turnovers are areas for improvement for the young phenom as he moves deeper into a very exciting year.   

Joel Ayayi has been called one of the best “glue guys” in college basketball by many announcers lately.  While he certainly is gluey, considering his outstanding play lately, we might as well just call him one of the best guys in college basketball.  With the first triple-double ever in Gonzaga basketball history in the previous week’s game against Portland (12 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists) Ayayi made it 4 of 5 games in which he’d had at least a double-double.  Though not as heavy in the rebounding or assists category against Pepperdine, he was hyper-efficient again, shooting 5 for 7 from the field, 2 for 3 from beyond the arc, adding 3 offensive rebounds to his 6 rebounds total, 2 assists, 4 steals, 19 points and 0 turnovers.  As the Waves threatened and even took a lead 26-25, Thursday, it was largely Ayayi’s team-leading 14 points and 4 steals in the first half that kept Gonzaga’s head above water when they went into the locker room to iron things out. 

Ayayi’s consistency and efficiency helped the Zags climb out of the early hole they had going in Moraga on Saturday as well.  Shooting 8 for 13 from the field against Saint Mary’s (1 for 2 from deep) and adding 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal to his 16 points, Ayayi again proved to be efficient and effective in the rare times that the rest of the team can’t seem to get things together.  I would call him a “gravity guy,” grounding what might float away in different directions without his steadfast excellence.    

The primary concern for Gonzaga going down the road, as it has been for some time, is in bench production for the frontcourt.  Veteran transfers Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Cook have been excellent and proven subs off the bench in the backcourt for the Zags.  While Nembhard hasn’t been as productive as he’d been through the first 12 games of the season in these last two contests, Cook showed up big in just 15 minutes off the bench Saturday.  He plays excellent defense while making only the best offensive decisions.  Against the Gaels he shot 3 for 4 from the field, sank his 1 attempt from deep, and had 3 rebounds, an assist and a steal.  Along with the veterans, freshman Julian Strawther and Dominic Harris are coming into their own as options off the bench in the backcourt as well. 

But the question persists:  if Timme and/or Watson finds themselves in foul trouble against a bunch of very talented and very big bigs, where does Gonzaga go?  So far, Oumar Ballo is Mark Few’s answer for the frontcourt.  Getting 11 minutes on occasion in some of his best games, Ballo is definitely a work in progress.  On Thursday, the big man had just 3 minutes on the court.  On Saturday he missed a dunk he should have thrown down late in the game, but was able to get a block and a rebound in his 4 minutes.  Ballo’s ability to contribute in a meaningful way is likely to become very important by season’s end.    

One interesting possibility for a frontcourt sub comes from Ben Gregg, a 6’ 10” true freshman out of Oregon who just joined the team after deciding to finish high school early and get to college—an odd occurrence that probably has more to do with the fact that Gregg had no high-school basketball season due to Covid and took his best and quickest path to the basketball court (and a free season of college eligibility).  He seems nimble and fleet of foot in the few occasions we’ve seen him on the court after the Bulldogs have a sizable lead.  Could he be a piece in Gonzaga’s national championship puzzle?

Next up on the slate Saturday (unless Mark Few pulls off some crazy scheduling that gets them a top-25 game in the interim) is a game against the Pacific Tigers.  2 and 0 in WCC play so far, Pacific could prove to be a challenge for Gonzaga.  In the past, the Tigers have imposed the same plodding tempo on Gonzaga that Saint Mary’s used Saturday to slow down and frustrate the Bulldogs.  I suspect, though, that Mark Few will have the right counter measures in place to overcome any difficulties Pacific might bring.  And I think after a frustrating week like this last one, the Zags are going to put together 2 halves of good basketball and come out fired up and swinging on both ends of the court.  I say 97-58, Gonzaga wins big and Ballo gets some great minutes.  GO ZAGS!!!  

~ Clark Karoses

The Gonzaga Bulldogs men’s basketball team had a great couple of games in WCC conference play last week and they look forward to another two games this week, starting on Thursday night against Pepperdine at home and Saturday against Saint Mary’s away.  The Zags put a serious whuppin’ on the BYU Cougars last Thursday night, 86-69, with an especially strong 1st half—opening the game on a 23-2 run.  It was the 45th consecutive home win for Gonzaga (the longest active home winning streak in college basketball) which led by as much as 32 points, 75-43 in the 2nd half.  Though Portland showed some meddle early on Saturday night, tying the game 11-11 after the first 5 minutes, Gonzaga quickly pulled away and led by as much as 36 (86-50) in the Bulldogs’ first true road game.  They would cruise to a season-high 116 points, while Portland would log an impressive 88 largely due to a great shooting night from beyond the arc, hitting nearly 50% of their attempts from deep.  It was a monument to the diversity of strengths on the Gonzaga team in these two games, as the Bulldog backcourt dominated scoring in the game against BYU while the frontcourt destroyed Portland down low on Saturday night with the team scoring 80 points in the paint.

Before I continue, excuse me while I get something off my chest.  ESPN, the worldwide monopoly on sports, is seriously making me angry lately!  As a college basketball fan, I suspect I’m not alone.  I look at the schedule before the Zags game against BYU Thursday:  5:30 pm PT on ESPN.  Sweet, can’t wait for that one.  I turn it on at 5:25.  Oh, there’s a college football awards show on.  It must almost be over.  I’m sure they had the foresight to make sure they wouldn’t run that show into the game they have scheduled to air at 5:30.  I mean a lot of times I miss the beginnings of Zags games scheduled on ESPN because they’ve scheduled the Gonzaga game to be aired so tightly with the conclusion of another basketball game they’re airing prior to it that the painfully slow minute and a half left in the Big 10, SEC or ACC contest that’s on takes 10 or 20 minutes out of the game I want to see (or nearly the whole half if that previous game goes into overtime)—but that won’t happen this time when they’re airing a show they must have already planned to end before 5:30 since that’s what they have scheduled.

I watch the college football awards show for 20 more minutes, and as each minute ticks by past 5:30 I get a bit more and more agitated and I start yelling at the screen.  I’m missing the Zags game to watch a virtual awards ceremony!  Kudos to everyone who got awards and all, but Jeez!  Finally, they hand out the last award for player of the year to Devonta Smith—way to go, that dude is awesome, Roll Tide, etc.—but why didn’t that all happen a quarter of an hour ago?  It’s like 5:47!  Finally, commercial and they get to the game already in progress.  Gonzaga 16, BYU 2.  And thanks to ESPN, I’ve missed one of the most exciting and redemptive beat downs in the history of Bulldogs basketball.  If you want to see a Gonzaga game this year you have to get there early, because it’s often not very long before it isn’t much of a game anymore.  That was definitely the case on Thursday night.

This is the part I missed:  Jalen Suggs takes BYU’s first possession away, stealing the ball and streaking down for a sweet and-1 lay-up to go up 3-0.  Kispert gets a reverse lay-in along the baseline for another 2, then dials up a 3-pointer on the next possession to make it 8-0.  BYU gets 2.  Drew Timme hits 2 buckets to belittle the BYU frontcourt featuring 7’3” Matt Haarms, the notorious transfer from Purdue.  Fellow big man Anton Watson takes a charge against Haarms for some further belittling.  Oh, and then Jalen Suggs rips down a defensive rebound and just as his toes touch the court, throws a pass sidearm—Patrick Mahomes-style—nearly the whole length of the court to a streaking Joel Ayayi for the Frenchman’s first bucket.  Rebound, assist, bucket in like a second and a half.  That makes it 14-2.  Timme burns BYU again, BYU timeout.  By the time ESPN decides its finally convenient to tune in to the #1 team in the country, it’s 5:50 and almost 20 points are on the board, 16-2. 

From that point, Timme scores again and Andrew Nembhard starts to get hot from deep.  BYU’s next points would come only after the Zags were up 23-2 and though Gonzaga lets up on the gas a little, after Nembhard rains 3 3’s in 3 attempts, the Zags go into the locker room at halftime up 52-29, shooting 55% from the field, 50% from deep and 92% (11-12) from the free-throw line.

The near shut-out in those first 7 minutes of the BYU game was a tribute to some outstanding team defense.  Jalen Suggs was particularly awesome against BYU on both ends, taking the defensive assignment early against BYU’s leading scorer, Alex Barcello (a 63% shooter from deep before the game).  Suggs contributed heavily to the team effort that held Barcello to 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting.  Not only does he make opposing players look foolish at times on the offensive end with his speed, quickness, athleticism and amazing passing ability, but his anticipation of where the ball is going to be makes him a steal-getting machine as well as one of the most dangerous shot-blockers on the team. 

On top of that, with his football, fear-nothing toughness, he’ll cut a driving player off, stand his ground and take the charge like he did right after he hit a 3 pointer with 1:30 left in the first half.  After the Cougars took the ball down the court, BYU’s Brandon Averette tried to drive baseline on Suggs.  Always an excellent spot to cut off a driving player, Suggs stepped on the baseline and took the brunt of Averette’s momentum, falling back without even a hint of a flop—offensive foul, Gonzaga ball.  A charge taken amounts to a steal, with the added plus of giving a foul to the opposing player who dealt the contact, and it pains me that what amounts to perhaps the best defensive play is basketball doesn’t get put on most stat sheets. 

Suggs is remarkable on both ends, tough as nails, obviously loves the game and hasn’t seemed even a bit intimidated as a freshman leading the #1 team in the nation.  Mark Few had some praise for his starting point guard after the game, saying that “one of his greatest gifts is his vision,” commenting on his ability to see possibilities lesser players would miss.  It is a gift that yields results on both ends—passing, scoring and defending.  Leading the team in assists and steals, Suggs’ stat line against BYU is a tribute to his artistry:  16 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block, and 1 charge taken.  Running into some foul trouble early against Portland on Saturday, Suggs had a more subdued 11 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.                  

Corey Kispert, who leads the Zags and the WCC in scoring, had high points for the Bulldogs on Thursday night with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  While Thursday’s 9 for 16 shooting from the field and 2 for 5 from beyond the arc against BYU sounds like a stellar night for some, the way Kispert had been playing previously, his games against both BYU and Portland felt like off nights.  Kispert missed a lot of drives that he usually finishes against BYU Thursday, and Saturday he shot just 6 for 14 from the field and 2 for 7 from beyond the arc against Portland, ending up with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  Despite the off nights, his offensive game has become a wonderful mix of deep daggers, drives, mid-range pull-ups, posts and dunks.  So many opponents have found that he can’t be stopped by anything short of a super-human effort.  In the past 8 games, he’s led Gonzaga in scoring 5 times with point totals of 27, 32, 25, 26 and 23.

Drew Timme had been a slightly more quiet giant before Saturday—deferring to the likes of Kispert, Suggs, Nembhard, Ayayi and Watson—but came fully alive against Portland, Saturday.  Against BYU, he gathered 12 points on 5 for 8 shooting, adding 4 assists and 2 rebounds.  Saturday, however, against a Portland team that was outmatched by Gonzaga’s size, it was time to feed the post and Timme ate regularly.  With high points for the night in 27 minutes, Timme shot 10-14 from the field, 6 for 6 at the charity stripe, gathering 26 points, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 assists and 1 block.  Fellow starting forward, Anton Watson, had a career-high night against Portland on feed-the-post-night for Gonzaga with 23 points on an outstanding 8 for 9 from the field, 6 for 7 from the free throw line, sinking his only attempt from deep and adding 3 rebounds and a block in his 24 minutes.    

Against BYU, Watson proved his meddle as well.  For the first time this season, a player other than Timme or Joel Ayayi led the team in rebounding as Watson had a team-high 8 rebounds, adding 8 points, another block, 2 steals and a charge taken as well.  Already the lead shot-blocker for the Bulldogs, Watson has steadily become more and more effective in every facet of the game, an excellent sign for a Gonzaga team already up to its ears in excellence.  On a team with 4 starters who can easily put 20 points on the board on any given night (Kispert, Timme, Ayayi, Suggs), Watson was a bit of an odd-man-out offensively to begin the season, relied upon particularly for his excellent defense.  Watson achieved double digits in points both games against the Northwestern State Demons with 10 and 15, but had previously only flirted with double-digit points in a few previous contests.  If Watson were to become a regular double-digit scorer, a serious aggressor on the boards, as well as the defensive specialist he’s always been—defending the rim and stressing opposing offenses with his length and athleticism all over the full-court—it would make the whole team exponentially more dangerous. 

Considering Joel Ayayi’s play lately, “Danger” must be the Junior guard’s middle name.  The leading rebounder for Gonzaga with just over 8 boards a game, the WCC player of the week for two weeks in a row with at least a double-double in 4 of the Bulldogs’ last 5 games, Ayayi did what no Gonzaga player has ever done and got himself a triple-double against Portland Saturday with an incredible 12 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists—in just 28 minutes on the court!  Against Dixie State, he nearly had a triple-double earlier this season on December 29th with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, but was pulled early as the lopsided victory got a bit out of hand.  A humble, veteran team player who is never one to just try to get his own, Ayayi gets numbers everywhere in the stat sheet with an instinctual ability to be in the right place at the right time on both ends of the court.  Against BYU, he had one of his more subdued scoring nights, getting 8 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Besides all those starters just mentioned, Gonzaga’s got a sure-handed 6th man off the bench in Florida transfer, Andrew Nembhard.  Nembhard logs more minutes than anyone on the team except Corey Kispert and Few utilizes his diverse talents to essentially sub for any of the starters, 1 through 5.  The team doesn’t lose much defensively when he subs since Nembhard is an excellent defender and Kispert can bump down low if Nembhard subs into the starting lineup for Watson or Timme—and you end up with a “small ball,” lightning-quick, offensive and defensive monster of a line-up.  Nembhard was criticized early in the season for some inconsistency shooting from deep, but lately has been impressive to say the least.  Usually great from both mid-range and on the dribble drive, Nembhard got all his offense from deep in the game against BYU, as he went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc and 4 for 9 from the field—those 4 buckets amounting to all of his 12 points.  Often filling in at point guard for Jalen Suggs, he is a careful handler of the ball and rarely makes turnovers despite making some incredible passes between defenders.  In 54 minutes against both BYU and Portland, he never turned the ball over and was a primary reason Gonzaga had just 8 turnovers in each of these two games.  Against Portland, he had a hyper-efficient 10 points on 4 for 5 shooting, adding 5 assists and a steal as well.  

Gonzaga has an excellent 6 players getting most of the time on the court lately.  Aaron Cook, who was out with a leg injury against BYU, appeared in the game against Portland.  He is a seventh player Few trusts as a backup guard/ point guard who can put points on the board as well as lockdown defensively.  The backcourt has always looked strong for the Bulldogs this season.  The breakthrough that could make this team truly unbeatable would be to have another forward off the bench playing the kind of elite basketball that would make them trustworthy enough to consistently replace Anton Watson or Drew Timme for long stretches in the frontcourt—especially against teams with more than 1 giant down low.  Oumar Ballo, a heavy, 7’ true center, is getting minutes subbing down low for Timme and Watson.  Occasionally he performs well but Mark Few often quickly rakes him back to the bench after some sloppiness/slowness on either end.  Ballo hasn’t been bad by any means but he certainly isn’t as polished as either Timme or Watson.  He doesn’t have the speed to add to the transition game that is a big part of the offense for Gonzaga this season, nor the quick reaction time to rotate effectively on defense yet.  WCC play in these next couple of weeks may be excellent for his development as well as the development of both Julian Strawther and Dominic Harris who have been getting minutes as guards but often get the rake for the same sloppiness Few just doesn’t have any patience for.  Both freshman have had moments of brilliance inbetween some freshman mistakes. 

Strawther, one of the 7 Gonzaga players scoring in double digits Saturday, had a particularly productive game against Portland with 12 points in just 8 minutes, adding a block and 3 rebounds, sinking a 3 pointer as well as all 3 of his free throws.  Ballo, Strawther and Harris all need to be better on the defensive end before Mark Few is going to give them significant trust going forward.  Opponents such as Portland have taken considerable advantage of the second string to make their point totals look better.  All the blame shouldn’t fall on the bench, of course, but allowing any opponent 88 points as the #1 team in the nation doesn’t look good. 

Pepperdine is up next, a team that has played some quality programs close in the non-conference slate.  They are yet to start conference play after taking a pause due to Covid protocol, but hung tough and took a rough loss in their second game of the year to #22 UCLA in triple overtime.  They also played a decent San Diego State team close in a 65-60 loss.  Strangely, their last game played on December 23rd was a significant loss to CSU Bakersfield, 79-51.  Perhaps something of a Jekkyl and Hyde team, I suspect the murderous side will be the one out when they play Gonzaga at a strange time this coming Thursday:  2 pm PT on ESPN2.  Colby Ross (who averages 19 points, 7.2 assists and 1.3 steals a game) and Kessler Edwards (who leads the Waves in rebounding and blocks and scores just over 17 points a game) were some pretty bad dudes last season when they played Gonzaga tight right to the buzzer—and Pepperdine won’t be easy to handle on either end on Thursday.  I think this one may be closer than the last couple games, though I think the Zags prevail:  90-75. 

One thing to hope for:  some more of that on-the-fly scheduling Mark Few and company put together lately and throughout non-conference play.  What Gonzaga needs (or maybe we fans just really want it) is one or more non-conference games against top ranked foes in the middle of WCC conference play.  Could that become a norm for the Zags, even outside a Covid-devastated year?  It could be likely this year at least, as time slots seem to be opening up in the holes left by rescheduled games like this one against BYU in which the early February game time was moved back to accommodate both BYU and Gonzaga facing Covid-riddled California teams (Santa Clara and Pacific) that had to cancel.  Maybe we could have one of the games Gonzaga had scheduled earlier in the season that ended up not happening?  Texas?  Baylor?  Texas Tech?  Tennessee?  Hell, throw Villanova in the hat!  One can only hope.  Have a great week and GO ZAGS!!!            

​~ Clark Karoses

In the last installment, I said Gonzaga would be playing Santa Clara on Thursday evening.  Not correct.  Covid is raging in California—which has put both Gonzaga’s game against the Broncos on Thursday night and BYU’s game against Pacific indefinitely on hold in the WCC.  So why not just go Gonzaga vs. BYU?  Sure thing said both of the healthy programs.  Just another example of Gonzaga and BYU’s willingness to do everything on the fly in these strange times.  And in all honesty, I wasn’t as excited about the Zags game against Santa Clara on Thursday as I am about the game against BYU on Thursday instead.  BYU is a dangerous rival, a serious challenge and every player on the roster will give it their all not to go down easily to arch-WCC-rival Gonzaga. 

As a devoted Gonzaga fan, I’m not so fond of saying so, but BYU is a good team.  BYU (9-2) has losses against just 2 teams this season—one narrow loss (74-70) came at the hands of what appears to be a very good Boise State team, and another more substantial loss (79-53) to USC.  They have quality wins against San Diego State, Utah, Utah State and St. Johns.  BYU is led by a pair of very experienced seniors—one in the backcourt and one in the frontcourt:  6’2”guard, Alex Barcello, and the very tall 7’3” senior forward transfer from Purdue, Matt Haarms.  Barcello’s getting just a hair shy of 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game while shooing a crazy 63% from beyond the arc.  Haarms gets 22 minutes a game down low and averages 11 points and 2 blocks per contest.  The Cougars have a whole bunch of support off the bench as well, with 11 players averaging over 10 minutes a game.

Of course, Gonzaga hasn’t maintained a #1 ranking since the beginning of the season for eating crackers.  Kispert, Timme, Ayayi, Suggs and Nembhard can all drop 20 on you in a flash.  They score in a lightning-quick blur and can burn the nets up from deep.  All are great on the defensive end as well, along with defensive specialists Anton Watson and Aaron Cook.  And if they need someone really big and pretty mean down low, they’ve got 7’0” Oumar Ballo to protect the paint.   The Zags are, in particular, going to look to tighten up their defense against another worthy opponent like BYU.  They’ve allowed their last three opponents less than 70 points per game while scoring at least 85+ themselves.

This will be a good game as the intensity is going to be high on both ends and it might even be close for a while.  The Zags will have a little extra in the tank though at home and they’ll want to showcase everything they can do against a rival to whom they owe more than just a little payback.  In their last meeting down in Provo, the Bulldogs fell for only the 2nd time in the 2019-2020 season to the Yoeli Childs led Cougars, 91-78.  I think the Gonzaga defense will be relentless and the fast pace the Zags seem to be able to impose at will is going to be too much for the Cougars.  If the Bulldogs don’t pull away from BYU right off the bat then I suspect they will later in the 2nd half—similar to the way the game against San Francisco went.  I predict Gonzaga wins big, 102-77.     

One interesting possibility in the near future:  if Gonzaga has another hole in their schedule after another California-based opponent (a majority of WCC teams come from California) or some WCC tream elsewhere has a Covid health hang-up—could they re-schedule that Baylor game everybody and their dog wants to see?  Officially, this game on Thursday is a rescheduling of the February 6th matchup between Gonzaga and BYU, so perhaps that slot opens up if Santa Clara can’t fill in there.  If not Baylor then maybe Texas or Villanova will find themselves free at some point?  This season it seems like those kinds of possibilities might just present themselves.  One can only hope.  It would be good for Gonzaga to face another Top-10/ Top-25 opponent before the tournament rolls around—and I have no doubt that Mark Few will seek out a challenge as he always wants his players to be on the court with the best of the best, even if it puts his perfect record at risk.  Have a great week and get to that TV on Thursday night at 5:30 pacific time!  GO ZAGS!!!

~ Clark Karoses

The question that Mark Few dismissed recently as frivolous to even consider at this point hasn’t kept a whole host of reporters, announcers and college basketball fans from asking:  Can the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team make history and go undefeated this season?  Can they (1) go undefeated through conference play, and (2) can they accomplish what no team since Indiana in 1975-76 has done and run the slate with nothing but wins all the way through the WCC and NCAA tournaments as well?  After vanquishing all foes through a non-conference slate that included the likes of Kansas, West Virginia, Iowa and Virginia, and securing an impressive 9-0 record to start, the Bulldogs entered conference play on Saturday evening and threw aside the San Francisco Dons on the path to that possibility. 

Now sitting at 10-0, this is only the 2nd season in Gonzaga’s NCAA history that the team began conference play with an undefeated record.  The last time wasn’t so long ago.  The 2016—17 Zags went 12-0 through non-conference play with narrow wins over just two ranked foes, #21 Iowa State (73-71), and #16 Arizona (69-62).  Led by a Washington transfer by the name of Nigel Williams-Goss, those Bulldogs had perfection in the win column at 29-0 through most of conference play, got convincing wins three times over a Saint Mary’s team ranked either #21, #20, or #19, only to fall at the hands of unranked BYU during conference play on February 25th, 79-71, in the game that would have made them 30-0.  The team would work its way through the NCAA tournament field in March, all the way to the Final Four and the title game against North Carolina where they notched their second loss and finished 37-2 in what is universally recognized as the Bulldogs most successful season ever.  Can Gonzaga one up that kind of performance—or, rather, two up it, this season?  Not an easy task to say the least.

One could say the team Mark Few has assembled this year is a different, and perhaps even a more dangerous beast than even that very excellent team of yesteryear.  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  What one could safely say at this point is:  given what Gonzaga has been able to achieve so far this season in non-conference play, with double-digit wins over some of the most highly-ranked opponents possible, Gonzaga could, and maybe even should, remain unbeaten through the WCC conference slate and the WCC tournament.  Anything less would definitely be a surprise, a disappointment and a huge upset for whoever among the Bulldogs’ WCC foes could slip away with a win against the Zags. 

Things in the WCC are similar to the way things have been in the past, with one exception.  Sometimes when entering conference play, another WCC team besides Gonzaga will be ranked in the top-25.  Usually a Saint Mary’s or a BYU team.  This year that’s not the case.  BYU and Saint Mary’s present significant hurtles along the path to perfection—no doubt about that.  Though they fell in Spokane, BYU was able to satisfy its home crowd and beat a very excellent Gonzaga team last year in Provo.  Pepperdine, with Colbey Ross at the helm, wasn’t an easy out last year either.  But I’m going to go ahead and go out on a limb (though not so far from the trunk) in saying Gonzaga, barring huge problems with injuries or some Covid disaster—will beat every WCC team this year twice and/or thrice. 

I say so knowing that even against non-ranked foes that’s not going to be easy, and that every team who plays Gonzaga wants to take down #1 and will sometimes put in extra-human efforts to do so.  Gonzaga, however, has given us every indication so far that they’re good enough to come out on top against any WCC team, even on a night where they’re shooting goes cold.  I know running through WCC conference play without a loss is much easier said than done, but as at least one ESPN announcer recognized on Saturday night, running the slate through the whole season, even after entering the NCAA tournament is a whole different barrel of monkeys.  When we try to answer the question can Gonzaga reach the end of the NCAA tournament undefeated.  Who knows?  There are a slew of very dangerous opponents, even undefeated ones, the Zags have not faced yet and who could shatter the expectations and dreams of so many players, coaches and fans.  Michigan, who Gonzaga had so much trouble last year in the title game of The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament early, is 9-0 (4-0 in the Big Ten) with a hefty win over Northwestern on Sunday, Texas has a single loss to Villanova and destroyed Kansas earlier on Saturday—Villanova is really good, and Baylor (9-0) with a giant B looks excellent as well.  Those are just the ones that come to mind and I’m sure there are some teams who remain under the radar so far.  The tournament is too hard to predict at this point and to say anything is just plain foolhardy.  Do they have a chance of doing so?  Yes, no doubt about that.      

What Gonzaga is going to try to do, as the players and coaches have said already, is not get complacent, not rest on their already significant laurels, approach every contest with the utmost seriousness and resolve, and take every game as it comes.  And in the process, hopefully they’ll get even better than they already are.  Evolution during the course of the basketball season is of utmost importance to even the best teams because other teams are evolving quickly into better, more dangerous teams all over the map.  

The Bulldogs did not take their WCC foe lightly on Saturday night when they played a very decent San Francisco Dons team who threatened to give them trouble throughout the first half.  After 6 minutes of play, the Dons even took a lead when Jamaree Bouyea’s 3-pointer made it 14-13.  Bouyea, who would come away with 18 points in the game to lead the Dons, was a thorn in the side of the Gonzaga defense throughout the first half.  The half proved to be a push and pull battle as the Zags would slip up and let their lead dwindle, then right the ship and go on a run, and then falter a bit and let San Francisco get close again, back and forth throughout those first 20 minutes.  After Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard hit 3-pointers for the Zags, and Corey Kispert made multiple lay-ups, the Zags found themselves up 16-25 and looked to be on the verge of stretching that lead midway through.  However, Bouyea and company went to work with some nifty lay ups of their own. 

Jalen Suggs, back in the starting line-up after taking a rest over the last two games due to some leg difficulty, wouldn’t score a basket in the first half.  He finished with just 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and the 5 fouls that eventually ended the game for him.  Suggs picked up 3 fouls with 8:22 left in the 1st half.  After that 3rd foul sent Suggs to the bench, Dzmitry Ryuny hit two free throws and the Dons were back to within 3, 25-28.  It wasn’t until the end of the half that things took a turn for the Zags.  With 30 seconds left, and the Zags up 44-37, San Francisco was looking to run the clock out, perhaps get a bucket, and go to the locker room down by just single digits.  Bouyea, however, turned the ball over to the Zags with two seconds left and the Bulldogs took it out near half court.  Executing a play that should have made Top-10 on ESPN, Kispert was able to cut across the face of the defense, receive the ball at a full sprint, and pull up just a step or two inside of half court to drain a “Dame-time,” 40-foot 3-pointer that brought the smiling Bulldogs players into the locker room up 47-37.

They wouldn’t let that double-digits lead go through the rest of the game, stretching it to a 21-point lead with 12 minutes left after Anton Watson finished through contact for a 3-point play.  They wouldn’t let go of that 20+ point lead either, finishing the game with a score of 85-62.  The Dons had gone into the contest with the stated purpose of keeping Corey Kispert from hitting 3’s.  They did a good job of just that as Kispert hit just that one NBA three to end the half, going 1 for 3 from beyond the arc.  But the Dons found out that taking away one aspect of Kispert’s game wasn’t going to do them much good, as Kispert switched gears and filleted the Dons’ defense repeatedly and perfectly with excellent cuts, backcuts and drives to the hoop.  He is among the best I’ve seen at finishing strong through contact, getting numerous 3’s the hard way on Saturday.  He did not miss a single basket inside the arc, going 9 for 11 from the field, 7 for 8 at the free-throw line, adding 3 rebounds and 3 assists to his 26 points.  Player of the year talk is warranted.

Drew Timme, Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs had been the most common high scorers for Gonzaga in the games at the beginning of the season.  In the past 4 games, however, Joel Ayayi has shared high-scoring honors as either top scorer or second-high scorer for the team with either Kispert or Timme.  Besides that, Ayayi rebounds like a man possessed and has had double-doubles in each of the last 3 games. 
And to top it all off, Ayayi’s become lethal from deep as well.  Prior to the last 3 games, the native of Bordeaux, France had struggled from deep with a sub-20% shooting average from beyond the arc.  Everyone on the team knew he could shoot well from distance, so it was a relief but not a surprise when, in those last 3 games where he found double-doubles of 17 and 10, 21 and 11, and 18 and 10 (points and rebounds), the native of Bourdeaux, France is 8 for 11 from beyond the arc.  Against San Francisco, he scored at an incredibly efficient clip, going 7 for 9 from the field for his 18 points.  He and Drew Timme both have 5 games in which they’ve led the team in rebounds, though Ayayi boasts an incredible 18 rebound day against Iowa and leads the team in rebounding, averaging 8 a game.

Though Timme had a bit of trouble with a 4 for 10 night from the field, he was one rebound up on Ayayi against the Dons with a double-double of his own—garnering 10 points and 11 rebounds, and hitting his one attempt from beyond the arc.  He was excellent on the defensive end with a block, a steal and only 2 fouls.  The whole team put in an exceptional defensive effort in the second half as they held Bouyea, who had 16 points in the first half, to just a single field goal in the 2nd and the Dons team as a whole to just 25 points.  San Francisco’s effectiveness from deep was neutralized by the Bulldogs’ smothering defense as well as the Dons could only come away hitting 23.5% from beyond the arc and 25% for field goals in that half. 

Gonzaga is evolving, and I think the best indication of that evolution is on the defensive end.  Already so proficient on the offensive end, the Zags defense is starting to get stingy and creating more and more offense in transition.  A defensive power forward with excellent athleticism, length and swiping hands, Anton Watson showed hints of the rim defender he can be by the time the tournament rolls around, putting up 2 blocks against San Francisco.  Getting 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 8 points and hitting 4 of 5 from the charity stripe, Watson is becoming exactly the threat he needs to be on the offensive end as well—not necessarily a high scorer, but the constant threat starting next to Timme that defenses can’t ignore. 

With Joel Ayayi starting to find his stroke from deep, and Andrew Nembhard not only doing so many things as back-up point guard well by protecting the ball and fascillitating the game for others, but getting his attempts from beyond the arc to fall more consistently as well, the sky is truly the limit for this team that is only getting better and better.  Nembhard was the only player to hit more than one shot from beyond the arc, shooting 50% from both the field and from deep (5-10 and 2-4).  He added 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal to his 14 points on the night and has become one of Few’s favorites with the third highest minutes of any player behind Kispert and Ayayi. 

The Zags need another forward/ center to step up and play at an elite level before tournament time rolls around.  Besides Timme and Watson, Oumar Ballo has been coach Few’s #1 choice as a big getting minutes for Gonzaga.  Ballo hasn’t proven himself to be consistently effective this season, and was quickly pulled from the game after some miscues on both ends of the floor against San Francisco where he got more turnovers (2) than rebounds and points.  He’ll have to get things on the right track quickly as there will definitely be games in the future where his size and brute strength will be required—he just has to refine his awareness, improve his quickness, speed up his game, and just plain be better.  The WCC might be a good proving grounds for him to refine his skills. 

The Santa Clara Broncos are next up for Gonzaga on Thursday.  They’ve been taking a break due to Covid protocol for their last two scheduled games.  They have a record of 6-2, with a recent loss to USC by a score of 86-63.  Provided they can play, I think the Broncos are going to try their best to slow down the Gonzaga fast-break machine.  They won’t succeed.  My prediction:  105-53, Gonzaga.  Any chance that Baylor game might get rescheduled during conference play—perhaps if and when both teams have a Covid-related break and are both still healthy?  Wouldn’t that be sweet?  Happy New Year!  And GO ZAGS!!!     

​~ Clark Karoses            

Two scrappy programs got a title fight with the #1 men’s college basketball team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, on Monday and Tuesday nights in Spokane.  And the Zags went to work early and often, performing a bit better on Tuesday against the Dixie State Trailblazers out of Utah, than they did on Monday against Northern Arizona.  Junior guard, Joel Ayayi, who hasn’t put up impressive numbers since the game against Iowa where he scored 11 and pulled down 18 rebounds, turned that around in a big way.  Getting a double-double in both contests, he was just 4 assists short of a triple-double on Tuesday.  As Yoda one day must have smiled to recognize that Luke Skywalker’s jedi training was complete, Mark Few no doubt lifted at least a corner of a lip to see his young prodigy so close to perfection 2 nights in a row. 

Ayayi and the other Gonzaga starters had to make quick work on the court because they weren’t out there for long.  With a comfortable lead through so much of both games, Few was able to reach deep into his bag of tricks and go to his bench for extended minutes, giving the upcoming Zag order a chance to work out the kinks.  One of those up and comers goes by the name of Oumar Ballo, a youngster from Mali, who came to Gonzaga as a rough-around-the-edges, 6’10”, 16 year-old on track for one of those Bulldog redshirt years that has done so much for so many (Brandon Clarke, for instance)—now a 7’0”, 260-pound, somewhat more chiseled 18 year-old, he has begun to do the damage he is destined to do for Gonzaga—and he went to work mightily Tuesday night.

Ayayi had the first 5 points of the game against Northern Arizona, Monday, including a 3-pointer that likely drew a sigh of relief from coaches and fans who have seen Ayayi struggle shooting from deep early this season.  It was the beginning of a barrage, and started what amounted to a 10-0 run right off the bat for Gonzaga.  That quickly progressed to a 24-5 lead as Ayayi, Drew Timme and company combined to stretch the margin.  When Ballo had a crack at Northern Arizona he went to work right away, and with 11 minutes left in the first half threw down a mean dunk with a foul and hit his free throw to get a 3-point play old-school style, making it 31-10.  Things didn’t get much better for the Lumberjacks before the break as Anton Watson threw a pretty dime to Timme for a lay-up with 5 minutes to go to make it 42-16.  Along with Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Cook, Ayayi kept hitting 3’s throughout the first half, and was just a few rebounds short of his double-double before halftime with the Zags up 51-23.

Not long into the next half, many of the starters bowed out for the night.  In his 20 minutes on the court, Drew Timme went 7 for 10 from the field, added 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots to go along with his 14 points.  His footwork and expertise in the post drew parallels to Kevin McCale from the announcers.  And he busted out the mustache salute celebration on occasion as well.  Corey Kispert, without the hot hand he had when he hit 9 from beyond the arc and hung 32 points on Virginia, shot 0 for 2 from beyond the arc on Monday, but found 8 points and 8 rebounds nonetheless.  In Ayayi’s incredibly efficient 20 minutes, he went 6 for 8 from the floor, 4 for 5 from deep, gathered 3 offensive rebounds and 10 rebounds total, adding 2 assists and a steal to his team-high, 17 points.  Though he’s led the team in rebounds in 5 of the Zags 9 games, he’s only led the team in scoring in one other game.  It happened to be against West Virginia, the closest game Gonzaga played where the team snuck away with an 87-82 victory on Ayayi’s team high 21 points and 7 rebounds.

One of the more worrisome stories that developed over the course of these two games is the mystery surrounding Jalen Suggs, the uber-athletic, uber-talented, freshman phenom who has had some great games since he started playing college basketball on Thanksgiving, and is projected to be a first-round, if not the #1 pick in the NBA draft.  He was held out of both games this week.  Let’s hope it’s not more than the minor concern that most are making it out to be—claiming that Suggs’ leg was bothered after the Virginia game and that he was being held out as a precautionary measure.  My guess is we’re going to see him back in the starting line-up on Saturday for the WCC opener against San Francisco, where the Zags are going to make sure the Dons don’t surprise another ranked team with an upset like they did earlier in the season against Virginia.  

No stranger to minutes at point guard or guard with the Zags, Andrew Nembhard replaced Suggs at point guard in the starting line-up, logging the most minutes of any Zag player with 30 on Monday and 27 on Tuesday. He put up great numbers Monday with 10 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, following that up Tuesday with 9 points and 5 assists.  And he had 0 turnovers—both nights.  If there is any criticism to be waged about Jalen Suggs, it could be in the turnover department where he leads the team with an average of 2.7 a game.  Nembhard averages 1.2, and  though a healthy Suggs is probably a better choice to start over Nembhard, what a gift to have a backup point guard who can fill in for a superstar, take care of the ball so well and put up great numbers in his place.

In another couple of humble, but excellent efforts, Anton Watson went 3 for 4 from the field on Monday, a perfect 3 for 3 at the foul line, adding 3 rebounds to his 9 points.  On Tuesday, he added 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.  The ceiling for this kid is very high and I think as his intensity, focus and comfort improve, he’ll become both the defensive danger that he already is, and the offensive danger that every other starter on the team has proven they can be.  Watson is the only starter in the Suggs, Kispert, Ayayi, Timme, Watson starting line-up who hasn’t come away with a high points total in a game yet.  No doubt his day will come—if not this year, then the next.

Most of the second half on Monday night was left to some sloppy though sometimes inspired minutes for Gonzaga’s bench.  Ballo finished his 12 minutes with 5 points on the dunk and-1 as well as a pretty left handed hook later in the game.  The rest of the bench, unfortunately, shot often and poorly from deep, going a combined 1 for 14 from beyond the arc.  Dominic Harris’ 12 points and Julian Strawther’s 5 rebounds were bright spots in a bit of an ugly stretch toward the finish.  But each of those minutes was gold for these youngsters who need the reps to find their respective places in the Gonzaga gameplan.  The Zags still finished shooting 50% from the field, pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and 44 total rebounds, compared to 10 and 32 for Northern Arizona which was held to an average of 35.1% from the field.  Cameron Shelton, a Junior guard from Chino, California was a tough act of follow on Monday.  The Zags threw a few different, excellent defenders his way.  Besides the starters, Aaron Cook and Dominic Harris got the defensive assignment, but couldn’t hold him back often as he always seemed a step ahead and too quick and too accurate from deep, coming away with 20 points and 9 rebounds.             

Dixie State had a similar superstar in their roster on Tuesday.  Cameron Gooden, a 5’11” guard from Frisco, Texas, frustrated Zag defenders all night as well, shooting 3 for 5 from deep and adding 20 points for the Trailblazers.  But Ayayi, super for the 2nd straingt night in a row, one-upped him by coming away with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.  He was astoundingly efficient, shooting 8 for 9 from the field, 3 for 4 from beyond the arc and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line.  A jedi indeed.

As far as points go, Corey Kispert once again bested all his teammates, getting 25 on a 4 for 6 shooting effort from deep, a 10 for 16 effort from the field, adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.  It may sound unlikely, but I think Kispert shoots better with a hand in his face.  In the last 3 games, he’s been points leader in 2 of them—and it seemed to be the games in which the defenders were quick to close on him that he was at his best.  Dixie State did a good job of closing out on him, getting a hand in his face as he released, as did Virginia on Saturday.  To no avail, as he carved both teams up like deep-fried turkeys—whereas Northern Arizona gave him a clean couple of looks that he couldn’t put either attempt down.  However he shoots best, he’s shooting really well so far this season.  His 4 for 6 effort from deep keeps him over 50% from beyond the arc.  When defenders overplay him on the outside, he’s also become an expert slasher to the hoop where he finishes efficiently and/or gets fouled on the way.  From the field he’s over 60% and from the free throw line he’s just under 90%.  No wonder he’s hanging 20+ on so many opponents this year and is getting some talk for Player of the Year despite Luka Garza’s amazing performances.

Though Oumar Ballo didn’t have 20+ like Kispert, in just 12 minutes against Dixie State he did some carving up of his own.  With a pretty dunk off a pick and roll lob from Nembhard early, he finished the 2nd half with a number of impressive hooks, and some seriously strong post moves to find 17 points against Dixie State.  If more of his free throws had fallen, Ballo could have had 20 Tuesday as he seemed to have more field goals with a foul in these two games than field goals without.  Ballo couldn’t quite convert half of his trips to the line, finishing a combined 6 for 13 from the “charity stripe” for both nights.  He was, however, a perfect 8 for 8 from the field Monday and Tuesday—and if his success Tuesday night puts a hunger in his belly and some fire under his feet, woe to those who stand in the way of this wide-shouldered force down low nicknamed either “Baby Shaq” or “Golden Tips.”

With the 63 that Gonzaga had at halftime (63-38) on Tuesday, the Zags finally beat the total Northwestern State hung on them in the second half of the second game they played last week (61).  And 112 points is sure going to give their average total points per game a boost.  And while their shooting average from 3-point land suffered as the bench players went a combined 0 for 7 from deep, Gonzaga still managed to shoot over 60% from the field. 

This is an amazing team and there is already some talk of them going undefeated this season.  Mark Few mocked such tomfoolery before the game on Monday, but no doubt about it, they certainly have the ability.  And as the nine non-conference games have shown—they certainly aren’t fond of losing.  Next up on the schedule, WCC play begins.  BYU looks like the biggest challenge in the WCC, but the San Francisco Dons team they play this Saturday is never an easy out.  Gonzaga narrowly squeezed out a win last year by 4 points in the Dons’ War Memorial Stadium, 83-79, managing to come away with they win largely through the heroics of Corey Kispert late in the game, and some excellent play from Drew Timme who was filling in for an injured Philip Petrusev.  The Bulldogs had nearly the same outcome in the WCC tournament semi-finals where they defeated SF 81-77.  This year, I don’t think the Dons can keep up with the Zags.  I suspect an outcome similar to the Virginia game—though maybe not so one-sided in the first half.  If Suggs plays, I’ll say 101-81.  If he doesn’t play, 97-79.  May the force be with you, Happy New Year!!  Go Zags!!!       

​~ Clark Karoses

​In the last installment, I predicted that the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team would win the game against Virginia last Saturday by a score of 92-75.  I’ll try not to pat myself on the back too vigorously, but that wasn’t too shabby a prediction.  The Zags won a bit more resoundingly on Saturday than I’d thought, by a score of 98-75.  With their fourth victory over a team ranked in the AP top-20, Gonzaga remained undefeated (7-0) and let loose a dominant bark that sent shivers through the field of college basketball, proclaiming their status as the indubitable #1 team in the country.  I got Virginia’s score right in my prediction, but I had also said the game was going to be close for awhile.  It wasn’t.  The Zags led by as much as 20 in the first half and by as much as 33 in the 2nd (91-58), getting the 92 points I’d predicted just prior to pulling most of the starters and giving some of the bench a chance to get some reps in for 5 minutes.  One would not be mistaken to call it a shellacing.

I don’t want to offend any Iowa fans here, but I need to make a case for the fact that, besides Luka Garza, Corey Kispert deserves to be in the conversation for Player of the Year.  He is the current leader in minutes per game (30), points per game (22.4), field goal percentage (63.6%), free throw percentage (86.4%) and 3-point percentage for those with a significant number of attempts (he has attempted 50 and made 26 of them, which comes to an outstanding 52%) for the undefeated, #1 team in the nation.  He leads the whole team with a very capable, strong hand and with more time on the court than anyone else on the team, is responsible for less than 1 turnover per game.  His numbers against Virginia on Saturday were some of his best as both he and Drew Timme had a career-high scoring afternoon against the Cavaliers.

Kispert was unbelievable on Saturday.  In 30 minutes he went 11 for 15 from the field—almost all of those from behind the 3-point line where he shot an incredible 9 for 13!  With those 9 threes, he matched the record number of 3’s in a game by any Gonzaga player, a mark set previously by both Kevin Pangos and Dan Dickau.  He also added 3 assists to his 32 points.  Kispert and the Zags as a whole were beyond outstanding on the defensive end, flipping the expectation for the game that had most prognosticators expecting excellence from Virginia both defending the basket and taking care of the basketball.  Instead, the Zags looked great on the defensive end and forced numerous Cavaliers turnovers while Virginia was made to look a bit sloppy on both ends. 

Way back in the day, it bothered my high school basketball coach to no end that stats for a game never included a column for “charges taken.”  “Taking a charge,” he used to say, “is the best thing you can do in basketball.”  Requiring not only the toughness to take the brunt of an offensive player’s bulk and momentum, but also to “sell it” with believable theatricality so the referee definitely recognizes some wrong was just committed but doesn’t deem the move a flop.  And what a pivotal thing taking a charge can be in a game, not only negating the offensive possession of your opponent but putting the ball back in your own hands.  Stat takers and reporters really should have a column for charges taken to add another possible number besides simply blocks and steals to help summarize a player’s defensive effort.  And ESPN should put a charge or two in the Top-10 on occasion to bring the importance of defense into the heads of players and fans.  Kispert and Timme brought that fact to mind by each taking at least 1 charge in the game against Virginia.

While we’re thinking about Player of the Year, let’s throw Drew Timme’s name in the hat as well.  In his 28 minutes against the Cavaliers, Timme went 9 for 15 from the floor, 11 for 13 at the free throw line, had 3 offensive boards, 8 rebounds total, added 3 assists, a steal, a block and at least 1 charge taken while making only one turnover.  Against an excellent Virginia frontcourt, Timme had 29 points, getting 3-point opportunities with a basket and a foul and busting out his newly unleashed and highly celebrated mustache celebration with his favorite baskets.  He continues to keep besting his career high in scoring this season.  He set the former mark with a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds against Auburn in the second game of the season, a day after he scored 25 against Kansas.  For the season, in 29 minutes a game, he has outstanding averages of 21.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, besides shooting 60.4% from the field and 72.3% from the foul line. 

Garza’s numbers of 28.6 points, 10 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.1 blocks, 62.7 % shooting field goals, 70 % shooting free throws, and 52.9% shooting 3’s are amazing—no doubt about that.  And if he wins Player of the Year, I’m sure he’ll deserve it.  I think, however, winning games should weigh heavily in the conversation for an outstanding player—and both Kispert and Timme should get a bump up in the conversation for showing such greatness on an unselfish team that shares the ball so well and still has two players averaging over 20 points a game, having won all of the games they’ve played so far on top of that.  With league play beginning, and Gonzaga playing in the WCC rather than the Big-10, Garza will likely get more attention than these two.  But when tournament time rolls around, if the Bulldogs go as deep and as undefeated as I think they might, I hope statistics alone don’t make the final determination for Player of the Year because I think some deserving candidates are wearing Gonzaga jerseys.  

Timme and Kispert’s 61 points combined definitely dominated scoring for the Zags.  Some great performances came from Jalen Suggs and Andrew Nembhard for Gonzaga, despite neither breaking double digits scoring.  In the last installment I mentioned that Suggs’ turnovers were the only statistic betraying his youth of late.  He has the unfortunate distinction of having more turnovers on average per game (2.7) than any other player—a statistic that might be expected of a point guard, but one that I think is bothering him.  His 7 turnovers were the only plays that sullied his 27 points (7 for 10 from deep), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals powerhouse performance against Iowa.  Suggs fixed that turnover problem up nicely against Virginia, by turning the ball over only once in his 29 minutes against a team known for tight defense.  Hitting the boards hard and setting his teammates up with excellent dimes, Suggs came away with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 points, adding 4 steals on the defensive end. 

Nembhard, the only Gonzaga player with more than 1 turnover against Virginia, had just 2 in his 30 minutes of play.  The Zags team had a season-low of 7 turnovers as a unit (they had 18 against Iowa) while forcing Virginia to cough it up 15 times, capitalizing furiously on many of those in transition.  Nembhard came away with 7 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds in the game on a 3 for 3 shooting effort from the field. 

Anton Watson, who I’d mentioned last week as having gotten a confidence boost on the offensive end against Northwestern state where he had high scoring nights for the season of 15 and 10 points on Monday and Tuesday nights respectively, had a very effective, though lower total against the Cavaliers.  Each of his 6 points against Virginia were important, as he had both of the baskets to open the halves—a reverse lay-up for the first score of the game and a very nice pick-and-roll basket executed perfectly by Watson and Kispert, starting the engine back up for the Zags at the beginning of the second half as well.  His other basket was an And-1 opportunity off a well-executed out-of-bounds play, receiving the assist from Timme (the kid passes really well for a forward—so does Watson) after his hard cut to the basket from a picking position for Kispert at the top of the key.  Though he missed the free throw, Watson was able to corral his own rebound, scoop the ball out to Kispert beyond the arc and get an assist for the subsequently drained 3.  He had 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a block in an excellent game and I would look for all those numbers to improve against the next two Zag opponents on Monday and Tuesday. 

Joel Ayayi and Aaron Cook added efficiently for the Zags as well, with 8 and 6 points respectively on some great looking perimeter shots and drives to the hoop.  One thing you’ve got to give all these players not named Timme and Kispert credit for (especially Suggs while playing the majority of minutes at the point) is recognizing the hot hands of their bread and butter players—and while remaining a threat offensively, realizing that getting it to one of those two was working really, really, really well.  While keeping the defense honest and unable to sag in on Timme or out to “guard the fence” on Kispert, everyone kept feeding the red-hot Kispert from well beyond the arc and Timme down low.  Smart, unselfishness is what wins these guys so many games throughout the years and the offensive execution was phenomenal.  Both Suggs and Nembhard have proven adept at recognizing exactly when they need to create and when they need to defer to the likes of Timme, Kispert, Ayayi, Watson, etc.—a quality many point guards have difficulty with.  Suggs’ and Nembhard’s combined 14 assists and 15 points could be considered equally as important as the 61 points Timme and Kispert gathered—or, rather, they simply go well together.

What to say to criticize this game?  You could say something ridiculous like Gonzaga didn’t get enough dunks.  Maybe you could get knit-picky about a few missed assignments, not closing out, reserves not up to speed, etc.  In the 20 years or more I’ve been watching Gonzaga basketball, I’m not sure I’ve seen a more perfect performance than the one on Saturday.  I’m not sure if Mark Few would agree—perhaps he wouldn’t, but I suspect he would.  It was a very, very good showing, that’s for sure.

Who’s got next?  Northern Arizona does on Monday.  Prognosticators don’t have much confidence in the Lumberjacks getting the win against the Bulldogs who seem to be 40-point favorites.  After that, it’s the Dixie State Trailblazers.  Despite a 4-1 record so far this season, the ESPN power index has Gonzaga as the 99% favorite to win that one as well.  Not knowing much I’m gonna throw out some big numbers at random.  I say the Bulldogs work to tighten up the defense even more and dominate:  111-55 on Monday.  108-61 on Tuesday.  WCC league play starts on the 2nd against a San Francisco Dons team that also beat Virginia, 61-60 earlier this season, and that Gonzaga has had trouble with, getting very narrow wins in a few of last season’s meetings.  Will have to meditate on that score and see what my crystal ball has to say later in the week.  Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!  GO ZAGS!!!            

After some stiff competition in their first 4 games of the year against #3 Kansas, Auburn, #7 West Virginia and #4 Iowa (current AP poll rankings), the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team (6-0) had back-to-back games against the Northwestern State Demons (1-10) hailing from Natchitoches, Louisiana.  A particularly deep team, the Demons proved to be a feisty, competitive, and fun-loving bunch who didn’t seem particularly intimidated by the fact they were playing the #1 team in the country two nights in a row.  And hey, as long as they’re in Eastern Washington, why not play the undefeated Washington State Cougars the night after that?  Ambitious, yes—perhaps a bit masochistic.   

The Zags certainly looked like #1 to begin both games, rushing out to a 14-2 lead Monday and a 24-2 lead Tuesday night.  But Gonzaga hardly looked superior during long stretches in both games when the Demons came roaring back—largely owing to sloppy play, lazy defense and some slap-yourself-in-the-head turnovers from the Bulldogs that shouldn’t be characteristic of a #1 team in any game.  Though the Zags managed to score 95 points both nights, they not only left a lot of points off the scoreboard by missing at the free throw line (65% on Tuesday) and from deep (just 4-18 on Tuesday) but left many passes, hooks, floaters and the like short on the offensive end.  On the defensive end, while the 95-57 score on Monday might seem acceptable, the 95-78 score the following night will no doubt find some ridicule from the Zag coaching staff.  Particularly troublesome about that 18-point win is the fact that the Zags were up 43-17 at the end of the first half—a half that Mark Few called perhaps the best half of defense the Bulldogs played all year.  Followed by a 2nd half in which Gonzaga allowed a Demons team to score an utterly embarrassing 61 points (including 30 on a hellishly-hot 10 for 13 rampage from long beyond the arc).           

Embarrassment aside, the games against Northwestern State were an excellent way for the Bulldogs to get some wins in the books, to get a look at different line-up combinations, to work on the morale, intensity, and conditioning of the players, to get more of the bench players some significant minutes, and hopefully to work on and recognize some of the deficiencies in play that have hounded the Bulldogs in their worst stretches this season.  Even if the Zags didn’t impress as well as they could have, I think the games worked well to do all those things. 

These two nights of games should have an especially good effect on the play of Anton Watson, whose role as a probable starter in most games for Gonzaga, and the 2nd true forward behind Drew Timme, can’t be understated.  Watson recovered from shoulder surgery through most of last season after playing limited minutes in just a few opening games—and is, in a sense, still acclimating to playing basketball games at Gonzaga’s level.  Watson is an invaluable talent and elite athlete who has played his role well so far this season, but hasn’t truly asserted himself in a way the coaching staff, the team and the fans know he can.  A defensive specialist averaging only 4 points per game in the Zags first 4 games, Watson had yet to step significantly beyond that defensive role this season to find an aggressive offensive role on the team as well.  Against Northwestern State, Watson had a chance to confidently assert himself in a game situation with less pressure than a game against Iowa or Kansas might bring, and he took full advantage.  Against the Demons he was able to be both the defensive devil he is and find his offensive strength and stature as well. 

Besides some great blocks and steals that saw him either tossing the ball downcourt for a fast break assist or taking the ball himself after a steal to hammer home a dunk, Watson took some classic entry passes in the post and made his post moves count with buckets and/or fouls.  On occasion over the two games, Mark Few was able to give Watson the role down low without another true forward or center in the game—giving him the responsibility to produce in the paint.  In the first game, Watson scored 15 points, saw a 3-pt attempt fall through the net, went a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, added 4 assists, 3 offensive rebounds and 7 rebounds total—and on the defensive end where we already know he’s very effective, added 4 steals and 3 blocks.   Coming off the bench on Tuesday night, Watson went 4 for 5 from the field, had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block.  The Zags need Watson to be the elite force he is on the defensive as well as the offensive end of the court so opposing defenses can’t discount him as a minor threat and sag toward other players.  And these two games will have been excellent, I think, for building his confidence on both ends going forward.  I’m excited to see how he takes the lessons learned into the upcoming game against Virginia where he could play an important role.

We also got a chance to see the other members of the “tricky trio.”  Of course, we’ve all seen and appreciated Jalen Suggs’ amazing play, but we haven’t heard a great deal from the other two members of Gonzaga’s excellent freshman class, Julian Strawther and Dominic Harris.  Harris was particularly impressive on Monday night with 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting, sinking both of his attempts from deep and both of his free-throw attempts as well—adding 2 assists to his stat line in 19 good minutes.  Strawther was as impressive in his 12 minutes, going 4-6 from the field and finding 8 points, adding 1 steal and 1 offensive rebound.  In the next game, both went 2 for 3 from the field, Strawther finding 6 points and Harris 5 while continuing his streak from deep by hitting another 3-point attempt.  Besides some turnovers it was a good showing from the other 2 freshman who will see some play this season and likely be part of the nucleus of next year’s Gonzaga lineup.

As for the premier member of the “tricky trio,” Jalen Suggs—he amazed again.  Like many of the announcers have said while covering Zags games, in a game that looks fast-paced as Bulldog games inevitably are, Suggs looks relaxed, at ease, gliding—much like Neo at the end of The Matrix after he finds enlightenment, it’s almost as though Suggs is seeing everything around him act in slow-motion while he is able to react at a regular pace.  Following his game against Iowa where Suggs went 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and scored 27 points, in the first game against Northwestern State he wasn’t quite that impressive, but came away with 12 points on 4 for 6 shooting and continued his hot streak from deep with a 50% performance, going 2 for 4 from beyond the arc.  He also added 7 rebounds and 7 assists in his 23 minutes.  Tuesday night Suggs was extremely efficient from everywhere except deep (he went 1 for 4 from beyond the arc), shooting 8 for 12 from the field, adding 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block to his 19 points. 

Scoring hasn’t been much of a problem for Suggs lately.  And though everybody and their dog has celebrated his excellent game against Iowa, he did have 7 turnovers in that game. As I’ve said before, turnovers are the only stat betraying his youth.  Sometimes he and the Zags as a team just plain look like they’re trying to do too much—trying to get too fancy.  Against a team like Northwestern State, having a bit of patience and not making the silly, risky pass between or over 3 defenders is the smart choice.  Suggs and the Zags weren’t making the smart choice as often as they should have on Monday and Tuesday night.  Suggs had 6 turnovers in two games against the Demons—on occasion looking a bit sloppy.

On other occasions, of course, he looked absolutely brilliant—lighting it up from deep, slashing to the hoop for the lay-in, spinning around a defender to get to the basket, drawing defense only to dish it to an open player underneath—blocking, stealing, defending, dunking, doing everything.  He truly is a big deal, and he’ll no doubt right that turnover ship soon, I’m sure.  Suggs had the opportunity on Tuesday night to redeem himself after missing an alley-oop dunk that Joel Ayayi had set up nicely for him against Iowa on Saturday where Suggs sent the ball caroming off the back of the rim despite the great pass.  Suggs made Ayayi’s lob to him count this time.  On Tuesday, Ayayi, ahead of everyone and streaking toward the basket after a steal, recognized that the extraordinary leaper was following close behind him, and instead of laying the ball in, Ayayi unselfishly threw it off the backboard to feed Suggs who grabbed it high out of the air and threw down a two-handed hammer dunk that the refs took strange offense to (maybe Suggs hung on the rim a bit too long?) and gave Suggs a technical foul.  He’s had two such technical fouls off lobbed dunks this season—the first on his first collegiate basket against Kansas in Gonzaga’s opener on Thanksgiving when it appeared that he taunted a Kansas player after slamming it home off of Ayayi’s (Yes, there is a pattern here—Ayayi can throw a great lob) sweet dime.

Now to Gonzaga’s bread and butter:  Drew Timme and Corey Kispert, who are both maintaining averages of 20 points a game at the moment.  The two traded high scoring nights against the Demons, Kispert with the honor on Monday and Timme on Tuesday.  Kispert went 10 for 13 from the field on Monday, with a 3 for 5 effort from deep, a perfect 4 for 4 at the free-throw line, adding 7 rebounds to his 27 points.  Timme added a nice 12 points and 8 rebounds in the first contest.  On Tuesday, the two both scored very well, Timme enjoying a 10 for 15 night shooting with 9 rebounds, 1 block and 25 points.  Meanwhile, Kispert had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.  Can any other team boast 2 players averaging over 20 a game, especially against the kind of competition Gonzaga has faced so far?  Few if any I suspect.  #2 Baylor’s two top scorers both average 15.3 a game at the moment.   

Like I quoted from a fan poster last week, “Gonzaga’s got dudes!”  Woe to anyone who has to try to defend this bunch with Timme, Kispert, Suggs, Watson, Ayayi, Nembhard, Cook, Ballo and company at the helm.  That’s gonna be Virginia on Saturday, December 26th at 1pm—with a defensive unit that some might consider up to the task.  I can’t wait for that one.  Most would probably predict a lower scoring game than usual for the Zags against a defense-focused team like the Cavaliers.  I don’t think so.  I’ve already said it and I’m gonna say it again:  Gonzaga puts some distance between themselves and Virginia and proves too quick, too mean, too athletic, and too hungry for the Cavaliers.  I think these two games give the Bulldogs some structure to work with in practice and light a fire under their feet to go out and prove something the day after Christmas.  In the last post I said 92-75, Gonzaga over Virginia and I’m gonna stick with that prediction.  Have a Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  Have a Happy New Year!!  And GO ZAGS!!!