Iowa’s Luka Garza had 30 points and 10 rebounds.  Joe Wieskamp added 20 points and 9 rebounds for the Hawkeyes.  Two other players off the bench, Jack Nunge and Joe Toussiant, pitched in 24 points and 10 rebounds combined.  Sounds like another Iowa rout, doesn’t it?  Not if you’re playing Gonzaga.  On Saturday the 19th, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, these numbers from Garza, Wieskamp and his teammates added up to a loss—Gonzaga Men’s Basketball was simply better than Iowa on almost all fronts.  The Iowa Hawkeyes, now 6-1 after the loss, held their own and came away with 88 points, but couldn’t overcome an 18.2% shooting day from beyond the arc and lost to the hot-handed Gonzaga Bulldogs 99-88.    

In a press conference the day before the game, Mark Few said he was worried about the conditioning of his players after Covid-related concerns caused the team to take a two-weeks long break from practice.  The Bulldog players must have done some running on their own—and some shooting.  Gonzaga outhustled the Hawkeyes all over the court and turned what have been two of Iowa’s strengths against them by shooting lights out from 3-point range and rebounding like men possessed.  After falling behind, 9-5 to open the game, the Zags would come out firing—stretching the lead to as much as 20 points in the 2nd half.  The Bulldogs, who seem to have a different duo or trio of players in each game that give extra-heroic efforts and post some particularly great numbers, were carried especially on the shoulders of Jalen Suggs in the shooting department and Joel Ayayi in the rebounding department on Saturday.  Others played excellent roles as well, and the whole team contributed to some excellent passing and defense, but Ayayi and Suggs shined brightest on Saturday.

Consider Suggs, who consistently destroyed Iowa’s hopes of upending the Bulldogs by hitting 7 of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc (many NBA deep), scoring 27 points (18 in the first half), finding 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 mega-block.  The block happened with 12 minutes left in the 2nd half, with the Zags up 74-58.  After Suggs tried to sneak a lazy pass through defensive pressure and caused a turnover (he had 7 turnovers in the game—the only number in his stat line that hints at his youth), Iowa’s CJ Fredricks scooped up the ball and was streaking down court on his way to what looked like an easy lay-up.  Suggs turned around immediately, obviously angry at himself, and with relentless hustle and quickness, chased Fredricks down and met him at the rim with a ruthless swat, giving the ball back to the Zags and negating the turnover. 

Suggs, though undoubtedly amazing and on his way to being a high draft pick (along with Luka Garza), doesn’t have the kind of NBA-minded “I’m better than ya’all” ego that just lets his mistakes go.  He’s obviously very hard on himself when he makes a mistake and works to correct every little deficiency he might have in his game.  There weren’t many deficiencies in his game on Saturday.  Besides the 7 turnovers and a couple missed free-throws, it would have been extra awesome to see Suggs throw the alley-oop dunk down that he sent off the back of the rim after Ayayi set him up perfectly with the lobbed dime—but I’m getting knit-picky.  It’s a blessing to see this kid in a Bulldog uniform.  He’s leading the team in assists, steals and blocks per game as well as 3-point shooting percentage at 56.5%, and anyone who has seen his performances in these first 4 games should be as excited as I am to see what he can do next. 

Suggs is going to get a lot of deserved hype after his stellar performances against now-#3 Kansas to open the season and now-#4 Iowa on Saturday, but the very consistent, yet unsung hero of this Gonzaga team has been Joel Ayayi.  His value to the team so far this season has been immeasurable.  Ayayi always seems to be exactly where he needs to be to do great things for the Bulldogs—especially in big games.  He had a game-high 9 rebounds, along with 2 steals and 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting against Kansas to open the season.  Against the next ranked opponent the Zags played, #8 West Virginia, he had a game-high 21 points (adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals).  He fills up the stat sheet in so many categories offensively and defensively and, as a 6’5” guard, leads the #1 team in the nation in rebounding with 10.2 per game. 

Against Iowa, Ayayi had 11 points, 6 assists and 18—count ‘em—18 rebounds!  Five of those were on the offensive end.  Against Iowa and Luka Garza!  He was the major contributor to the outstanding rebounding numbers Gonzaga posted in the game with 49 toral rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds compared to 37 and 13 for an Iowa squad that has been dominating on the glass in previous contests.  He tied Corey Kispert for high assists in the game, another category the Zags performed well in Saturday with 25 assists on 36 made field goals to Iowa’s 16 on 35.      

Despite fighting foul trouble and both eventually fouling out of the game, Gonzaga’s offensive bread and butter so far this year—with averages of 21.3 and 20 points per game respectively—Drew Timme and Corey Kispert, had great days on the court as well.  Kispert helped Jalen Suggs light it up from long range in the first half, finishing 3 for 7 from deep, adding 6 assists 2 rebounds and 13 points.  Along with Aaron Cook (who went 2 for 4 from deep and found 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 19 good minutes off the bench) Kispert and Suggs are the main reason the Zags found an outstanding 50% of their shots from deep falling through the net on 13 of 26 shooting from deep as a team. 

With the help of co-forward Anton Watson, Drew Timme was faced with the monumental task of trying to slow down Iowa’s Luka Garza in the game.  While Garza’s 30 points and 10 rebounds in 37 minutes might seem a poor job defensively for the Zags, Garza scored that many in less than half the minutes against Iowa State where he had 34 in 17 minutes—and I think the Zags did an excellent job of limiting his effect on the game Saturday.  Garza never got anything easy and he didn’t get any clean looks from beyond the arc.  All his makes were simply great shots from a great player.  Considering the assignment, Timme had a great game himself—with a 6 for 10 shooting effort, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 15 points.  Much needed help to defend and face up against Garza came from the bench from last year’s redshirt freshman, Oumar Ballo.  The 7’, 260-pound native of Koulikoro, Mali has consistently improved his game this season and will likely see more and more minutes as the season progresses.  He played an important 9 minutes against Iowa for the Zags, going 3 for 3 from the field for 6 points.  

As far as areas of improvement go for Gonzaga, the Bulldogs will definitely look to turn the ball over less and shoot better free throws.  Luckily for Zags fans, both the Bulldogs and the Hawkeyes shot poorly from the free throw line and the misses evened out in the end.  Neither team could find over 60% at the so-called “charity stripe.”  Besides leading in almost every positive category, Gonzaga unfortunately led in the negative ones as well.  Particularly troublesome were the 18 turnovers and the 23 fouls they accrued.  Eleven of those turnovers came from Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs.  Andrew Nembhard was a steady hand again for the Zags and had just 1 turnover in his 30 minutes on the court—posting excellent numbers on both ends with 13 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and 5 rebounds. 

I don’t know about you but I’m gaining confidence in the possibility of a perfect season for Gonzaga this year.  Perhaps perfection in the win column is too much to hope for, but the hurdle of getting past this dangerous Iowa team is a big step toward that goal.  Next up are back-to-back games against the Northwestern State Demons on both Monday and Tuesday.  I’m sure the Zags will do well in these contests, and coach Few might be able to work some of the bench players who don’t get in as often in for some significant minutes.  The next ranked opponent for Gonzaga comes on the day after Christmas—next Saturday.  The Bulldogs play #16 Virginia at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.  Virginia is particularly known for excellent defense and Gonzaga for excellent offense so it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out.  Only two of the Cavaliers’ opponents have scored over 60 points this season.  The first team to do so, the San Francisco Dons of WCC fame, upset Virginia 61-60.  Virginia may have some good D, but I don’t think it’s going to hold back these raging Bulldogs too much.  I’m gonna say Gonzaga runs away with a big win again, 92-75.  Thank goodness for the blessing that is College Basketball this holiday season—and for all the players who sacrifice so much to stay healthy and safe, including not being home for the holidays. 

P.S.:  I saw some crazy rumor that the Zags might be a part of a New Year’s tournament that involves Baylor and Michigan State, but that may have been a social media joke I was too gullible not to fall for.  Best Wishes to all, Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Go Zags!!!    

​~ Clark Karoses

After exercising an abundance of caution and cancelling not only the most highly anticipated game so far in college basketball—I mean the #1 vs. #2 matchup against Baylor that had been scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd—but four other games to boot, the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team is scheduled for perhaps the most highly anticipated game so far in college basketball that hasn’t been cancelled.  I’m talking, of course, about #1 Gonzaga vs. #3 Iowa on December 19th at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (9am PT on CBS).  With a 6-0 record, and the #1 offense in the country according to Ken Pom, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been absolutely destroying opponents lately—largely owing to the extraordinary play of the all-but-certain College Basketball Player of the Year, Luka Garza.  Garza looks like a cross between Gaston, the handsome character in Beauty and the Beast, and The Beast.  On the court though, especially down low, he’s all Beast.  Naysayers might say Iowa’s stats are padded because it’s played some not-so-highly ranked teams in early season play—some “cupcakes” if you will—but Iowa does have significant wins over the likes of the Iowa State Cyclones and #16 North Carolina, so I don’t think that argument carries too much weight.

Iowa averages 100.3 points per game, and besides Garza’s ridiculous averages of 29.2 points, 9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game (rarely having played more than 25 minutes per contest), the Hawkeyes have three other players averaging double digits in points per game as well.  And they are not just scoring in the paint.  Many of Iowa’s players are absolute assassins from deep.  Four players with significant minutes per game are listed as shooting 50% or higher from beyond the arc.  Garza’s average from deep (and he’s not at all shy about shooting 3-pointers) is just a tad lower than his average in terms of overall field goal percentage.  Garza is shooting a mind-boggling 69.1% from the field and an absolutely-baffling 68.4% from deep so far this season!  Against Iowa State he went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc, 13-14 from the field, and had 34 points in 17 minutes.    

So Gonzaga should just bow down to the new king and hand that #1 ranking over this coming Saturday?  Not so fast, Hawkeye fans!  The Bulldogs aren’t looking too shabby themselves.  Having secured a 3-0 record in early-season play, the Zags had key wins over Auburn, the #5 Kansas Jayhawks and the now-#8 West Virginia Mountaineers before Covid put a halt to competition for them the last few weeks.  It was, as I said in the last installment, a timely hiatus considering that their uber-talented freshman point guard, Jalen Suggs, likely had some rehab to do on his ankle to get back to 100% after tweaking it in that last contest against West Virginia on December 2nd.  Had the game against Baylor been played on the 5th, he might not have been at his best.  

While the Zags don’t have a player averaging near 30 points a game, they do have two players averaging over 20 points per game in the 3 contests they’ve played this season:  Drew Timme with 23.3 and Corey Kispert with 22.3.  Both are shooting just over 60% from the field.  Though overshadowed at the moment by Luka Garza’s monster stats, both should and will be seriously considered for Player of the Year—especially if they play well against Iowa.  Three other Zags join Timme and Kispert in averaging double-digit points per game:  Joel Ayayi, Jalen Suggs and Andrew Nembhard.  These three have been the muscle behind Gonzaga’s true strength:  its unselfish basketball.  Excellent passing has been a trademark of Mark Few’s teams for over 20 years.  The Bulldogs find great shots for themselves and the team by passing the ball and relentlessly dissecting opposing defenses through ball movement.  Their post play is excellent, they drive to the hoop extremely well, dish the ball when the drive is well-defended and they constantly push the ball in transition.  West Virginia, the only team so far to have taken the lead from the Bulldogs for a considerable portion of the game (they led through most of the first half, and at halftime by a score of 39-34), can bear witness to Gonzaga’s precision passing attack and strength in transition.  In the second half of that game, against a Mountaineers frontcourt that is among the best in College Basketball, Gonzaga scored 53 points, with assists on nearly every basket and numerous fast-break lay-ins and dunks, to turn the tide and find the win 87-82.  

If fault is to be found, the Zags haven’t been hitting from deep nearly as well as Iowa.  The only two players shooting over 30% from beyond the arc so far are freshman phenom, Jalen Suggs at 33.3% and Corey Kispert at 45%.  Kispert has proven himself an excellent shooter and should get the most attempts from deep for Gonzaga this season and against Iowa on Saturday.  The Hawkeyes will likely try to get in his face, but Kispert has really upped his dribble-drive game lately and will be a threat every time he touches the ball to either pull up and shoot or attack the rim.  Though the deep ball hasn’t fallen as often as they’d like for any Zag players not named Kispert, Gonzaga hasn’t shown any difficulty getting points on the board against some elite competition.  They average 93 points per game, and Gonzaga’s offense was ranked #1 according to Ken Pom before Iowa narrowly took over that #1 spot recently during the Bulldogs’ break in play.  

Further fault might be found on Gonzaga’s defensive end.  Though the Bulldogs’ defense has been nothing to snub and has resulted in many fast-break points off turnovers on the opponents end, they have allowed opponents to score 80+ points in two of the 3 games they’ve played so far.  And if comparisons are going to be made, they have yet to show the ability to protect the rim in the way a Luka Garza offers Iowa down low.  Giving up points may have something to do with the fast pace with which Gonzaga likes to play, but Iowa has only given up 80 points in one game so far—against North Carolina, and the Tarheels fell to the Hawkeyes 93-80. 

Possible weaknesses aside, in the limited play they’ve seen so far, Gonzaga is hitting on all cylinders in the same way Iowa is—and against more highly-ranked competition.  There is good reason Gonzaga has that #1 beside their name on the scoreboard.  There’s also good reason Iowa has that #3—and in the murkiness that goes along with ranking teams at this point in a very odd season, who knows if #3 is actually any worse than #1?  One of the great things about college basketball is that any team can beat any other if one plays well and/or the other plays poorly.  As a Gonzaga fan, it’s my belief that the Bulldogs are going to come out on top Saturday and although Iowa is by no means going to be an easy hurdle to get over, with the talent the Zags have and Mark Few at the helm, Gonzaga has all the ability and basketball smarts they need to get a win this Saturday—and every confidence they can.  So how do they do it?  Let me offer up a few possibilities here.

The Zags need to run and push the tempo even harder than they’ve pushed it in the 3 games they’ve played so far.  I think the Bulldogs are going to try to turn it up a few degrees in South Dakota, get down the court and score in transition, and hopefully beat Garza and any other big men to the bucket before they can offer any defense.  And in that process, the Zags will see if they can tire the hell out of the Hawkeyes—especially the big ones.  
In the same vein, I think Gonzaga will continue to press, like they have in the other games they’ve played this season.  Defensive pressure off the inbound could disrupt Iowa’s ability to set up their offense comfortably and might lead to some steals and easy baskets.  And Gonzaga’s quickness, length and athleticism is perfect for applying that pressure as opponents have found out already.  I don’t think Iowa has seen a team like Gonzaga yet and I think the Bulldogs are going to give Iowa some serious trouble Saturday and rack up a good number of steals.

Gonzaga’s defense, particularly it’s ability to hound Garza down low, and to recover and rotate quickly to open shooters beyond the arc is going to have to be spot on to get the W on Saturday.  Iowa is a tough cookie offensively because every team that has tried to bother Garza inside with double-teams and the like gets lit up from deep by Iowa’s excellent shooting.  I think Gonzaga is going to employ some sneaky doubles on Garza and hound him with some collapsing guards, then utilize its quickness to rotate, recover and hopefully get a hand in front of any open shooters.  One tactic Gonzaga utilized well on defense against West Virginia was to hound the rebounder after a miss on their offensive end—offering defense right away when the opponent got the ball.  Joel Ayayi made 2 steals in a row late in the second half and helped seal the victory by sneaking up on Mountaineer big men who’d just pulled in a rebound and swatting the ball out of their hands—resulting in quick buckets, including a dagger 3 from Kispert.   

Another thing the Zags will likely do is go after Garza on the offensive end as well as on defense.  Against West Virginia, the Bulldogs finally put the Mountaineers away by drawing significant fouls on each of their best frontcourt players.  Though not quite the hulk that Garza is down low, Drew Timme is very good at working around defenders and drawing fouls.  His footwork is exceptional, and I think the battle down low between the quick and nimble Timme, and the brute excellence of Garza, (Beauty and the Beast again?) is going to be a lot of fun to watch.  Though Timme hasn’t shown the same ability as Garza to shoot well from deep, Timme is definitely Gonzaga’s offensive powerhouse in the frontcourt and has a wide variety of offensive weaponry at his disposal.  He gets down the court very quickly and has gotten numerous baskets streaking in transition.  I think he’s going to do just that as often as he can to put some of the Iowa defense, Garza in particular, behind him—and tire Iowa out in the process.  This is going to be his opportunity to show that he’s on par with the best in the nation and a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year, and I think Timme is going to rise to the challenge.  

Anton Watson, Gonzaga’s other starting forward—though not the offensive threat Timme has proven to be yet—might be the Zags’ best full-court defender.  He spearheads Gonzaga’s press and can guard any player from the fence to the post on the defensive end.  If Timme finds any trouble dealing with Garza, Watson might get the assignment on Garza for significant minutes—or more likely, they will be trading the assignment constantly and doubling as necessary.  The only other forward/center for Gonzaga who has found significant minutes in the rotation so far and who might be able to match up well against Garza’s bulk is Oumar Ballo.  A native of Mali and an intimidating physical presence down low, Ballo will likely find a significant role in this game whether Watson or Timme find foul trouble or not.  Ballo, who is definitely young and has been called “raw” in his play so far, has shown improve  ment in every game he’s played and could find a more prominent role in the Gonzaga line-up this season should he prove himself effective on either end against the likes of Garza.

Gonzaga will have to be spot-on on defense Saturday but, as I said earlier, the key to Gonzaga’s excellence always rests in their ability to share the ball on offense.  If they move the ball like they have so far against Kansas, Auburn and West Virginia they have a great chance to come out on top.  If I haven’t talked this game up enough yet, let me just say:  This is going to be a good one.  I believe it’s going to be a close game for a good while, but that Gonzaga is going to pull away in the second half.  Kispert is going to light up the scoreboard for the Zags and show that he has Player of the Year potential. Suggs is going to impress again like he did against Kansas and show that he has Player of the Year potential as well.  Same goes for Timme who will step up and show everyone he’s on par with the likes of Garza.  Free throw shooting will play a big role and I think the points are really going to flow.  I suspect it’s going to be a game similar to the one against Kansas.  I say 105-93, Gonzaga.   I have been known to overshoot the score in the past in the favor of the Bulldogs, so if this isn’t a resounding victory, it’ll be the Zags in overtime, 111-108.  Enjoy, and GO ZAGS!!!!  

~ Clark Karoses

I had planned on making this installment a discussion of the two games Gonzaga Men’s Basketball had scheduled this week in the Jimmy V Classic:  #11 West Virginia on Wednesday and #2 Baylor on Saturday.  I turned on the television at 10am to watch the game against Baylor, and my heart sank immediately even before I heard what Mark Few and Scott Drew were saying—I could see what I was about to hear before I heard it.  The game would be cancelled.  Serious bummer, but if we’ve learned anything during this pandemic it’s that nothing is certain, you take what you can get, you move on when faced with disappointment, and you celebrate what has been good and hope what’s lost or cancelled can be replaced sometime soon.  Gonzaga has plenty to be happy about considering the game they were able to play this last week in the Jimmy V classic and they’ve plenty to look forward to—especially, hopefully, when this game against Baylor gets rescheduled.    

I spent most of the last installment praising the triumvirate of Zags who scored 23, 24 and 25 against Kansas in the season opener on Thanksgiving—Corey Kispert, Jalen Suggs and Drew Timme respectively.  Against West Virginia on Wednesday, December 2nd, in a game that saw Gonzaga face some serious adversity (including a scary ankle tweak for Jalen Suggs and a 9-point deficit in the first half), the Bulldogs had a new couple of players take the helm and guide the team home. 

As West Virginia applied a choke-hold early in the game on Wednesday—in the form of relentless defensive pressure and strength on the offensive and defensive glass—consistent heroics came throughout the game from the dynamic duo of Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi.  These two Gonzaga upperclassmen provided the necessary kick that eventually allowed the Zags to break free and prevail.  Nembhard earned ESPN’s player of the game honors after stepping up to take over the point guard duties when Jalen Suggs went out for a considerable spell after the painful ankle tweak he suffered with 7:07 left in the first half.  Nembhard and Ayayi kept Gonzaga in the game through the first half and did more than their share to help the whole team rise up and put the Mountaineers’ hopes of an upset to rest later in the 2nd.

In a game that saw Gonzaga’s frontcourt struggling to find both rebounds and points against West Virginia’s physical forwards early, Ayayi added a much-needed scoring boost and led the team with nine points at the halftime break.  He finished the game at 10 for 15 from the field, 1 for 3 from beyond the arc and had team-highs for the game in offensive rebounds (3), rebounds (7), steals (4) and points (21, tying his career high).  Ayayi added 4 assists as well, none more important than the one late in the game, where he hounded a West Virginia rebounder on Gonzaga’s end after a miss, and with 4:20 left in the game, made a steal he had to track down in the far corner of the court, turned around and fed Corey Kispert at the wing who subsequently drained a three-pointer, giving Gonzaga a seven-point lead and a bit of the breathing room they sorely needed down the stretch.  Ayayi creates opportunities everywhere on the court, simply does everything well and puts himself in all the right places to make great plays.  Zags fans should kneel and bow repeatedly at his feet. 

The same goes for Nembhard (yes, kneel and bow) who played 35 minutes, shot 8 for 14 from the field and 1 for 3 from deep, added 5 rebounds, 6 outstanding assists, 1 steal and just 2 turnovers.  His 19 points (especially the 12 he had in the second half) and each of those assists were essential, not only to get Gonzaga the 34 points they struggled for in the first half that saw them down by 5 at the break, 34-39, but to boost them through the 53-point 2nd half that allowed them to flip the script and win by 5, 87-82.  Gonzaga would come out of the gates quick in the 2nd, going on a 6-0 run to put them up by a point.  And then the lead would see-saw between the two teams until the 6:00 mark when 2 Gonzaga assists from Anton Watson and Andrew Nembhard led to a layup by Timme and an alley-oop dunk by Kispert.  The Zags held onto the lead down the stretch with a death-grip as numerous bigs on both teams fouled out—West Virginia’s forwards exiting a bit more quickly than Gonzaga’s.  Loads of credit should, of course, go to the coaching staff for making the necessary adjustments that led to that success—but Nembhard and Ayayi’s consistency allowed the rest of the Zags to find a higher gear after halftime, play better team basketball, and ultimately prevail.

Drew Timme, Gonzaga’s leading scorer, is perhaps the best example of finding that higher gear in the 2nd half.  Stymied through much of the first half, going just 1 for 9 from the field and getting beat repeatedly on the boards by the Mountaineers’ forwards, Timme found all but 3 of his 17 points in the second half.  He was the grateful recipient of assists from Cook, Suggs, Nembhard, and Watson.  Perhaps Mark Few told the Zag players at halftime to make backcuts to the basket to try to stop West Virginia’s defense from overplaying them in the passing lanes because many hoops in the half came off such cuts.  Few also likely told the team, and Timme in particular, to try to get fouled.  Timme had three and-1 lay-in baskets in the second half, 2 of which he converted for a three the hard way.    

At least as important as getting points on those 3-point conversion opportunities, Timme added a notch to the Mountaineers’ forwards foul total.  Before fouling out themselves, the two Zags frontcourt starters were able to draw significant fouls on Oscar Tshiebwe and Gabe Osabuohien who both put up excellent numbers rebounding and scoring for West Virginia, before fouling out.  The outstanding Derek Culver was hit with 4 fouls as well, which helped put a bit of a lid on his 18 point, 15 rebound double-double. 

Oumar Ballo, Gonzaga’s young giant who hails from Mali, earned a share of the praise for stepping up alongside Nembhard and Ayayi on Wednesday.  Though young and raw, Ballo is an intimidating physical presence down low—exactly what was needed to help match up against West Virginia’s spectacular frontcourt.  In his play so far, Ballo has shown improvement with each game as he adjusts to the spped of play—and he was an important part of getting all three of those outstanding Mountaineer big men in foul trouble and, thus, limiting their production and opening up opportunity for Zags players.  In his 10 minutes, he was 1 for 1 from the field, had 3 rebounds (2 offensive), and drew three West Virginia fouls.  Not only did he draw the fouls, Ballo hit 80 % of his free throws when he was fouled—going 4 for 5 from the charity stripe.  Gonzaga’s great depth in the backcourt only becomes great depth all around if they’ve got at least one big man who can come off the bench and contribute considerably.  Ballo’s continued improvement is an excellent sign for Gonzaga’s season and Gonzaga’s team for a few years to come (before he goes pro).

Despite Ballo, Timme and Anton Watson’s best efforts, this was the first game so far in which Gonzaga lost the rebounding battle.  West Virginia was, as expected, excellent on the glass and found 14 offensive rebounds and 41 total rebounds for the game while the Bulldogs pulled down 10 offensive boards and 36 total.  Even more telling is a look at the discrepancy between the two teams in terms of rebounding from the forwards and centers.  West Virginia’s forwards had a total of 32 rebounds while Gonzaga’s bigs (including Corey Kispert who seems to play more in the backcourt even though he’s listed as a forward) had 15.  West Virginia’s two leading rebounders were Derek Culver with 15 and Oscar Tshiebwe with 9.  The Bulldog’s bigs, Anton Watson and Drew Timme, had 4 and 3 respectively—and Gonzaga’s two leading rebounders in the game were guards (Ayayi had 7, Suggs had 6, followed by Nembhard and Kispert with 5).  While it’s a testament to how well Gonzaga’s backcourt hits the glass, it’s not the best sign for the Bulldogs as they are soon to face opponents with similarly talented frontcourts that could dominate on the glass. 

Though they lost the rebounding battle, Gonzaga made up the difference by winning the battle in a number of other important categories.  The Zags limited turnovers and had 4 fewer than West Virginia with 11 to the Mountaineer’s 15.  The Zags also had 22 assists and 9 steals to West Virginia’s 16 assists and 2 steals.  Gonzaga’s unselfish passing ability, from every position on the court, was the difference in the game.  It wasn’t always there in the first half, and when it really started clicking in the second, the Bulldogs made it all look easy.  And while West Virginia was certainly stifling defensively, Gonzaga showed a defensive tenacity that, if maintained and improved upon, can lead to what all Zag fans are (secretly, perhaps) dreaming of:  a national title and even an undefeated season.

Gonzaga’s second-leading scorer, Corey Kispert, had similar trouble finding his best game in the first half.  Kispert ended up shooting 50% again from deep in a 2 for 4 effort.  One of those shots behind the arc fell for him in the first half—and a few minutes later he added a 3-point conversion after his high-speed, fast-break Euro-step to the hoop ended with a foul called against West Virginia’s Sean McNeil.  Besides being hit with the foul, McNeil got hit hard with Kispert’s elbow mid-Euro-step and the frustrated Mountaineer would only come back into the game much later after getting 3 stitches over the gruesome gash in his forehead.  Before that drive, the Zags had trailed through the first 10 minutes of play, but took a momentary lead after the Kispert bucket and free throw put them up 17-18.  The Zags would only hold that lead for 3 minutes before the Mountaineers turned things back around and Kispert would only add 1 more point to his two 3’s in the first.  The recipient of a number of Suggs, Ayayi and Nembhard assists (including the aforementioned alley-oop dunk Kispert slammed home later in the 2nd off Nembhard’s toss), he was a bit better than 50% from the field at 6 for 11 for the night, had 2 assists, 1 block and tied Nembhard with 19 points and 5 rebounds.  I’m hoping to see the senior shoot over 50% from deep this season—a task I know he’s capable of and that he wasn’t far from achieving last season. 

While Jalen Suggs’ injury was a scary moment for Zag nation everywhere—noone wants to lose this amazing, immediately awesome freshman from even a minute of the time he’s available in a Gonzaga uniform—the fact that he and the team as a whole didn’t fold in the face of adversity is an excellent sign.  These guys persevere and move forward no matter what.  Especially Suggs, who shrugged off the pain and showed his mettle by insisting he reenter the game, showing that no matter what, even at his own risk, he’s going to contribute.  Besides scoring on a lay-in and a reverse lay-in for the 2nd and 3rd baskets of the game for Gonzaga, Suggs contributed to all of Gonzaga’s first 8 points, with assists to Ayayi and Ballo for Gonzaga’s first and fourth baskets as well.  While he didn’t have his usual scoring numbers because of the injury, I’m going to call his stat line a countdown to greatness and perseverance:  He had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 points, 3 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 block.

Though stagnant in the first half, Gonzaga showed they can put serious points up against anyone in this game and some Bulldogs who hadn’t found their true rhythm yet, including Nembhard, Ayayi and Ballo, really stepped up and allowed the team to find the win against West Virginia.  While the postponement of the game against Baylor is a serious disappointment for college basketball fans everywhere, Zags fans like myself can find the silver lining in this dark cloud.  Suggs, though he toughed it out in the West Virginia game to finish, wouldn’t have been quite in top form on Saturday if he’d even been able to play.  This delay (let’s really hope its just a delay and not a cancellation) will allow him to get ship-shape before what this Baylor game would have been—perhaps the supreme test of the season.  Up next on the schedule is Tarleton State on Tuesday, the 8th of December, Southern University on Thursday, the 10th, Northern Arizona on Saturday, the 12th, and Idaho on Monday, the 14th.  These games feel like the kinds of games Gonzaga would have scheduled early in a normal season and might provide a nice way to ease toward another supreme test, the #3 Iowa Hawkeyes on December 19th—and maybe even Baylor before Christmas?  Some have floated the possibility of Baylor vs. Gonzaga on the 17th in Sioux Falls before Gonzaga plays Iowa in the same location—or maybe the 21st or 22nd?  Or Christmas Eve? (Please, Santa?  Go Zags!!!)    

~ Clark Karoses

Gonzaga Men’s Basketball used its two games in the Fort Myers Tipoff against #6 Kansas and unranked Auburn to make a statement:  Gonzaga is #1 for good reason.  Getting Mark Few his 600 and six-hundred and first wins, putting 102 points on the scoreboard against Kansas on Thanksgiving, and handling Auburn on Black Friday by a margin of 23 points, 90-67, is nothing to snub.  The Zags head from Florida to Indianapolis with early accolades, many reasons to be happy and a little room for improvement as well.  They face off against West Virginia on Wednesday, December 2nd and look forward to an exciting #1 vs. #2 showdown on Saturday, December 5th against the Baylor Bears.  With the talent, intelligence and efficiency they showed over the holiday weekend, there’s every reason to expect two more big wins next week.

In the last installment I mentioned that it remained to be seen whether the hype surrounding Gonzaga’s most highly-ranked recruit, freshman Jalen Suggs, was for real.  It is for real.  In his debut and the game that followed he was very convincing.  Suggs made some of the best defensive players in the country look a bit ridiculous—and was unselfish in distributing the ball to his teammates at opportune times.  His spring and ability to finish around the rim off the break was mind-boggling.  His shooting stroke looked smooth from NBA range, and he displayed a phenomenal ability to score, facilitate, pass, defend, rebound, create turnovers, and capitalize on turnovers in the fast break.  Zags fans have every right to be ecstatic about this young man wearing a Bulldog uniform.  Besides a technical foul 39 seconds into his first game (after an alley-oop dunk for his first 2 points as a college athlete) and a tendency, perhaps, to be too-willing to put his body at risk (he hit the deck really hard more than once)—his game against the Jayhawks was golden.  He finished the opener with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting (2 for 3 from deep, and 4 for 5 at the foul line), 8 assists, 2 steals and just 1 turnover in 24 minutes.  Though not quite as impressive numbers-wise the following game against Auburn, (Suggs had 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting, 6 assists and 4 rebounds), he continued to impress with elite athleticism and a command and control of the game few freshman exhibit so early.

Perhaps that command and control get a boost from having such excellent, reliable teammates.  Suggs wasn’t the only Zag who put up points against Kansas.  Five Bulldog players finished with double-digits and 3 had 20 or more.  What I see after these first two games is a triumvirate leading the Zags on the offensive end, with great potential in others flanking the 3 as well.  The triumvirate includes Drew Timme, Corey Kispert and the aforementioned Suggs.  Timme, who has earned his place as the primary force down low for Gonzaga, is going to breakout in a big way this season.  The sophomore has already risen to the top against superior defense in these early contests after showing considerable ability as a freshman last year.  In 32 minutes against Kansas, Timme was 11 for 15 from the field, 3 for 4 at the charity stripe, and added 6 rebounds and 2 steals to his game-leading 25 points.  Against Auburn he posted even more impressive statistics with a double-double, going 11 for 16 from the field, 5 for 6 from the free-throw line, adding a career-high 28 points along with 10 rebounds (and he hit his only three-point attempt).  He’s super-slick, using either hand to finish and all manner of pivots and post moves to set himself up.  And just like Suggs, Timme makes some great defenders look ridiculously inept down low.  His mid-range looks spot-on and he uses the glass and the rim expertly at opportune times.  If his deep shots start to drop at a consistent pace (he’s 1 for 2 from beyond the arc so far), there’s no ceiling to the numbers this guy can put up.

The same goes for Corey Kispert, Gonzaga’s senior field general on the court.  He hasn’t missed from the free throw line in 7 attempts and his three-point shooting was spot-on against Auburn, shooting 50 % (4 of 8) from deep, 9 for 14 overall from the field, with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 25 points.  In an effort to be more than the excellent sharpshooter that he is, Kispert is taking the ball to the rim more often than last season—and to great effect.  What I see early on from Kispert is even more intensity than last year, including an extra second of airtime in his jump.  He is hanging and clutching in midair impressively when necessary—or simply throwing it down when he can.  And every leap to the hoop is strong, so he’s getting fouled on the way and hitting his free throws when that happens.  Consider his drive to the hoop on the baseline early in the game against Kansas when, despite Mitch Lightfoot’s attempt at a block was solid, Kispert elevated and relentlessly went for the dunk, getting fouled and earning a trip to the foul line despite missing the bucket.  His vocal command of the squad all over the court provides a much-needed leadership role that his many years and hard work in the program have afforded him.  With 23 points against Kansas on 8 for 13 shooting from the field, Kispert only missed from deep, shooting 3 for 8 from beyond the arc.  When Kispert, Suggs and Timme are not getting 3’s from long range, they are going to be getting 3’s the hard way:  with a bucket and a foul.

Flanking these offensive leaders are the two other starters, Anton Watson and Joel Ayayi, who have all the potential to make opposing teams pay in a big way on either end of the court.  Many have recognized Watson’s importance to this Gonzaga starting line-up and have celebrated his return after shoulder surgery cut his season short last year.  We saw the effect he can have on a game immediately in the opener against Kansas when Gonzaga applied full-court pressure in the first minute of play and Watson caused a turnover that resulted in the aforementioned alley-oop dunk by Suggs (and subsequent technical foul after Suggs’ celebration).  And though he found more turnovers (3) than points (2) against the Jayhawks in his 19 minutes, we saw hints of what is to come when Watson fully asserts himself.  He is the Cobra-head and the fangs of the full-court press that I have little doubt the Bulldogs will continue to use against all opponents.  Against Auburn, though shaky from 3-point range, Watson grabbed 5 rebounds (3 offensive), dished out 2 assists, and added 6 points.  His disruptive ability on defense and elite athleticism is key to this team’s success in transition—and though the offense doesn’t have to work through him this year, I suspect all his numbers will steadily improve as he assets his strength and finds his confidence in coming weeks.            

Last but not at all least of the starters, Joel Ayayi struggled against Auburn on the offensive end, going 2 for 9 from the field and 1 for 4 from deep to add 5 points.  Despite some inconsistency shooting, he continues to track down rebounds at an excellent clip, and he shined especially in the opener against Kansas with a 7 for 9 shooting effort, adding 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals.  Tied with Timme for the team-leading average rebounds per game with 8, Ayayi is a major contributor to Gonzaga’s superior rebounding numbers.  The Bulldogs significantly bested their opponents rebounding (44 total rebounds for Gonzaga versus 32 for Auburn—13 to 9 in offensive rebounds/ 33 to 24 versus Kansas—6 to 5 in offensive rebounds) and considering the strength of their offense, if Gonzaga wins the rebounding battle in any game it’s pretty likely they’re going to win the game.  Ayayi’s excellent anticipation on defense led to steals and easy lay-ups in both games.  He also threw accurate alley-oops in both games to Jalen Suggs who dunked Ayayi’s assists emphatically.  The kid is going to be golden this year whether he’s scoring a lot or not–and with all the other weapons in the Zags arsenal, perhaps he doesn’t have to.  I suspect, though, we’ll see him at his best when he starts hitting from deep and continues being such an effective force on defense, on the boards and assisting others.

Off the bench, the highly appreciated transfer (and recently deemed eligible-to-play this season), Andrew Nembhard, has gained Mark Few’s confidence as an indispensable veteran presence in the backcourt with excellent poise and skill.  The former Florida Gator played 32 minutes against Kansas, taking over some of the point guard responsibilities when Suggs found early foul trouble or playing along with 3 other guards and Timme when Gonzaga elects to go “small.”  Nembhard ended up with 11 points and 3 assists against the Jayhawks.  Graduate transfer Aaron Cook, every bit the defensive specialist he was expected to be as well as an athletic, dangerous threat offensively, has also found a consistent spot in the line-up and played an excellent 18 minutes against Auburn, with 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 impressive block and 1 steal.  Nembhard and Cook, who would be starting point guards on almost any other team in the country, add veteran calm and excellence off the bench.  Though I don’t suspect the starting line-up will change any time soon if everyone stays healthy, there’s no doubt both of these guys deserve their minutes in the backcourt and will be mighty forces to be reckoned with in the future. 

Though Gonzaga definitely has some depth in the backcourt, it seems depth off the bench for the frontcourt is a cause for greater concern.  In both games we saw last year’s redshirt, Oumar Ballo, enter the game for a spell.  In both, Mark Few didn’t seem to like what he saw and quickly pulled the native of Mali out of the game.  Few has also shown little confidence in the 7’0” native of Russia, Pavel Zakharov, giving him just a total of 3 minutes in both contests.  Though Ballo found 12 minutes, he had more turnovers (2) and fouls (2) than points (0) in his 5 minutes against Kansas.  He displayed some of the same youthful tendencies against Auburn, with a turnover and 2 fouls in 7 minutes, but came away with 4 points on 2 of 3 shooting.  These two bigs, both true centers, will be important in contests like the one coming up against the now ranked #3 Iowa and the all-but-certain College Basketball Player of the Year, Luka Garza.  Garza had monster numbers against the Southern Jaguars on Friday, going off for 41 points (36 in the first half!) on a 14-15 shooting effort including 3 of 3 from deep and 10 of 12 from the charity stripe.  Ballo, nicknamed “Baby Shaq,” is a truly stout, bruising presence underneath and would be an awesome presence off the bench if his fundamentals and footwork improve.  He and/or Zakharov are likely going to have to step up and try to defend Garza at some point on December 19th or on December 2nd against Baylor should Timme or Watson get into foul trouble.  Though neither Ballo nor Zakharov is likely to become another shot-blocking machine like Brandon Clarke was two seasons ago, either could provide some rim protection that seems a bit lacking these first couple of games.     

Besides Jalen Suggs, the other two members of the “tricky trio” (the three incoming freshman to the Bulldog team who know each other well), Dominick Harris and Julian Strawther, weren’t much of a force in the opening contest, with just 5 minutes and no points between them.  They may, perhaps, get more press in newspapers and online than some of the starters as the two Gonzaga players who have been quarantined after a round of Covid testing prior to the game on Friday.  It’s suspected that Strawther may be positive for the virus and Harris in quarantine because of close contact as Strawther’s roommate.  Many articles have been critical of Gonzaga’s handling of a potentially dangerous situation—saying that any type of Covid issues should have been sufficient reason to stop play on Friday against Auburn—and that Strawther, as someone who played in the game on Friday, may have been contagious despite a negative test prior to the contest.  The fact of the matter is that Florida health officials and health officials from all teams present in the tournament gave the game on Black Friday the OK, and contractual obligations that went along with the Fort Myers Tip-Off included the leniency with Covid issues that allowed the game to go on despite the fact that sort of leniency might not have been afforded had they been in a different location.  As Mark Few put it:  “Everything was followed per the tournament, per Lee County and per the Florida health department.”  One hopes, of course, no further ill comes of the situation and that the two, very-talented young men will be ship-shape and back in uniform quickly.   

Barring any other Covid issues (fingers crossed) Gonzaga will face the undefeated (3-0) and now #11-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday.  The Mountaineers won the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, with a convincing win against VCU and narrow wins against Western Kentucky and South Dakota State.  I predict Gonzaga will have little trouble finding their third win against West Virginia, provided the Bulldogs have all of their key players available.  I predict Gonzaga reaches the century mark again, beating the Mountaineers 105-82.  The game against the Baylor Bears (ranked #2) on Saturday is going to be another story.  Again, provided everyone has a full line-up and the game isn’t cancelled, I predict Gonzaga finds some extra incentive on the defensive end, holds the Bears to sub 35% from deep (they were over 55% from behind the arc against the Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana in a 112-82 rout and close to 45% in their spanking of the Washington Huskies, 86-52 on Sunday).  The Zags win with a lot of points coming from the free-throw line, 95-87.  Stay safe and Go Zags!!!         

~ Clark Karoses

As the dark portends of the Covid-19 pandemic spread over the end of the 2019-2020 college basketball season, Gonzaga Men’s Basketball was left sadly disappointed.  The WCC was one of the few conferences able to complete their tournament before everything was cancelled, and the Bulldogs secured another WCC tournament title by defeating the Saint Mary’s Gaels in Las Vegas, 84-66 on March 10th.  A sweet victory, for sure—but the players, coaches and fans were certainly looking forward to what that victory secured:  an automatic bid into what became the soon-to-be-cancelled NCAA tournament.  Covid brought the Zags’ very legitimate shot at an NCAA tournament title to an end last March.

It was the seniors, the graduate players, and those whose career paths’ involved stepping away from the team at the end of the season for whom the abrupt end to the season must have been particularly difficult.  I can’t help but wish a healthy Killian Tillie had had a chance to show off his super smooth long-range jumpers in an NCAA tournament to cap off his senior year.  I can’t help but want to have seen the two grad transfers from Texas, Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge, get a chance to have their veteran hard work for the Zags pay off in a deep run through the tournament field in late March.  And it’s a shame to have missed watching Filip Petrusev shine again as the bread and butter for the team down low, hauling in a few more double-doubles through some of the stiffest competition in college basketball.  It’s a shame we can only imagine what might have been.  The best we can do now is wish all these former Gonzaga basketball players the best in all their future endeavors.  Bittersweet as the 2019-2020 season was, many of those who had to go will be playing basketball professionally in Europe and/or the NBA so we can cheer their efforts elsewhere.

Besides well-wishing, we fans need to give thanks.  Thanks because the wait is finally over and college basketball is about to start up again—appropriately so, on Thanksgiving for Gonzaga.  Though Covid continues to add uncertainty to schedules all over the country, college basketball has begun—today!  And if you’re a Gonzaga fan, this 2020-2021 basketball team is something to really look forward to watching—and is set to face a number of daunting, highly-ranked non-conference opponents in November and December.  With a truly challenging Thanksgiving season opener against #6 Kansas, followed by Auburn on Black Friday, the Zags are also slated to face Baylor (either #1 or #2 in the rankings), Iowa (around #5),  and West Virginia (#15)—as well as a number of unranked foes in Spokane this December.  Mark Few’s “We’ll play anybody, anywhere” attitude has truly come to its fruition this winter.

The question on many people’s minds:  Does Gonzaga have the fire power to face up to that sort of a gauntlet and come out of 2020 still on top?  The answer, many sportswriters agree, is Yes.  It is with good reason many polls have the Zags at or near the top spot in the country.  Losing premier players like Killian Tillie, and last years’ team leader in both scoring and rebounding, Filip Petrusev is never easy, but the Zags have some excellent grounding down low again this season.  Drew Timme showed some serious mettle as a freshman last year when he was forced into a leading role, averaging nearly 10 points in 20 minutes per game.  Timme will likely have a break-out season as perhaps Mark Few’s premier choice in what may be a hydra-headed Gonzaga frontcourt.  

Few’s other options down low include Anton Watson who, though he showed early potential as an offensive weapon as well as a defensive specialist, missed the majority of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery.  Many predict the now healthy Watson will start at power forward for Gonzaga and there’s a good deal of excitement behind that possibility—having seen hints of the basketball genius, skill and athleticism this Spokane local displayed last year.  Having gained a year of tutelage in Gonzaga’s redshirt program, the young but “growed-up” Oumar Ballo, nicknamed “Baby-Shaq,” will also likely see some minutes on the court down low, especially when a tough, bruising presence is required inside.  Freshman Julian Strawther, who Andy Patton calls “a certified bucket getter” may see minutes as well down low when Gonzaga opts to go “small.”  The 6’7”, uber-athletic and uber-versatile newbie may have trouble finding minutes in Few’s often limited rotation, but with the number of great options Few has on the team this year, perhaps that narrow circle of players getting minutes might widen a bit.  Pavel Zakharov, a 6’11” sophomore who played more of a classic center role in limited minutes last year, may also find minutes in the lineup.  The gist of all this:  Gonzaga’s deep.

That depth doesn’t stop there.  The backcourt is crazy DEEP!  The premier added jewel this season is freshman point-guard Jalen Suggs.  As the most highly-raked (around #5) recruit in Gonzaga’s history, and an all-but-certain one-and-done before moving on to the NBA, Suggs is going to get a lot of attention this season.  Whether he can live up to all the hype is something to be seen, but there’s no doubt that the potential for greatness is alive in this young man who is likely going to be able to drive, dish, dunk, shoot and defend with the best of them.  And we’re excited to see him carve, dish it up and chow down on turkey day!  The Zags have two excellent choices as backup point guard should Suggs require a breather, find foul trouble, or be otherwise troubled.  It was recently announced that Andrew Nembhard, a highly prized transfer from Florida, is eligible to play for Gonzaga this season.  With success and experience against some of the best programs in the country, averaging nearly 10 points and 6 assists per game in his two seasons at Florida, Nembhard is an added gem to the crown of riches in Gonzaga’s backcourt.  

Aaron Cook, a graduate transfer from Southern Illinois is another.  Cook displayed offensive talents last year as the Salukis’ leading scorer and assister at point guard before breaking his hand in a game against Murray State.  Besides prodigious offensive skills, Cook is especially touted as a defensive specialist who racks up steals—and a lot of folks, including Mark Few, are talking up his game.  Whether he’s coming off the bench for Suggs, Kispert or Ayayi, Cook may be one of the primers (along with Anton Watson and company) behind an even more dangerous Gonzaga team that asserts its presence on both ends of the court equally well.

Corey Kispert, after an extremely successful Junior campaign, steps into the definitive role of veteran leader of the team as the only senior starter.  Look for the sharpshooter to expand his game even further—not only shooting accurately from everywhere (nearly 44% from deep last season) on the offensive end, but driving to the hoop more frequently, dishing the ball more adeptly and stepping it up on the defensive end.  He and fellow veteran and backcourt starter, Joel Ayayi (both of whom entertained the possibility to heading to the NBA last year) will be the inspiration for many of the youthful, talented Zags.  A native of France, Ayayi was particularly adept at racking up all manner of statistics last year.  An excellent scorer and rebounder, Ayayi found double-double numbers in a few contests and was just a few assists short of getting a triple double in a few.  Ayayi is an electrifying presence all over the court and will no doubt anchor the backcourt with Veteran leadership along with Kispert.

This year’s Bulldog team, while it will definitely have characteristics of Few’s teams in former years, seems to have the potential to do things Zag fans aren’t accustomed to.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Gonzaga experiments with full court defensive pressure on a regular basis.  Speaking of defense, I suspect the Zags (not always known for their defense) might become a smothering presence on their opponents’ end.  On the offensive end they will continue to lead the nation.  I also suspect Mark Few, with almost an embarrassment of riches, will mix up his line up more often and find minutes for as many as 10 to 13 players.  Whatever happens, it’s gonna be exciting!  Happy Thanksgiving!!  Go Zags!!!       

~ Clark Karoses                                     

Zag Nation saw some great stuff last week in Spokane—a lot even before the basketball games even started.  On Thursday night, before the men’s basketball game against San Diego, Adam Morrison’s legendary career with the Bulldogs was honored—and his name and number were given a nice spot on the wall of the McCarthy Athletic Center.  On Saturday night, before the game against Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga honored all its exiting seniors on the squad.  Killian Tillie, of course, was first and foremost in a lot of fans’ hearts as an outstanding, long-time member of the team.  The graduate transfers from Texas, Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge, who have been nothing short of outstanding this season and whose eligibility will end after the season is over were honored as well.  In an emotionally charged moment, the senior team captain Mac Gaff was honored as well.  Gaff, who suffered a paralyzing hunting accident when he was 17 and is often seen on Gonzaga’s sideline in a wheelchair, walked out onto the court with only the aid of a front-wheel walker to receive his senior honors.  In addition, a player who would have been a senior this year had he not been picked in the single digits of the first round of the NBA draft last year, decided to grace the court with his giant smile again to help honor his beloved fellow Bulldogs.  Rui Hachimura took a break from his busy NBA schedule to give Spokane a great big hug.  Oh yea, and there were also a couple of basketball games as well.

And the good stuff kept coming after the pregame festivities and celebrations.  After having a very difficult night against BYU the week before last, we saw Gonzaga in good form on both ends of the court, especially on offense.  We saw Corey Kispert (who went 1 for 10 from deep in Provo) hit a shot from NBA-range right in front of the Gonzaga bench and close enough to Mark Few that his coach could have whispered to him in the deafening building.  On the defensive end, Kispert completed what my high-school coach used to call “the greatest play you can make in basketball” by taking a charge against San Diego and two more against Saint Mary’s.  Killian Tillie, the focus of the senior honoring ceremonies on Saturday, continued to be uber-efficient on the offensive end and a force to be reckoned with on defense while Joel Ayayi showed ever stronger signs that he may be back on track to being the all-stat-gathering weapon he’d been before going on a bit of a slump earlier in February.  All of this is boding extremely well for a team that is gearing up to take on all comers in March—first and foremost 2 opponents in the WCC tournament—San Francisco on Monday and then all hopes set on a rematch with BYU in the WCC tournament title game on Tuesday should both teams win their semi-final matchups.

Against San Diego on Thursday night, 6 of the 7 players I call “the Fab 7” (the seven who garner almost all the minutes of play in Gonzaga’s slim rotation) shot 50% or higher from the field.  Filip Petrusev, who led scoring in both games went 9 for 17 on Thursday to earn his 21 points.  He also gathered a game-high 9 rebounds for the Bulldogs, 5 of those offensive boards.  Petrusev shared high-rebounding honors for the Zags with Drew Timme on Thursday who had 9 as well and added two blocks to his 7 points.  The rebounding numbers were very well in the Zags favor on Thursday.  Every Bulldog starter as well as Timme had at least 6 rebounds—and Gonzaga almost doubled the Torreros total rebounding numbers with 51 to SD’s 27 (18 offensive rebounds for GU, 6 for SD).  Tillie (12 points), Kispert (16 points) and Ayayi (9 points) all had 6 rebounds and shot well from deep—Tillie going 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, Kispert 2 of 5 and Ayayi 1 of 1. 

Perhaps it was Ryan Woolridge who had the most impressive game from his point guard position Thursday night for Gonzaga.  He shot 4 of 5 from the field, including 1 of 2 from deep, 6 of 7 from the free-throw line, adding 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal to his 15 points.  Admon Gilder was the lone member of the Fab 7 who shot just under 50%, going 5 for 11 from the field to garner 12 points.  He hit another of his first-half-closing 3-point baskets to bring the crowd to their feet if they weren’t there already.  As time was ticking down, Drew Timme had the ball near the middle of the court and when he dribbled toward the basket and the top of the key, Gilder trailed about 8 feet behind.  After Timme dragged defenders from the top of the key toward the paint, he shoveled the ball back to Gilder who nailed the straight-on 3-point shot to put the Zags up 46-34 going into the locker-room at half.  They outdid that first half in the second by putting up 48 more and holding the Torreros to just 25—finishing with a score of 94-59.

Though the Zags didn’t pull off the dominant performance they had the last time they played Saint Mary’s in Moraga, where the Zags won 90-60 in a just plain bonkers night in terms of offensive efficiency and defensive effectiveness for the Bulldogs—they did have some outstanding numbers in Spokane last Saturday as well.  The Bulldogs shot a sizzling 59.3% from the field and 53.8% from beyond the arc—as well as 15 for 18 from the free throw line for another of their more common 80% + nights at the charity stripe.  Filip Petrusev has gotten some flak at times this season for not being physical enough under the basket.  If he truly hasn’t been physical enough this season—a criticism I find it very difficult to agree with—then last week was definitely an exception to the norm.  Petrusev was 8 for 12 from the field against the Gaels, 11 for 13 at the free throw line, adding 6 rebounds (3 offensive) and 3 assists to his team-leading 27 points. 

In response to the criticism lodged against Petrusev’s play , I would say that the young, native Serbian continues to play with more strength and confidence with each week—a fact that bodes very well as March Madness comes soon and a potential rematch with Yoeli Childs and BYU in the WCC Championship is just a day away.  Last week he flexed his muscle down low on a regular basis, converting numerous and-1 opportunities as multiple defenders tried in vain to stop him.  When Admon Gilder missed a floater through the lane against the Gaels, Petrusev was able to gather the rebound in the middle of three defenders, gather and score despite one of the defenders holding his arm.  The Zags leading scorer and WCC Player of the Year (as well as one of the 5 finalists for the Wooden Award), Petrusev also showed smarts on the block when he drew multiple defenders and kicking the ball out on more than one occasion to teammates like the hot-handed Corey Kispert for a 3. 

If Corey Kispert (recently named to the list of 5 Julius Erving Award finalists) made a strong showing of the fact that he was no longer in a slump in the game against San Diego, he went even further to show absolute excellence against Saint Mary’s.  Going 4 for 5 from deep, and using a variety of spots on the floor to score from, Kispert joined Petrusev in the 20 points or over club with 20 himself, adding 5 rebounds and a block as well.  He and Killian Tillie’s defense against the very dangerous Malik Fitts was a decisive factor in the 86-76 victory over the Gaels.
​ 
It was only after solving a few issues at halftime that Gonzaga was able to pull away from Saint Mary’s—the teams walking into the locker room at halftime in a 34-34 tie.  One of the problems was that Jordan Ford, the uber-talented veteran point guard for the Gaels, was being given a bit too much space.  Ryan Woolridge was regularly ducking under screens when they were given up top by Ford’s teammates, often allowing Ford to have a bit of space to shoot from deep.  Needless to say, Woolridge got burned a number of times—to the tune of 28 points for the Gaels’ high scorer.  Luckily Ford didn’t go off like he did last night in the Quarterfinals of the WCC tournament where he gathered 42 points in a double-overtime win over Pepperdine, hitting a crazy, pivot and shoot 3-pointer with both the shot clock and the game clock counting down in the second overtime to put the game out of reach for Pepperdine despite 43 points from one of the few guys in the WCC—or anywhere for that matter—who can match Ford’s effectiveness at point guard, the Waves’ Colbey Ross.   

In the second half of the Zags game versus Saint Mary’s, Admon Gilder inherited the defensive assignment on Ford, with what must have been the express instruction from Mark Few to not worry about helping on defense against any other players—and to just stay in Ford’s grill the whole time.  This was an excellent adjustment and Ford’s lackluster 2nd half was a testament to Gilder’s hard work and excellence on defense.  Gonzaga found that Saint Mary’s offense just doesn’t work at all well without Ford and were able to pull away for the victory by just over single digits:  86-76. 
Tillie had another uber-efficient night with his 6 for 8 performance shooting, 1 for 1 from deep, adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists to his 13 points.  But Joel Ayayi may have topped him in efficiency and stats in the game as he shot 4 for 5 from the field, 2 for 3 from beyond the arc, and added 8 rebounds 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block to his 12 points.  Tillie’s sustained health and growing confidence on the court and Ayayi’s reemergence as a go-to on both ends of the court are great signs for Gonzaga coming into the WCC tournament on Monday.

While no one should count their chickens before they hatch, the game a whole lot of the country wants to see is Gonzaga vs. BYU in the WCC tournament championship game.  A lot of the other teams and their fans, I suspect, want to see just how good both the teams are—and spoiler alert—they’re both really, really good.  Of course Gonzaga has to beat a San Francisco team in the semifinals that has consistently challenged them on both ends of the court—scaring Zag players and fans for a full half last game they played—and throughout the whole contest the game before that in SF when the Zags, low on bodies minus Tillie, were down by double digits in the first half.  BYU has to beat a very challenging Saint Mary’s team that showed stunning poise in the midst of adversity and has been a nemesis to the Cougars this year, handing BYU a loss on January 9th and almost doing it again in February when BYU came out on top of their second meeting by a slim 2 points. 

My prediction is that Gonzaga and BYU win on Monday.  Gonzaga, 87-66 over San Franicisco due to a couple very effective fine adjustments Mark Few cooks up to flummox the Dons and an excited and well-rested bunch of Bulldogs.  Against BYU, I predict a close, fast-paced game—but a game in which Gonzaga finds the right strategy to limit Childs to 20 or less points and finds the Cougars shooters before they can hit the all the 3’s they hit last time the two teams played.  I’m going to venture a score of 91-83, Gonzaga wins and punches their ticket early.  BYU gets a bid, of course.  And Saint Mary’s sweats a bit, but gets in as well.  And maybe we see two WCC teams play in the big dance somewhere down the road.  Wouldn’t that be a hoot!  Good luck to all the WCC teams in the NCAA tournament, especially, of course, Gonzaga.  Have a great Champs Week folks and a great March!!  GO ZAGS!!!     

~ Clark Karoses

Last week was a tough one for the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team.  Both games they played saw the team challenged all over the court and in every aspect of the game.  The Zags were able to overcome perhaps the worst half of basketball they’ve played this season against a very good San Francisco Dons team, and emerge triumphant last Thursday night at home.  Two days later, against one of the most difficult teams in college basketball to play on the road these days, the Bulldogs weren’t so lucky.  Hot-handed BYU overwhelmed the ice-cold Bulldogs with a barrage of 3-pointers from deep and strength inside to win on their home court in front of a raucous, elated crowd that stormed the court as time expired to celebrate the surging Cougars’ win.

Both of last week’s games had a very similar feel at halftime.  Not much was working for Gonzaga and down by just under 10 points in each contest, the Zags needed some help to get back in the game when play resumed.  Against San Francisco, that deficit wasn’t the result of poor defense, as the Bulldogs held the Dons to 31 points in the first half.  The problem was that the nation’s #1 offense floundered badly in Spokane and found itself disrupted or stagnant at every turn.  In the face of the Dons’ defensive pressure, the Zags could muster only a season-low 22 points in the first half.  Though the offense was sputtering and struggling in a similar way against BYU, the Zags were able to come up with 38 points by half.  The defense, though, couldn’t contain the Cougars inside or from beyond the arc where BYU was just starting to heat up.  In Provo, the teams went into their locker rooms with a score of 38-46 at halftime on Saturday.

Over the years of watching Gonzaga play I’ve learned not to despair when the Bulldogs are down by single digits at half.  Being down is always a reason for concern, of course, but being down by single digits with a half left to play is never a place to panic when you have a great coaching staff.  Time and time again I’ve seen the team make the necessary adjustments to right the ship and turn the tables around in the 2nd.  That was the case against San Francisco on Thursday as Gonzaga used a 24-2 run when play resumed to completely flip the script and turn a 22-31, 9-point deficit into a 46-33 double-digit lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

Though Joel Ayayi continued to struggle having effectiveness on the court, mustering just 4 points and 4 rebounds against the Dons, the other 4 starters for Gonzaga turned the lean pickings of the first half into a 49-point feast in the 2nd.  Getting the start after sitting out the last few games with ankle trouble, Killian Tillie went on a rampage with a 10 for 13 effort shooting from the field, including 1 for 2 from deep, adding 9 rebounds to his 22 points.  The Zags leading scorer, Filip Petrusev, tracked down 7 rebounds and scored 16 agaisnt SF.

In the Zag’s backcourt, Ryan Woolridge continued his humble effectiveness against San Francisco, picking up a bit of everything in his stat line on Thursday by shooting 4 for 7 from the field and 1 of 3 from deep, adding 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals (!) to his 12 points.  He’s one of Gonzaga’s premier defenders and showed some of his best D against the Dons.  The 71-54 win was a Jekkyl and Hyde game offensively (or, rather, Hyde and Jekkyl), but Gonzaga’s defense was consistently able to hold a decent offensive team to just 54 on the night, including just 23 in the 2nd half.

Corey Kispert found his touch from beyond the arc Thursday night, going 3 for 5 from deep to round out his 11 points and 5 rebounds.  While Kispert did find the hoop on occasion against BYU on Saturday, gathering 16 points on the night, it was rarely from so far away.  A 43.3% shooter from 3-point range on average this season, he shot just 1-10 from beyond the arc in Provo.  As a team, the Zags were a dismal 20% from deep on the night in a 5 for 25 effort—one of the the main reasons Gonzaga couldn’t get the win on the road and fell to BYU by a score of 78-91.

Though Tillie and Petrusev reached double Digits in points against the Cougars, getting 18 and 14 respectively, neither found many rebounds as they combined for just 5.  Nor could the big men find ways to stop BYU’s Yoeli Childs who dominated in the paint, coming away with 28 points and 10 rebounds.  Besides the difficulty handling Childs down low, Gonzaga’s defense as a whole couldn’t get enough hand in the faces of the Cougars’ shooters who ended up averaging over 41% on the night from deep—highlighted by Jake Toolson’s 5 for 8 effort.  The Zags poor performance on both ends was further complicated by 14 turnovers, compared to just 10 for BYU.

Gonzaga did show some fight in the middle of the second half as they whittled the BYU lead down to 2, at 68-70 after Drew Timme made a lay-up with 7:56 left in the game—and it seemed like the Bulldogs might overtake the Cougars down the stretch.  But the overtaking part didn’t materialize as the shots just wouldn’t fall.  In a game that Mark Few summed up by saying:  “We were out-toughed in all phases of the game,” one thing that looked good for the Bulldogs was their performance from the free throw line.  The Zags shot 23-28 from the charity stripe in Provo while facing a very loud, and very boisterous crowd for a rare +80% performance.  Both Tillie and Petrusev shot a lot of those free throws and both missed only one each.  In contrast, despite the considerable win at SF, the Zags shot 8-15 for 53.3% from the line in Spokane, Thursday night.

Having split the two games with BYU during WCC play so far may not have a huge effect on Gonzaga’s placement in any of the upcoming tournaments, provided they come up with wins this coming week and in the WCC tournament.  In most polls, the Bulldogs slipped just one slot as a result of the loss, falling from #2 to #3.  Saturday was a serious bummer, no doubt about it, with a lot of winning streaks broken and feelings hurt and such.  And of all the opponents in the WCC, I hate to see Gonzaga lose to BYU the most.  There may, however, be a silver lining around the dark cloud hovering over Zag Nation.  The Bulldogs are very likely going to get a chance at redemption in just a few short weeks.

While it’s not a lock since both Gonzaga and BYU are going to have to win at least one game in the WCC tournament in order to see each other in the final, as the likely #1 and #2 seeds, provided they actually earn that seeding with their upcoming play this week, they would both receive a double-bye on the way toward the possibility of a rematch.  That could all shake out differently if WCC play goes awry from what I think will happen this week, but it is a distinct possibility.  I, for one, am hoping beyond hope—and I believe all the Gonzaga players and fans are as well—that the title game for the WCC tournament in Las Vegas will be a face-off between BYU and Gonzaga.  The tournament runs from March 5-10 and my guess is that every game is going to be a good one because when you’re playing for a punched ticket to the NCAA tournament even the hard luck teams can step up mightily.

I’m not sure if this qualifies as a silver lining, but I’m gonna put it out there anyway.  Taking too-long of a winning streak into the NCAA tournament could have been a bad thing for Gonzaga.  I know it’s a stretch of logic, but perhaps losing right now isn’t such a bad thing.  A bit of humility coming from a loss, I think, could go a long way for a team that has had some easy sailing in realizing what sort of effort and intensity is necessary to win over and over again against the best of the best in March Madness.  Gonzaga certainly got some humble pie on Saturday.  And hopefully you can assume with me that being knocked down a bit could provide the impetus to start a fire at just the right time that might not have been there if they’d gone on winning.  The fervent goal of upending BYU in the WCC tournament final, if that game happens, is going to be a challenge similar to the challenges the Zags will soon face in each set of games in the Big Dance.  I hope it happens.  I really, really hope it happens. 

First, however, Gonzaga has to take out some frustration in games against San Diego this Thursday and Saint Mary’s on Saturday—both to be played at home in The Kennel.  And though the Zags already beat both of these teams by 30 or more in the contests played on each of their home courts in California, nothing is going to be given easily—especially this time of year.  Though my predictions haven’t been stellar lately, I’ll give you a couple anyway:  Gonzaga wins both.  Against San Diego:  93-67.  Against Saint Mary’s:  91-77.  Have a great weekend and GO ZAGS!!!   

​~ Clark Karoses

The Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team’s two wins against the Pepperdine Waves this season haven’t been easy by any means—they’ve been a couple of grinders.  With a record of 14-13 on the season and 7-6 in WCC play, Pepperdine is a much better team than their record lets on—and head coach Lorenzo Romar and his assistants cooked up a good strategy against Gonzaga in both contests to keep the game close enough to threaten the #2 Zags last Saturday in Malibu, as well as nearly pull off a substantial upset in Spokane earlier in WCC play on January 4th.  Games like these are exactly what Gonzaga needs to help prepare for the challenges of the postseason in March.
In that first meeting between the Bulldogs and the Waves we saw Killian Tillie in great form, coming up with 20 points and a potentially game-saving block in the waning seconds to power the Zags to a 75-70 victory.  Filip Petrusev had his first double-double of the new year in that contest with his 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Joel Ayayi showed up in a big way by shooting 5 for 7 from the floor, including 2 for 4 from deep to round out his 12 points nicely. 

Despite some strong offensive performances on Gonzaga’s end, Pepperdine’s pressure defense threw the Bulldogs into fits in that 1st meeting—to the tune of 17 turnovers and a scoreless game for the Zags’ starting point guard, Ryan Woolridge.  Good defense, and a combined 38 points for Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross and Kameron Edwards almost spelled disaster in the Kennel that night.  Luckily the team was able to outrebound Pepperdine 39-30, cause 15 Waves turnovers, and make a couple key plays down the stretch to put that one on ice in Gonzaga’s favor. 
Last Saturday’s contest ended up being somewhat similar to the first as Pepperdine came out with some good pressure defense, caused a number of early Bulldog turnovers, and kept the score very close through a majority of the game.  It differed from the previous meeting in that there was no Killian Tillie—and despite that fact there wasn’t much drama at the end.  In response to Pepperdine’s pressure on defense, Gonzaga went early and often to its bread and butter down low, especially to Filip Petrusev.

Coming off a game against Saint Mary’s the week before in which he and his frontcourt teammate, Drew Timme, had double-doubles (Timme with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Petrusev with 18 points and 11 rebounds), the native-Serbian came out strong with 20 of the Zags 40 points in the first half.  Petrusev finished with another double-double in the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds—though not with quite as efficient a shooting percentage as his 56.8% average for the season in a 9 for 20 effort. 

Many of Pepperdine’s 20 fouls were given in an effort to stop Petrusev.  Even fouls didn’t stop Gonzaga’s leading scorer as he converted numerous and-1 opportunities and ended up a very decent 9 for 13 from the foul line.  Though the Zags’ freshman rising star in the frontcourt, Drew Timme, didn’t best his career high scoring against Pepperdine like he did with his 20 against the Gaels a week earlier, he shot more efficiently than any other Zag from the field in a 4 for 6 effort to earn 10 points and boost his shooting percentage to 62.3% on the season.

Corey Kispert was a star again in Gonzaga’s backcourt, shooting 5 for 8 from beyond the arc and adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists to his 19 points.  Despite all these strong efforts in Malibu, it did take Gonzaga three-quarters of the game to finally pull into a comfortable, double-digit lead.  The Bulldogs took a slender 40-36 lead into the locker room at halftime, compared to the earlier game in Spokane where the score was tied at the break, 37-37.  It also took a full half last Saturday for Joel Ayayi to get going on offense.  Held scoreless in the first half and struggling to connect from deep, Ayayi came up with 11 points in the 2nd half and added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to his stat line.

Much like the first contest, last Saturday saw Colbey Ross and Kameron Edwards coming up big for Pepperdine with 23 and 22 points respectively.  But it’s hard to beat a team with the kind of balance we see from Gonzaga where all 7 of the players who play a significant number of minutes average double digits scoring.  And despite the fact one of the better of those 7 was sitting on the bench, all 6 of the others reached double digits against the Waves in Malibu as well.  Ryan Woolridge, who was held scoreless in the last meeting of these teams, earned 10 points and helped Gonzaga best Pepperdine on the boards by grabbing 8 himself.  The Bulldogs ultimately won the battle on the glass by coming up with 39 total rebounds to Pepperdine’s 32, and 10 offensive rebounds to the Waves’ 7.  Woolridge’s fellow graduate transfer from Texas, Admon Gilder continued his humble excellence as well, going 1 of 2 from deep and 4 of 4 from the charity stipe to reach 11 points, and adding 5 assists to Gonzaga’s 20 assists for the game. 

Martynas Arlauskas made an appearance in the game early for about 8 minutes, and got another opportunity to find his pacing and his legs.  As the 8th Zag in a tight, essentially 7-man rotation, his ability to contribute in some way could become very important in games where the already slim Gonzaga lineup is further thinned by foul trouble or injury.  Tillie’s difficulty lately with stringing together more than 2 or 3 games in a row before having to sit two or more out is worrisome to say the least.  His dominant presence on both ends of the court is going to be helpful if not essential to the Bulldogs’ high hopes of finding themselves in the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final 4 and hopefully the title game this season.

Before we go looking too far ahead, however, Gonzaga still has a slate of games in February to finish up.  San Francisco comes to Spokane on Thursday of this week, followed by a trip to Provo to face the now #23 BYU Cougars on Saturday—both available to a national audience on ESPN2.  Both will be serious challenges, and if the Zags are still sans Tillie, they’re going to be downright difficult.

Last time the Bulldogs faced off against the Dons in San Francisco, the game went down to the wire with Corey Kispert putting on his hero cape and scoring 5 points in the last 2 minutes to lead the Zags to a very narrow 83-79 victory.  If it’s a six-man rotation for Gonzaga minus Tillie, like it was in San Francisco, we could see much the same—a very close game.  Despite the fact that Gonzaga sailed past BYU, 92-69 in the Kennel during their first meeting this season, I’m even more concerned about that game on Saturday than I am about the one at home against SF.  In the first meeting between GU and BYU, Yoeli Childs, the Cougars’ star forward and leading scorer with 20.7 points per game, was sitting out with a hand injury.

I don’t expect easy sailing this time in Provo with Childs playing some great basketball of late and the Cougars having won 6-straight, including particularly strong wins against Pepperdine, 107-90, and San Francisco, 90-76.  BYU is going to want to win this one badly to both stay in the top 25, punch the teams ticket to the big dance, and get some revenge against the Bulldogs who have embarrassed them in Provo and Spokane multiple times in the last few years.  This cat and dog fight is one you shouldn’t miss.

I’ve got separate predictions for both games depending on whether Killian Tillie is going to be playing or not.  If he’s tweaked his ankle really good, I suspect Gonzaga will keep him on the bench against the Dons and leave it to the might 6 to take care of business against San Franscisco.  It’s just as likely, though, that he’ll play in both and I sincerely hope so.  If Tillie doesn’t play I say Gonzaga doesn’t quite control the game, but uses the energy of the home crowd to stay comfortably on top, pulling away at the end.  My guess is 88-77.  If Tillie plays in good form it won’t be as pretty:  95-69.  If Tille doesn’t play against BYU, Gonzaga edges past the Cougars despite the hostile crowd 91-87.  If Tillie plays against BYU, I think we win by double digits and we reach triple digits: 104-71.  Those numbers may be a little inflated by love, but I’ll stick by them.                    

I don’t know if you’ve heard the news, but the Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team is really flippin’ good this season and they’re only getting better.  If their 11-0 record in WCC play and their 25-1 record for the season hasn’t convinced you yet, maybe this last week of play will.  In the week prior to last, with a rotation whittled down to 6 main players after losing Killian Tillie to an ankle sprain, the Zags were supremely tested.  The team responded with some serious mettle in the midst of adversity—especially on the road against San Francisco on February 1st where the Bulldogs won by a narrow 4 points thanks to Corey Kispert’s heroics late in the game. Gonzaga kept Tillie on the bench for the first of last week’s games against the Loyola Marymount Lions as well.  That proved to be a good decision, as the Zags were able to travel to Moraga with a somewhat well-healed Tillie to face the Saint Mary’s Gaels.  In the first meeting of the two teams since the Gaels beat the then #1 Bulldogs 60-47 in the WCC tournament final in March 2019, Saint Mary’s took the brunt of Gonzaga’s fiery wrath.  The Zags handed the Gaels their worst loss at home since 2001 with a 90-60 victory, and let out a triumphant, bellowing bark that was heard nationwide on ESPN.

Gonzaga’s game last Thursday night, with Tillie on the bench resting his ankle, saw 5 of the 6 main players for the Zags picking Lions’ pockets, and accounting for 13 steals.  Filip Petrusev was the only starter without a steal, while Corey Kispert grabbed 5, Drew Timme added 3, Joel Ayayi stole 3 more and Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder pilfered 1 a-piece.  One of the few downsides on the night for the Bulldogs was the fact that the Lions were able to get 9 steals themselves and cause 12 Gonzaga turnovers.  But the Zags were able to capitalize on 17 LMU turnovers in a big way—especially on the more and more common quick pushes in transition from the defensive end to the offensive one resulting in lay ups or dunks.  Those quick pushes and sometimes easy baskets helped boost the Zags shooting numbers on the night, as the Bulldogs finished shooting 60% on a 30 for 50 effort, including a decent 7 of 20 from beyond the arc for 35%.  That was good enough for a well-earned victory at home that saw Gonzaga up by a slim 8 at halftime, but able to extend that lead considerably in the 2nd half by as much as 28 before finishing with a score of 85-67
 
Gonzaga’s bigs, especially, were rolling against LMU.  In the absence of Tillie, we saw the freshman native of Texas, Drew Timme, start the game and reassert his excellence on both ends of the court. Filip Petrusev, the other anchor down low for the team, has simply been money down low from day 1 this season and was no different on Thursday night.  Both forwards missed only 1 field goal each in the game against the Lions: Timme on an 8 for 9 effort shooting, Petrusev at 5 for 6. Timme added 8 rebounds and 2 assists to his 17 points, while Petrusev added 6 rebounds to his 21 points—getting a lot of those at the free throw line in an 11 for 15 effort.

Besides stealing the night away on defense Thursday, the backcourt for Gonzaga was outstanding on their offensive end as well.  Joel Ayayi had the only difficult week, getting just 5 points and 3 rebounds against LMU and 5 rebounds and a single 3-point basket against Saint Mary’s to open up scoring on Saturday night.  Kispert and Gilder picked up the slack against LMU, both shooting 50% from deep on mutual 3 for 6 efforts, adding 11 and 17 points respectively.

Gilder’s fellow graduate transfer from Texas on the team, Ryan Woolridge (Gilder from Texas A&M, and Woolridge from North Texas University) has been absolutely on point at point—and he was phenomenal again this week.  He was 5 for 7 shooting against both LMU and Saint Mary’s, adding 12 and 11 points respectively.  In addition to his lightning-quick drives to the hoop and acrobatic finishes at the rim, I thought one of his 7 assists for the week was particularly noteworthy.  Against LMU, after Ayayi was able to poke the ball away on D, and get it upcourt to Woolridge, Ryan crossed the ball over to avoid a defender at half court and seeing a streaking Petrusev sent a bullet pass from halfcourt perfectly between defenders, hitting Filip in stride for a monster dunk without even a dribble. 

Both of the graduate, native-Texan guards have been devastating for opponents on both ends of the court and the Lions and Gaels found that out the hard way.  The two continued their thieving ways against Saint Mary’s by getting 3 steals each, and succeeded in doing more than their parts to further stifle the Gael’s offense.  Gilder made those steals count, especially when he found Woolridge streaking down the court after making them, which was a common occurrence on Saturday.  Woolridge had, about midway through the second half against SM, a 7-0 scoring run by himself—scoring an and-1 basket after an acrobatic finish at the rim and then two lay-ups—the first off a steal by Gilder who sent an alley-oop at the Zags rim his way, and the second off a steal of his own that Woolridge was able to dribble in for an easy finish on the other end.  Though Gilder had a more subdued scoring night against the Gaels, going 3 for 6 shooting, adding 3 rebounds, 5 assists and a block to his 7 points—his one 3-pointer came off an assist from a driving Woolridge who took the defense with him toward the basket and left the ball for Gilder in the right corner in front of the Gaels’ bench, hitting the shot as time expired in the first half to put Gonzaga up by a back-breaking margin of 53-28. 

Against Saint Mary’s we saw what every true Zag fan has been waiting anxiously for in the previous 3 games:  the ever-so-welcome return of Killian Tille, aka: KT, aka: Godzilla.  KT was coming back from a nasty ankle sprain suffered the Thursday prior to the LMU game when the Zags were playing Santa Clara.  After a good week and a half without playing, Tillie went on another tear on both ends of the court Saturday.  In 25 minutes Tillie helped suffocate the Gaels’ offense with his hustle and strong position on defense, and crushed them on his own offensive end by going 7 of 10 shooting, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, adding 2 rebounds and an assist to his 19 points.  He shared defensive responsibilities on the very dangerous Malik Fitts with his fellow veteran-Zag on the team, Corey Kispert.  Together, they helped limit Fitts to just 12 points in the contest.  Kispert continued his humble excellence on offense as well, taking only the best shots and sinking 2 for 4 from deep, 4 for 7 overall, adding 2 assists to his 10 points.

Seeing Tillie pick up where he left off with another performance over or near 20 points was a blessing for Zag Nation fans.  But it was Tillie’s absence that has allowed for another Godzilla-like candidate to further emerge out of the deep—boding very well, I think, for Gonzaga’s post-season hopes.  When Tillie was injured against Santa Clara, freshman Drew Timme more than just stepped in to fill the void.  For a good portion of the season, Timme has been getting considerable play as a sub for either Tillie or Petrusev in the front court and doing quite well off the bench.  As a starter against San Francisco on February 1st, and last Thursday against LMU, he was outstanding.  He earned player of the game honors in the very tight contest at SF, where he scored 19, added 3 blocks and shot a very cool, collected 7 for 8 from the foul line to help seal the win. 

We already mentioned his 17 points and 8 rebounds against LMU, but he was able to eclipse both of those efforts off the bench against Saint Mary’s on Saturday in just 23 minutes of play.  Timme had a team-high and career-high 20 points on 7 for 8 shooting as well as a double-double with his 10 rebounds—3 of those on the offensive end where he always attacks the boards with gusto.  Though he has shown occasional difficulties from the free-throw line, Timme’s stroke there seems to be smoothing out and he was a perfect 6 for 6 in Moraga.  Not only is he the block leader for the team at the moment, he is one of 7 players (all 7 of the essentially 7-man rotation for the Zags) who is averaging in double digits scoring per game.  He and Ryan Woolridge are tied at the bottom of that list right now with 10.3 points per game. Last time I checked no team in college basketball had more than 5 players averaging in double digits. With balance like that, no wonder Gonzaga owns the #1 offense in the country.

At the top of the points per game list for the Zags, with 17.2, is Filip Petrusev—the Serbian native who also leads Gonzaga in rebounds with 7.9 per contest.  He had another stellar showing against Saint Mary’s, topping both averages and joining Timme on the double-double list with his 18 points and 11 rebounds.  Going 8 for 11 shooting and exhibiting a host of post moves, a very deft touch around the rim, as well as the ability to slam the ball home, Petrusev was outstanding once again.  He did, however, have an awkward moment that caught the attention of one of the ESPN announcers enough to play it back in slow motion.  In the play that happened about 7 minutes into the 2nd half, he was calling for the ball down low while sealing off a defender who was struggling to defend him.  He had good position it seemed, and when Gilder shot a 3 instead of passing to him in the post, he seemed to just walk away from the play in obvious frustration, ignoring the rebound and all that was happening around him. 

Keith Ybanez of The Slipper Still Fits very aptly called it a “little tantrum” and a “moment of madness”—finding it as inexcusable as I do. Petrusev has, at times this season, seemed to be a bit of a whiner.  Perhaps it’s his immaturity and/or ego getting the best of him.  It’s likely very difficult not to be egotistical when you’re as good as he is at his young age—and I’m willing to forgive his perhaps all-too-common complaints to the refs for fouls against his opponents when he should be running back on defense. But getting so frustrated with your own teammates that you walk away from a play that’s still going on is another matter altogether. Ybanez brings up the possibility that Petrusev was being held in the post (maybe he had been being held all night) and the frustration was with the ref, not Gilder.  Either way, that shit’s got to get set aside while dealing with the task at hand.  Whatever the case—let’s not do that anymore.  Zag Nation loves you and thinks you’re awesome, but you need to act like a GU Bulldog should act.  It seemed Mark Few pulled him from the game shortly thereafter and likely told him just that (probably without any of the kindness mixed in).  On a positive note, Petrusev added insult to injury by sinking a rare straight-away 3-pointer later in the game, during a series of 3 consecutive 3’s from the Zags’ Tillie, Petrusev and Kispert that stretched the lead to its widest margin of 88-54.

Just to give you a sense of how dominant the Zags were in this game:  1.  Gonzaga started the game by going 14 of 15 from the field, missing only one shot in the first 12 and a half minutes.  2.  GU shot 74% in the first half of play and finished near that mark at 67.9% on 36 makes in 53 attempts—including over 53.3% from beyond the arc on an 8 of 15 effort.  3.  GU went on a 22-2 run in the first half during which the Gaels were held without a basket for over 7 minutes, ending with the Zags up 34-12.  4.  I counted 5 and-1 baskets for the Zags, adding many 3's the hard way to their 3-point efforts from deep.  5.  The Bulldogs outrebounded the Gaels 33-23--and I won’t even complain about the 9 to 6 margin in favor of SM on the offensive boards since there’s very little chance to get offensive rebounds when you make so many shots.  6.  GU shot about 72% from the free throw line in both games this week and though that wouldn’t be reason for many teams to celebrate, it is for this team as the Bulldogs continue to improve their season average, having had 4-straight games over 70%. 

The complaint that can be made in both games concerns turnovers.  Against LMU, despite forcing 17 turnovers, the Zags gave up the ball 12 times.  In the first few minutes in Moraga, it was turnovers and sloppy play that kept the score close.  It’s surprising that a team who wins so convincingly can have 7 turnovers in the first 8 minutes of play.  Though Gonzaga caused 14 turnovers in the game, they gave the ball up 15 times.  That’s as much as I’ve got for complaints, though.  Gonzaga was simply dominant and as good as one could hope for in every other aspect of the game.  They were even better than I could hope for as I predicted they'd win by a score of 88-77--getting the Zags score pretty close but not expecting the defense to keep a very good Saint Mary's team from scoring more than 60 points. Despite the hefty loss, Saint Mary’s definitely has some dangerous folks on their squad.  Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts are very good players.  They showed moments of brilliance and were a combined 15 for 30 shooting from the field, scoring 23 and 12 points respectively.  They will have to be well accounted for when the Gaels travel up to Spokane to finish WCC play on the 29th of February.

Next on the slate in Gonzaga’s pursuit of WCC perfection is a road game against the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu.  Pepperdine gave the Zags a good run for their money during the last contest between the two teams in Spokane.  Killian Tillie scored 20 in that game and blocked Colbey Ross’s shot attempt that could have tied the game in the waning seconds—sealing a 5-point victory for Gonzaga 75-70.  Ross was very good in the game and both he and Kameron Edwards had double-doubles for the game—Edwards with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Ross with 24 points and 10 assists.  Though Tillie, Petrusev (16 points and 10 rebounds) and Ayayi (5 for 7 shooting and 2-4 from deep) played well in that game, the team struggled to come away with a narrow win at home.  This game is going to be a good gauge of how well the Zags have improved since early in January.  My guess is they’ve improved a great deal and they’re going to surf to a victory over the waves down in Malibu.  My guess: 88-63. 

P.S. I don't know if you've been paying any attention to what former Zag turned NBA-rookie Brandon Clarke has been doing with the Memphis Grizzlies and fellow NBA-rookie Ja Morant lately, but he had a career-high 27 points tonight against Portland.  Have a great weekend, and GO ZAGS!!!                   

~ Clark Karoses

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t the only team that had to muster some serious gumption to come from behind and find a way to win amid adversity last weekend.  The Gonzaga Men’s Basketball team took the show on the road to California last week—and what I’d expected and predicted to be smooth sailing in Santa Clara, and just a bit of a test in San Francisco turned into quite a test on Thursday night and a nail-biter Saturday afternoon that required Corey Kispert’s heroics late in the game to turn a considerable deficit into a win.  The only thing I got right in my predictions from the last installment of The Zag Wag was the fact that Gonzaga would win both games.
 
At halftime, the Bulldogs found themselves struggling against a team that was gaining confidence, momentum and the belief that they could knock off the now #2 team in the nation on their home floor in both of these contests.  In a the previous meeting on the 16th of January, when Gonzaga played Santa Clara in Spokane, the Bulldogs had opened up a halftime lead of 58-22.  On Thursday the 30th,  it was only a Ryan Woolridge layup with 7 seconds before the half that put the Zags up by more that a basket, 40-36 on the Broncos home court.  On Saturday, playing very short-handed against San Francisco for the first time this season, it was a Jamaree Bouyea jumper as time expired in the first half that put the Dons up by 8 points, 43-35—and had San Francisco fans in War Memorial Gym hungry for the huge upset.  SF had been up by as many as 12 points, 24-12, earlier in the half after heating up from beyond the arc. 

One thing I’ve learned in my years as a Gonzaga fan is to have great confidence in the fact that Mark Few and his assistants on the coaching staff are going to make the best adjustments to cure any ills or woes at the halftime break—and that they will make everything better in the final half of play.  The coaching staff did just that in both contests and the players came out with a vengeance after the break.  Gonzaga notched two more WCC wins despite the fact that their star post, defender and sharp-shooter, Killian Tillie, went down with what looked like a nasty ankle sprain halfway through the first half of play on Thursday and missed the whole game in San Francisco. 

Some Zags players stepped up in a big way in these contests to help make up for the loss of Tillie, playing long minutes and hitting baskets at critical times.  Let’s start with Filip Petrusev, who had a career-high scoring night in Santa Clara.  Before and after Tillie’s injury, Petrusev was absolutely brilliant at Santa Clara, receiving a number of lobs into the paint from Gonzaga guards and dunking them with flair to help him gain an amazingly efficient 14 for 18 shooting from the field.   He was just one rebound short of a double-double, with a team-leading 9 rebounds, and added 3 steals to compliment his 31 points.  It is the rebounding numbers that stand out in the contest as something the Zags truly took control over.  Five Gonzaga players had over 5 rebounds in the game, and the Zags dominated the boards both offensively (10-5) and defensively (33-27), gaining 43 total rebounds compared to 32 for the Broncos.

At San Francisco, without our beloved Tillie, Petrusev did much the same—this time managing a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds on 8 for 14 shooting (you don’t get on the 20-man Wooden Award short-list for nothing).  Accustom to being the team-leader in scoring and rebounding, anchoring the defense in the paint, and playing at or near 30 minutes, domination is nothing new to Petrusev.  But it was his fellow big-man down low, Drew Timme whose clutch performance down the stretch and solid excellence throughout earned him player of the game in San Francisco.  While not as dominant on the boards as usual, Timme came up with a career-high 19 points on Saturday afternoon in 30 minutes of play, with a 6 for 11 effort shooting from the field, an impressive 7 for 8 from the foul line, while adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.  After coming up with 2 blocks against Santa Clara and 5 blocks against Pacific the previous Saturday, Timme added another 3 against SF, including a key block with 23 seconds left as Jordan Ratinho went up for a layup to try to make it a single-basket game.   
                     
Though his career-high scoring game against SF was definitely an excellent one for Timme, the game against Santa Clara wasn’t half bad either.  In 20 minutes of play, Timme went 5 for 8 from the field, notching 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 11 points.  One of the things that characterized these two games, besides some less than inspired defense by Gonzaga in both first halves, was struggle from the Gonzaga guards to find or to hit good shots, both allowing and requiring the big men to feast down low.  Against San Francisco, Timme and Petrusev had the first 12 points of the game as the guards struggled against a hounding Dons defense that was disrupting the offense and forcing too many turnovers.    

Mark Few called Killian Tillie his “problem solver” for good reason.  His ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, especially from deep, allows him to drag defense away from other players, opening up so much for everyone else on the court (you don’t get on the Karl Malone Award 10-man short list for nothing).  Without Tillie, both the Broncos and the Dons found Gonzaga’s defensive pressure and help often lacking and at times, hit mildly contested 3’s or slashed to the basket with ease.  On the other end the Dons strove to choke Gonzaga’s offense with stifling, overplaying defense on the perimeter—a brand of defense that would have been much more problematic with Tillie’s versatility on the court.  Though Petrusev and Timme are outstanding in their own right, Tillie adds so much to the Gonzaga line-up on both ends and it will be integral to the Zags success in the post-season that Tillie is healthy.    

Against Santa Clara, we saw Corey Kispert and the Zags go ice cold shooting.  Kispert was 2 for 12 from the field and 1 for 5 from deep, though he added 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks to his 9 points.  Joel Ayayi, who adds a brilliant element whenever he plays, was a tepid 3 for 7 from the field, and 0 for 2 from deep—adding 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a block to his 7 points.  Ryan Woolridge and Admon Gilder were the only guards who scored in double figures against SC, though both stayed below 50% shooting—and together could only knock down 1 3-pointer in 5 attempts.  Woolridge was able to come away with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals for a very decent night, while Gilder added 11 points and 6 rebounds.  The Zags finished just 3 of 16 from beyond the arc for an uncharacteristically poor 18.8% from deep.  In fact, Gonzaga didn’t make an attempt from deep in the whole second half of that game at Santa Clara, or in the 1st half of the following game against San Francisco—that’s a downright frigid cold spell. 

Luckily the big men were on point in both games and Gonzaga’s free-throw shooting wasn’t half bad either (72.7% against SC).  If you take a look at the offensive play-by-play feed for Gonzaga in the second half of the game against Santa Clara, there’s not much variation.  Hit the post is the major theme, or get it to him on the fast break.  It reads something like:  lay-up, lay-up, dunk, free-throw, free-throw, lay-up, lay-up, dunk, dunk, lay-up, free-throw, etc.  That strategy ended up working very well as the Zags pulled away with a 15-point victory 87-72.  No need to razzle-dazzle with the long ball, just lay it in, stuff it in the hoop or hit from the charity stripe—letting the big guys get a lion’s share of the grub, and the guards pick up some scraps.

Though the guards struggled through the second half of the SC game and the first half of the SF game, they more than redeemed themselves in the second half against the Dons.  While the Zags only had 5 attempts from beyond the arc on Saturday, the only one they missed came in the first half.  Both Kispert and Ayayi went a perfect 2 for 2 from deep for the game, helping the players lift themselves out of the hole they found themselves in at halftime.  Held scoreless in the first half, Kispert went 4 of 5 from the field shooting for the game, adding 3 rebounds and a steal to his 11 points (you don’t get on the Erving Award 10-man short list for nothing).  Ayayi, while only shooting 2 of 6 from the field, was just a rebound short of another double-double, adding 4 offensive rebounds and 5 defensive boards to his 12 points.  Gilder (3-3), Kispert (1-1) and Ayayi (6-6) were all perfect from the charity stripe to help boost the Zags free throw shooting numbers over 78% in the contest.  Gilder, master of the reverse lay-up and so dangerous everywhere on both ends the court, went 4 for 9 shooting from the field, had 5 rebounds and added a steal to go along with his 11 points.

Shooting 4 for 4 from beyond the arc in the second half may have been a huge boost for the Zags to pull themselves out of the hole they found themselves in, but it was getting the 3 the hard way that really won one of the most challenging contests so far for the Bulldogs.  Fouls on both sides dominated play throughout in this unusually long game and every starter on the Zags roster had 4 fouls by the end except for Ayayi who had 3.  Two Dons’ big men fouled out of the game and it was largely the ability of Gonzaga to get to the line that allowed them to prevail—especially because they often hit the basket on the way to the line as well as the additional free-throw.  Just 14 seconds into the game, off the opening tip, Petrusev caught a pass from Timme down low, drew a foul on the way up and sunk the lay in.  He is getting tougher and so much more willful down on the block lately.  Petrusev added another bucket and foul shortly thereafter in the 1st, as did Admon Gilder a bit further along toward the half.  Drew Timme added two and-1 conversions in the second half in a crucial stretch between 14 minutes and 9 minutes left that saw the lead change a number of times as the Dons battled to quell the Bulldogs’ surge.  

The last and-1 conversion came after Taavi Jurkatamm made two free throws at 1:59 left to put SF up 76-75.  Corey Kispert got the pass at the top of the arc and drove, muscling a bit of space to go up for the hoop and getting fouled hard, he managed to kiss in the lay-up off the glass for a triumphant score.  Kispert had 5 points in the last 2 minutes in San Francisco, including the fade-away dagger with 35 seconds left that put the red wax on the victory letter that Gilder and Timme stamped by hitting three out of 4 free throws in the waning seconds to notch the Zags final points and send the players off to a gutsy 83-79 victory. 
   
I have a few lingering difficulties to bring up.  I mentioned offensive rebounding in the last installment.  Rebounding was good against Santa Clara again on both ends, though shooting wasn’t stellar.  Shooting against San Francisco looked pretty good number wise.  The Zags were 27 for 50 from the field (54%), 4 for 5 from deep (80%) and stellar at the free throw line with 78.1% on 25 for 32 attempts (that’s 2 games of +70% FT shooting).  Overall the Bulldogs edged the Dons on the boards 38 to 32 in total rebounds, but on the offensive glass, SF was able to track down 12 offensive rebounds, while Gonzaga only came up with 7.  The Dons’ lower shooting percentages could account for some of those as they had more misses to try to track down the board for, but I think the Zags could improve in that category. 

The truly worrisome statistic in the game, and perhaps the biggest reason Gonzaga found themselves nearly notching another loss, was in the area of turnovers.  San Francisco limited themselves to a stellar 7 turnovers (anything under 10 in a game is quite good, I think).  Gonzaga doubled that number and-1 with 15—every starter having at lest 2 and 3 players adding 3 turnovers on the night.  Not so good there, especially in the first half. 

Whatever we can say here, positive or negative, Gonzaga showed some guts and resolve in these road wins in California without one of their most valuable players, and learned some great lessons about perseverance despite adversity along the way.  Luckily our team travels with some cushion, and Gonzaga fans made some noise and added some energy in San Francisco especially.  They saw Gonzaga rise to the challenge with essentially a 6-man roster for 70 of the 80 minutes of play.  Mark Few, talking after the game said:  “They had us reeling there early” and asked about how he felt about the game and the way his players responded, said:  “I’m proud of them.  We’re low on numbers, low on bodies, low on everything, and we had foul trouble.  So it was a very, very good win.”

Gonzaga has a heck of a schedule approaching.  Though LMU coming to Spokane on Thursday may not sound so intimidating (the Zags beat them 87-62 on their court in January), its back to California after that to face the only team we haven’t seen in WCC play yet, the always intimidating Saint Mary’s Gaels—in the absolutely hostile (even truculent) gym in Moraga, on Saturday the 8th on ESPN.  My guess, and everyone else’s that I’ve read so far, is to look for Tillie to play for sure in the game against the Gaels and more than likely not to play against the Lions in Spokane.  It doesn’t get much easier from there as the Zags take another plane south to face Pepperdine the following Saturday the 15th (we only had a 5 point victory against the Tigers in Spokane), then facing San Francisco again 5 days later in the Kennel before traveling to BYU in a much anticipated contest on the 22nd in Provo that will hopefully pit superstars Yoeli Childs and Killian Tillie against one another in a dramatic battle.  Exciting times ahead as Gonzaga does its best to keep both their record-setting conference win streak of 36 games, their home winning streak of 35 games, and their road winning streak of 16 games alive. 

My prediction for this week (though if you saw my prediction last week you’ll probable want to take this with a grain of salt) is that Gonzaga shows up strong at home against LMU and bests the Lions 95-65.  On the road against Saint Mary’s the Zags win by 11, 88-77.  Best wishes to all and GO ZAGS!!!                 

​~ Clark Karoses