LAS VEGAS — Just ten days ago Gonzaga was throttled wire to wire by Saint Mary’s in stunning fashion.
It was, um, certainly unexpected.
I actually said on a podcast earlier that week that the only way I saw Gonzaga losing that SMC game was if someone got injured in the previous game against USF. Talk about freezing cold takes.
So, what exactly went wrong? Let's get into it.
THE BIGS WERE NOT BIG
The first point is obvious.
Gonzaga’s bigs were completely shut down by the Gaels.
Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren, and Anton Watson combined for 12 Gonzaga points in that game. Just to put this in perspective—Those three combined for 39 points in Gonzaga’s first game against the Gaels this season, which the Zags won in dominant fashion.
It was a completely mystifying game as the Gaels were able to control Drew Timme for the first time since his first game against SMC his freshman year, and I wouldn’t even really count that game since Drew was still coming into form then.
Something that I think is really important is that the Zags use Chet Holmgren and Drew Timme in high-low action. Just the game before, Drew Timme had eight assists, in part thanks to the connection those two have. It’s been dominant against every other opponent. I want to see it more tonight.
GIVE 'EM AN ASSIST
That last point actually leads us right to the next thing that needs to be different.
If you just saw Andrew Nembhard’s 15 points versus Saint Mary’s ten days ago, you’d think that things were okay for him that game.
That was certainly not the case. He had a whopping zero assists in that performance and the four overall assists the team had? They came from Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme, and Anton Watson. That’s not who you want all your assists from.
Now, this isn’t all the guards' fault as the bigs were missing shots that would’ve given those guards assists, but generally, they needed to be better. There should be no world in which Andrew Nembhard has zero assists in a game ever.
Nembhard had nine assists last night against USF and seven in the previous outing against SMC. Here’s hoping we see more of that Andrew this evening.
BROKEN BENCH
And finally, let’s turn towards the bench.
They had zero points versus SMC two Saturdays ago. Not two, not one, zero.
Saint Mary’s had 14 points from their bench. They won the game by ten. Y’all can do the math.
To be fair, Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman only played ten minutes combined so I don’t blame them as much, but Anton Watson putting up no points in 14 minutes played is just unacceptable.
Last night against USF there was only ten bench points, but it was still better than what occurred against the Gaels, and Watson in particular was much more dominant as he had eight points and ten boards versus USF. It’s near impossible to win a game when you sub starters out and get zero points in return, and that's what happened in the last outing against SMC.
GAME INFO
Gonzaga versus Saint Mary’s tips at The Orleans Arena at 6 PM PT on ESPN, and we’ll have ample coverage tonight on KREM at 10 and 11.