LAS VEGAS — Gonzaga has a shot to become the second college basketball team ever to have three top 5 wins in the month of November when they take on Duke on Friday. Ironically, the only other program who's done it? Duke in 2012.
Without further ado, here are our keys for the Zags' latest high-profile matchup.
GOING BEYOND THE ARC
Duke has only played one quality opponent this year, and it was against Kentucky in their first game of the season. The Blue Devils won that game by eight points. It’s kind of remarkable they won considering they went 1-of-12 from three. Now, of course, it was the first game of the year but that percentage is just really bad no matter how you slice it.
Gonzaga’s defense is much improved this year and that was evident on Tuesday when they forced UCLA to go 2-of-12 from three.
I really think how Duke shoots from three in this game will be pivotal because if Duke wants to go inside a lot, Gonzaga will win the points in the paint battle.
If Gonzaga can force Duke into a bad performance from the arc, I think the Zags easily cruise in this one.
DEPTH DIFFERENCES
Another thing that jumps out when you compare Gonzaga and Duke’s rosters is how different they are depth wise.
Four out of five Gonzaga starters are averaging double-digits, and it might as well be all five because Andrew Nembhard is averaging 9.8 points.
Duke has three starters averaging double digits with their fourth and fifth starters averaging 9 points and 8.7 points per game, respectively.
Drew Timme said it after the UCLA game—Anyone can step up on any night for the Zags and have a big game. That has to be terrifying for Duke to try to figure out and Gonzaga needs to exploit that.
The Blue Devils are going to need more than their big three to get a win in this one because the Zags’ starting five is so explosive, and if you key in on one or two guys, the other three can make you pay.
BANCHERO VS. HOLMGREN
This is the matchup everyone has been anticipating.
Here’s what's going to be the key for Chet: Stay vertical.
He’s pretty incredible at doing it anyways, but it’s incredibly important in this matchup. Why? Paulo Banchero is shooting 24-of-28 from the free throw line this year. You do not want to send him to the charity stripe. Kentucky learned this the hard way as he went 8-for-9 from the line during that game aka over a third of his 22 points against Kentucky were from free throws.
Chet’s verticality is also incredibly important in terms of his shot blocking ability. Here’s an unreal stat: Holmgren is averaging 3.8 blocks per game right now. Gonzaga’s single season leader in blocks, Brandon Clarke, averaged 3.2 blocks per game, just for some context.
If Holmgren can block Banchero’s shot four times, which also means he’ll be altering it a lot more than just four times, and Holmgren is able to do that without fouling, then things are looking up for the Zags.