ZAGS 360: Week 10 – An ugly win for Gonzaga basketball over Pacific in short week

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Feb 8, 2021
Gonzaga basketball
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga basketball.

COVID-19 once again caused major changes to the Gonzaga basketball schedule. Thursday’s win over Pacific showed some areas that need improvement.

This is the fourth game in a row that a slow Gonzaga basketball team came out of the gate. Maybe the last-minute trip to California led to Gonzaga’s slow start in the ugly win over the Pacific Tigers. Regardless of why the Gonzaga Bulldogs need to find out whatever is wrong before they get to the NCAA tournament.

I wish I could say that the Pacific game was any better than the three games before. It wasn’t. The Zags had five turnovers but only four field goals almost ten minutes into the game. They didn’t get a double-digit lead until 6:30 in the second half. It took three-quarters of the game before the Bulldogs took control and started to look like a winner. They did finish well en route to a 78-56 win

That won’t work for the remainder of the West Coast Conference schedule and beyond.

What’s wrong?

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have won 22 straight, 40 of 41, 49 of 50, 73 of 77, and 98 of 105. Their last loss was against none other than BYU on February 23, 2020.

Are the Bulldogs taking their incredible streak for granted? They shouldn’t. The BYU team they’re about to face is 8-1 at home. And they want revenge from the previous 86-69 loss at Spokane. This time will be on BYU’s turf.

These slow starts and lackluster play give the teams waiting in the wings a lot of hope that the great number one Gonzaga Bulldogs can be defeated. The Gonzaga players will almost always have superior talent, but they also have a big target on their backs.

Bad habits

In the last three games (San Diego, Pepperdine, and Pacific), the Bulldogs had 41 turnovers, 51 personal fouls, and 47 points off turnovers. Just because the Zags are winning doesn’t mean they can turn a blind eye to their problems. The team has to want to work hard to fix stats like that. It has to be driving Mark Few crazy. He sounded frustrated when he spoke to reporters after the game.

”We had to dig deep and find some toughness because we didn’t have it there in the first half,” Few said. ”They took the fight to us for pretty much that whole first half. We just weren’t playing very smart. Plan A wasn’t working, plan B wasn’t working and we had to hang with it and we finally figured it out with plan C.’

For the Bulldogs to remain undefeated, there needs to be a team effort. Generally, it is, and I highlight those responsible for leading Gonzaga to victory over Pacific U. Only the Terrifying Trio was in double figures. Drew Timme had 21 points and five rebounds, Jalen Suggs had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Corey Kispert had 14 points. Meanwhile, six players on the Tigers were in double figures. Keep in mind PU came into this game at 5-5. They haven’t been world-beaters.

The week ahead

This week the Zags play three games on the road.

The first is Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, on Monday night. In their last meeting, the Bulldogs soundly defeated them 86-69. They came out with an early lead in that game and held it throughout. BYU Cougars is the second-best team in the WCC. They are 15-4 overall with a 6-2 conference record.

On Thursday, the team travels to Santa Clara, CA, to take on the Santa Clara Broncos. A game that was originally scheduled for February 6 in Spokane. Santa Clara is 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the conference. This will be their first game since January 23 due to positive COVID-19 cases.

Finally, Saturday, February 13, the Bulldogs are in San Francisco to play the San Francisco Dons. The Dons are overall 10-8 and 4-4 in the conference. They’ve had three games postponed due to COVID protocol.

What to look for

Every team Gonzaga plays is out there looking to be the one that breaks the streak. The Zags are on the road all week, at a point when the grind of a season starts to wear teams down. Although there are no fans in the seats, home court is still home court, which is advantageous.

Here’s hoping Gonzaga basketball remains undefeated for another week. Until next week, stay safe!

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