ZAGS 360: Week Eight – Bulldogs take it personally
The Gonzaga Bulldogs took their Coach’s direction to amp up their defense seriously and went full throttle this week.
I wrote last week that the Gonzaga Bulldogs looked a little sluggish. That was actually putting it mildly. They were lousy offensively and defensively in the first half of both the Pepperdine and St. Mary’s games. The Zags actually trailed in both. Their coach, Mark Few, instructed them to step up their defense, and they took it personally. For one, Drew Timme agreed with his coach and, this week, led his team to an amazing victory.
Gonzaga vs. Pacific
In their largest margin of victory (46) this season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs showed no mercy to the Pacific Tigers. The Tigers coming off a loss to Pepperdine must have been bewildered when the score hit 26-5. This was personal. Not Gonzaga against the Tigers but rather the Zags against themselves. They were held to their lowest score of 75 by St. Mary’s last week.
This week the Zags looked decidedly different. Timme once again showed his leadership, and the “Terrifying Three” was back in action. Timme had 22 points and seven rebounds. It’s been a couple of weeks since we saw the three of them together slaughtering their opponents.
They work much better together than separately. Jalen Suggs had four turnovers along with nine points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. He was only two assists and one point away from the second triple-double in Zags history. Corey Kispert rounded out the trio with 16 points and seven rebounds.
This type of domination takes a whole team. Joel Ayayi had 12 points, including two from outside. The other star freshman, Dominick Harris, contributed 11 points, including two for two from three. Andrew Nembhard wanted in on the three-point business with two of three from beyond the arc, as well. The rest of the team may not have been in double figures, but their contributions were part of this team’s 46 point victory.
The week ahead
West Coast Conference play continues with the Zags meeting up with the San Diego Toreros on Thursday, 1/28. San Diego has an overall record of 2-6 and 1-3 in the conference. Their last game was a win over Portland 78-70.
The Bulldogs will once again meet the Pepperdine Waves. Remember, they are the team who had this writer unnecessarily concerned about the undefeated season. The Waves are coming off a loss to BYU on Saturday.
Things to look for
- More and more, we will have to be looking out for teams who’ve either canceled or postponed their games due to COVID-19 protocol.
- Preceding the Portland win, San Diego had three straight losses to San Francisco, Santa Clara, and LMU.
- In their last meeting, Pepperdine led the Bulldogs for all of 14 seconds. Since their last meeting, Pepperdine won two of three, with wins against Portland and Pacific before the BYU loss.
I believe Mark Few has the Zags back on track, and they will continue through the WCC with no problem. Also, rescheduling the Baylor game is always on the coach’s mind. About a game against the second-ranked Bears, he recently said,
“The update is, like it is all year, you just play it by ear, Scott (Drew, Baylor coach) and I talk and it gets complicated as you get into league. We’re flexible and ready, and I think a lot of people I’m talking to are flexible and ready, so we’re all in that mode right now.”
That’s it for this week’s edition of ZAGS 360. Until next week, stay safe and healthy!