Gonzaga vs. Xavier: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2017
Alex Ballentine
Mar 25, 2017
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 25: Sean O'Mara #54 of the Xavier Musketeers is boxed out by Johnathan Williams #3 and Nigel Williams-Goss #5 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 25, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to the first Final Four in the program's history after a dominant 83-59 win over the Xavier Musketeers in Elite Eight action in San Jose, California.
ESPN Stats & Info provided some context as to how big the win was for not only Gonzaga, but also its status as the premier program in its state:
Gonzaga is the first team from the state of Washington to advance to the Final Four since Seattle in 1958. pic.twitter.com/62Ud8qgVCF
It isn't often that a No. 1 seed faces the kind of doubt that the Bulldogs did in this NCAA tournament, but they overcame that doubt to punch their ticket with a complete performance that had plenty of people congratulating the program, including Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports 1:
Let's not act like this isn't a big thing. Monkey off the programs back. #Gonzaga
The Bulldogs have been successful despite some poor shooting performances from three-point range. Against the 11th-seeded Musketeers, they turned that trend on its head. The No. 1 seed couldn't miss from downtown, and it proved to be too much for Xavier.
Round
Opponent
3PT
%
First Round
South Dakota State
8-of-30
26.7
Second Round
Northwestern
4-of-16
25.0
Sweet 16
West Virginia
4-of-10
40.0
Elite Eight
Xavier
12-of-24
50.0
Contested or not, the Bulldogs' threes kept falling. While many were open due to Gonzaga's excellent ball movement, even the attempts with a hand in the shooter's face went down for Mark Few's squad, as NCAA March Madness relayed:
Gonzaga's success from distance is a scary development. The Bulldogs are already one of the most efficient teams on both sides of the floor, and adding three-point shooting to that is plain bad for their opponents.
Nigel Williams-Goss led the way for Gonzaga with 23 points and eight rebounds, but Johnathan Williams was also big for the Zags with his 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
They also showed the ability to hold a lead in the second half.
After Gonzaga watched Northwestern erase a 22-point deficit in the second round, there was a little skepticism about whether the Zags' big lead was safe in this one, as the Mercury News' Jon Wilner noted:
9+ left and Gonzaga, up 16, is down to 1 timeout. Won't possibly be an issue ... ?
However, the Bulldogs closed it out emphatically, not allowing the Musketeers to cut the lead to fewer than 12 for the majority of the second half.
Of course, Xavier didn't do much to help its case in a comeback. It couldn't get anything going as a team from distance. Shannon Russell of WCPO in Cincinnati broke down the poor shooting performance:
XU shooting 27.8 percent this half now, with a 16.7 mark from three (this half only). Hard to win when shooting 18.2 pct from three overall.
The Musketeers rode Trevon Bluiett's hot hand to the Elite Eight, but an efficient Gonzaga defense shut him down.
Bluiett garnered only 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting after carrying this team on his back for much of the tournament. He was held scoreless in the second half.
J.P. Macura went down swinging for Xavier, though. He finished with 18 points and five rebounds, and Bluiett was the only other Musketeer in double figures.
Xavier put up a fight early on, in part thanks to Bluiett's 10 first-half points, but the Bulldogs offense proved tough to keep up with.
The Gonzaga offense worked for wide-open threes, and the Bulldogs took advantage by draining eight of 13 three-pointers.
That number was boosted by two three-pointers from Nigel Williams-Goss, who hit this three off the feed from Przemek Karnowski, via NCAA March Madness. The big man was relatively quiet in the first frame with just two assists, two points and no rebounds:
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 25, 2017
Not only were the Bulldogs able to clamp down even tighter in the second frame, they continued to score at will and made statement heading into the Final Four.
Postgame Reaction
Few has waited a long time to break through to the Final Four, and he wasted no time in thanking his guys for getting it done, via March Madness TV:
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 26, 2017
Williams-Goss did a little of everything in Gonzaga's win, but he reveled most in the fact that his team proved doubters wrong with its tournament run, as WCC Sports' Sarah Kezele noted:
Nigel Williams-Goss, repeatedly: "They said we weren't going. They said we weren't going!"
Of course, the sweetness of victory means the bitter taste of defeat for some. Xavier head coach Chris Mack was disappointed that his team didn't play to the best of its ability in the spotlight, as NCAA March Madness relayed:
Coach Mack was quick to give Gonzaga's players credit, too. Karnowski didn't put up gaudy numbers, but the coach was impressed with his ability to attack the Musketeer zone with his passing. "No team that has played our zone has had a passer like Karnowski," per Wilner.
Mack came up short of getting Xavier to its first Final Four, but he can say he maximized the talent he had by taking the No. 11 seed to the Elite Eight.
Nobody Knows What West Virginia Was Doing at End of Sweet 16 Game
Mar 24, 2017
BR Video
The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 61-58 in Thursday's Sweet 16 showdown in San Jose, California, but it was the game's wild ending that was the talk of social media after the final buzzer sounded.
In short, many struggled to figure out what the Mountaineers had planned for the situation. Bleacher Report gave the ending the meme treatment by melding it with this Instagram post from Anthony Davis' house:
Whatever West Virginia's scheme was, it didn't work, as a pair of West Virginia players failed to get a shot off before time expired.
The Bulldogs won't mind, as they danced into the Elite Eight.
Gonzaga vs. WVU: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2017
Chris Roling
Mar 23, 2017
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Johnathan Williams #3 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrates their 61 to 58 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 23, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Advertised as a defensive battle, Thursday's Sweet 16 duel between No. 4 West Virginia and No. 1 Gonzaga lived up to the billing. The Bulldogs outlasted the Mountaineers 61-58 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Gonzaga's Jordan Mathews and West Virginia's Jevon Carter traded clutch shots late in a defensive-minded affair, with the former getting the last laugh to ice the instant classic:
Four players scored in double digits for the Bulldogs while trying to power through the press, paced by 13 apiece from Mathews, Johnathan Williams and Przemek Karnowski. But they couldn't shake the turnover woes that started in the prior round (13 against Northwestern), turning the ball over 16 times, shooting 40.9 percent from the floor (18-of-44) and only hitting 21 of 32 from the free-throw line.
Carter countered Gonzaga's defense with a game-high 21 points, and the Mountaineers hit 21 of 29 attempts from the free-throw line to counteract 13 turnovers and 26.7 percent shooting from the floor (16-of-60).
The box score doesn't show it thanks to 29 combined turnovers, 51 personal fouls and 61 free-throw attempts, but it was one of the most entertaining tournament games so far this year:
Thursday's game had a heavyweight feel to it. Aptly nicknamed "Press Virginia" came in forcing 20.1 turnovers per game, best in the NCAA. Gonzaga responded by attacking the press all 40 minutes, creating a stalemate of sorts, which was to be expected considering the Bulldogs ranked first in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom.com, the Mountaineers fifth.
West Virginia (24th in RPI at ESPN.com) cruised past fifth-seeded Notre Dame in the last round, 83-71, forcing the normally composed Fighting Irish into 13 turnovers. Gonzaga (No. 8 RPI) permitted a late comeback thanks to turnovers against eighth-seeded Northwestern in an eventual 79-73 win.
The first half was, in a word, sloppy. A review: a 30-30 tie, 13 combined turnovers, 27 combined personal fouls and 37 combined free-throw attempts. Both teams were likely happy to be in the game at all considering West Virginia shot 22.6 percent from the floor (7-of-31) and Gonzaga 37.5 percent (9-of-24).
It should go without saying, but any semblance of highlights centered on the defensive side of things:
Maybe sloppy isn't a fair classification. This might work:
Regardless, the half featured a symbiotic relationship driving down the entertainment value—so many fouls led to unorthodox lineups.
The complexion of the game changed early in the second half when Mathews started hitting his looks. He hit back-to-back deep conversions, including this momentum-grabbing highlight:
Mathews, though, responded before the Bulldogs finished the game strong in a half-court defensive set—no surprise given their defensive prowess.
With the win, Gonzaga advances to the Elite Eight to face either 11th-seeded Xavier or second-seeded Arizona. Either way, the Bulldogs and Mathews will look to shake the turnover woes in time for another heavyweight encounter.
Postgame Reaction
After, the attention focused on Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and the team’s quest to reach the Final Four.
SWXRightNow caught more of Few’s reaction, which centered on his team’s approach: "These guys handled it very well ... we've talked all week about their half-court defense ... we had to rely on our feel."
Karnowski was one of a few players to praise a much-needed defensive adjustment: "We've been defending really well all season ... we held them to 26% from the field ... going to zone was a really good idea".
'Grateful for Another Chance': Gonzaga's Karnowski Fought Through Major Injury
Mar 22, 2017
BR Video
Gonzaga's big man Przemek Karnowski almost had his career on the hardwood revoked.
Now he's back and looking better than ever. Check out his story above.
Are Gonzaga Bulldogs the Favorite to Snag Their First-Ever NCAA Tourney Title?
Mar 20, 2017
BR Video
The Gonzaga Bulldogs received heavy criticism for a "weak" schedule after being given a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
While some thought they wouldn't last, the Zags are proving they're here to make more than just noise.
Watch above.
Gonzaga vs. Northwestern: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2017
Mar 18, 2017
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 18: Nigel Williams-Goss #5 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs attempts a shot defended by Vic Law #4 of the Northwestern Wildcats during the second round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 18, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs didn't look like a No. 1 seed for the entirety of their round of 64 win over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
The story was the same Saturday.
Matched up against the eighth-seeded Northwestern Wildcats with a Sweet 16 berth on the line, the Bulldogs just barely held on to defeat the Big Ten darlings and capture a 79-73 win at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
Although the Wildcats trailed by 18 points at halftime, they went on a 23-8 run in the second half and trimmed the deficit to five with 5:31 remaining before tensions ran high following a controversial non-call on a late Gonzaga block:
All told, Northwestern shot 40.9percent from the field and 8-of-24from three as their first trip to the NCAA tournament came to a close.
On the flip side, the Bulldogs followed Nigel Williams-Goss' lead in the scoring column.
The junior guard paced Gonzaga with 20 points (6-of-19shooting), eightrebounds and fourassists, and he made an impact in several key areas during Gonzaga's scalding start, according to Draft Express' Mike Schmitz:
Strong start for Williams-Goss. Knocking down pull ups, putting pressure on the rim, dropping in floaters, accurate lob passer, digging on D
In the supplementary scoring department, Jordan Mathews provided welcome reinforcements out of the backcourt to the tune of 14points, sevenboards and threesteals.
But despite the solid backcourt play, the Bulldogs were not always at their most efficient.
The West Region's No. 1 seed shot 44.1percent from the field and 25.0percent from three, marks that likely won't cut it against the West Virginia Mountaineers' press-heavy attack.
The fourth-seeded Mountaineers—who defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 83-71 Saturday afternoon—wield one of the nation's most unique and aggressive defensive schemes, and it could pose problems for a Bulldogs offense that likes to set up its sets quickly by pushing tempo.
If the Bulldogs are going to solve the Mountaineers' fifth-ranked defense and shift things away from a less frenetic pace, the interior play of Zach Collins (14points, fiverebounds), Przemek Karnowski (nine points, fourrebounds) and Killian Tillie (eightpoints, fourrebounds) will be key, as Athlon Sports' Bryan Fischer noted:
Mark Few getting a long look at playing Collins and Tillie together on the block. Notable for next week if there’s more tempo.
Those maulers have the ability to facilitate easy buckets on one end and prevent them on the other, and their size should give the likes of Nathan Adrian and Elijah Macon trouble on the glass.
And with a handful of days to prepare, the Bulldogs should be committed to fine-tuning their game following two relatively uninspiring performances to open the Big Dance.
Postgame Reaction
After the loss, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins reflected on the disappointing result, as March Madness TV documented:
“They showed themselves that they can compete at this level, they belong [here] and that we are a good team” – Chris Collins pic.twitter.com/D9vVju9PjU
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 19, 2017
On the officiating front, Sports Illustrated's Luke Winn relayed a statement from the NCAA that confirmed referees should have called Gonzaga for goaltending:
"Thank you for the statement, appreciate it," Collins said after it was read aloud at his postgame press conference, per Fischer. "Should have been a three point game."
Gonzaga, meanwhile, reveled in the win with a raucous postgame celebration, as shown by NCAA March Madness on Twitter:
At the podium, Bulldogs head coach Mark Few had nothing but praise for Collins and the Wildcats.
"They better step up and keep him [Collins] around because he's really, really good," he said, per CBS 5's Tim Ring.
No. 1 Gonzaga Will Be Battle-Tested for NCAA Tournament After Win at St. Mary's
Feb 11, 2017
Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss, right, drives the ball against Saint Mary's Dane Pineau (22) and Joe Rahon, center, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, in Moraga, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
We have yet to see how Gonzaga handles getting punched in the mouth, something most coaches would say a team can benefit from because it allows for a chance to respond to adversity.
Maybe body blows is all the Bulldogs will sustain this season, though. And while enough of those can be as debilitating as a hard shot up high, to this point the Zags haven't looked dazed or fazed by what their opponents have brought to the fight.
As a result, Gonzaga looks prepared to take its perfect record all the way, regardless of what anyone thinks of the competition it has faced the past two months.
Saturday's 74-64 win at No. 20 Saint Mary's was No. 1 Gonzaga's fourth victory against a ranked opponent this season. The Gaels served as the two most recent foes on that list. The other two, Arizona and Iowa State, doubled as nonconference wins, and the Bulldogs have a victory over a now-ranked Florida squad. That's in addition to impressive triumphs over San Diego State, Washington and a Tennessee team that, by losing by only 10 to the Bulldogs in December, played them closer than most in 2016-17.
Gonzaga (26-0, 14-0 WCC) had only one other game decided by 10 or fewer points between then and Saturday—an 85-75 win Feb. 2 at BYU in which leading scorer Nigel Williams-Goss rolled his ankle early but still went on to score 33 points. He sat out the next contest, and the Bulldogs beat Santa Clara by 35.
Yahoo Sports' Brad Evans believes in them:
Any doubts about Gonzaga now? It has no weaknesses and has beaten every WCC opponent by at least 10 points. Legit nat'l title contender.
Sure, the West Coast Conference isn't anywhere close to the toughest league in Division I. But it's also not a lineup of total cupcakes playing in empty venues that are lacking in hostility. Far from it.
"Every game that Gonzaga plays in the WCC is a storm-the-court game," ESPN's Jay Bilas said during Saturday's broadcast. "It's always sold out, it's always the biggest deal in the place they're playing."
Saint Mary's packed as many people into tiny, high school gym-like McKeon Pavilion for what was its biggest game on the schedule. And Gonzaga only trailed for a few seconds early before making 10 straight shots to build a cushion it would never give up. Even after the Gaels used a 14-9 run to tie it at 23, the Bulldogs shrugged that off and used a 17-2 run to reassert control.
Przemek Karnowski had 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting, scoring 10 points before the first TV timeout.
The second half was more of the same, with Gonzaga's nine-point halftime lead trimmed to 49-44 with 13:34 left. Then Williams-Goss hit a jumper, backup center Zach Collins got a steal, Silas Melson hit a three-pointer and the lead stayed in double digits for all but two minutes and 19 seconds the rest of the way.
The Gaels (22-3, 12-2) aren't the kind of team anyone will want to face next month in the NCAA tournament, not with one of the slowest tempos in the country and an adjusted offense and defense that both rank in the top 50, according to stat guru Ken Pomeroy.
They'll cause heart palpitations for the coaching staff of whoever they draw in the first round, yet Gonzaga beat them by a combined 33 points and held them to two of their worst shooting performances of the season.
It's what Gonzaga does to teams.
Just because we haven't seen it do that against the likes of Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA or Wisconsin doesn't mean it couldn't, and the way it has performed against opponents who have managed to fell those squads says as much.
Take the transitive property as you will, but the Bulldogs' win over Arizona in December means they beat a team that topped UCLA, which has beaten Oregon. By knocking off Iowa State in November, Gonzaga can lay claim to a victory over a squad that recently ended Kansas' long home win streak and by virtue has transitive superiority over Baylor. And it has multiple such triumphs over Kentucky thanks to beating Florida in Orlando and winning at Tennessee.
While topping Saint Mary's means Gonzaga has overcome its last notable challenge prior to the postseason—three of its remaining four games are at home, the lone road game being at 11-15 San Diego—it still has a major hurdle to overcome. That being perception, both from the general public and the NCAA tournament selection committee.
Earlier Saturday, the committee released its Top 16, the first time it's given out any information prior to Selection Sunday on March 12. While the Bulldogs were slotted as the No. 1 seed in the West Region, they were ranked as the worst of the four No. 1s:
There's not much argument with having Villanova as the top overall seed; after all it's the defending national champion and may be better this year than last. But Gonzaga has just as much claim to the second- or third-best No. 1 seed as Kansas and Baylor, and not just through fun with transitivity.
Gonzaga is a team without a weakness, or it's at least lacking one anyone has identified. Had it lost Saturday or some other time this season, we might have an idea of where a flaw may exist. But that hasn't happened. And after 26 wins by an average of 23.4 points, it may never.
All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted.
Don't Believe the Gonzaga Haters: These Bulldogs Are National-Title Contenders
Feb 10, 2017
ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 27: Gonzaga Bulldogs players pose with the Advocare Invitational championship trophy following a victory over the Iowa State Cyclones at HP Field House on November 27, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Gonzaga is a legitimate national-title contender.
That statement alone is enough to set many college basketball fans off. It’s an annual teeter-totter argument between the believers and those who stand behind two facts:
Gonzaga plays in the WCC.
Gonzaga has never made a Final Four.
So with those two truths, how could Gonzaga coach Mark Few have such a great program?
“It’s ridiculous,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who lost to Gonzaga 86-76 on Dec. 18, told Bleacher Report when presented with such a premise. “They’re right there with any of the best teams we’ve played. You can put them up against any team.”
The Vols have played Wisconsin, Oregon, North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida—all current Top 25 teams with the talent to make a Final Four run—so his assessment should carry some weight.
So should that of Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek, who has coached in the Pac-12 and ACC and played the Zags twice already this season.
“They’re clearly an elite team and one of the best teams in the country,” Sendek said. “I think that’s obvious at face value.”
Barnes said after playing the Zags that he thought they would go undefeated the rest of the regular season. And so far he’s proved prophetic; the Zags are 25-0 as they head to No. 20 Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
Gonzaga beat Saint Mary’s by 23 four weeks ago, but the Gaels are the stiffest test left on the schedule and a win there makes an undefeated regular season more likely than not.
Which would only make the doubters scream louder.
A simple Google news search for “Gonzaga” right now, for instance, produces stories like this that uses the WCC and past NCAA tournament results to suggest the Bulldogs aren’t anything more than a really good mid-major program.
This is why all that is a bunch of bull.
Gonzaga has pros
There are many ways to try to predict NCAA tournament success, but one easily identifiable characteristic of past champions is those teams typically have several future NBA players.
The champions since the turn of the century—excluding last year's Villanova since much of the roster is still in college—have produced an average of 4.7 players in the NBA.
An NBA scout who recently traveled to Gonzaga told Bleacher Report that he believes the Zags have six players who have a chance to play in the NBA: Zach Collins, Nigel Williams-Goss, Przemek Karnowski, Jonathan Williams, Killian Tillie and Josh Perkins.
“It’s not a situation where it’s a typical mid-major that overachieves,” the scout said. “They have viable NBA players every season.”
Few does it differently than other programs with a similar caliber of talent. He has three transfers in his starting lineup and two foreign-born players in his rotation.
“They’re stuck in a very awkward place to recruit so they’ve zigged when everyone else has zagged,” the scout said. “They’ve thought outside the box, and they’ve been creative with how they’ve recruited.
“They’re in Spokane, Washington. It’s not like a recruit is getting off the plane and thinking, yeah, this is it, man!”
While the location and league might be hurdles, Few has still been able to land several high-major caliber recruits in the states.
Perkins was a 4-star recruit from Colorado who had offers from Arizona, Kansas and UCLA, per Scout.com. Collins, the 7'0" freshman from Las Vegas, was a McDonald’s All-American.
“I think they have more depth than some of the teams they’ve had in the past,” the scout said. They’re bringing a McDonald’s All-American off the bench, and he’s cool with it! He comes in and he does his thing.”
Collins, who will be a first-round pick whenever he decides to leave Gonzaga and could be a lottery pick, is averaging 24.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per 40 minutes. He shoots 69 percent from inside the arc and has made 6-of-14 threes.
And, yeah, he comes off the bench.
“That tells you how good they are,” Barnes said, “because he would start for any other team in the country.”
Gonzaga is dominant on both ends
PROVO, UT - FEBRUARY 02: Nigel Williams-Goss #5 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs attempts to drive around L.J. Rose #5 of the Brigham Young Cougars during a game at Marriott Center on February 2, 2017 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
KenPom.com, the go-to site for college basketball analytics, has produced a pretty simple formula for winning a national title.
Every champion but one in his database has ranked in the top 20 in adjusted offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. The one exception, North Carolina in 2009, ranked 21st in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Gonzaga’s offense currently ranks third and its defense fourth in those metrics.
The Zags are one of seven teams currently who hit the title-winning qualifier—it would be only the second Gonzaga squad to do so, the other was the 2014-15 team—and this group’s level of dominance is trending toward historic.
Gonzaga’s efficiency margin—taking the difference in the adjusted measures—is the fourth-best ever in Ken Pomeroy’s database.
Pomeroy warns we should be cautious in comparing teams from other years when we’re only about 60 percent through the season, and Gonzaga is a team with the “biggest error bars around their measurement” in his top 20.
“It’s a huge challenge to accurately place Gonzaga because all we know they’re way better than their conference,” Pomeroy said.
That said, Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency margins are the least subjective way of judging teams and the Bulldogs compare favorably against other elite teams in mid-February. Pomeroy pulled the numbers for each season on Feb. 8 dating back to 2012, and Gonzaga’s efficiency margin only trailed 2015 Kentucky in that sampling.
Adj. EM on Feb. 8
End of season
Finish
1. Kentucky (2014-15)
34.24
36.90
Lost in Final Four
2. Gonzaga (2016-17)
33.24
???
???
3. Florida (2013-14)
32.27
28.55
Lost in Final Four
“I think it’s pretty clear this is the most well-rounded team they’ve had under Mark Few,” Pomeroy said. “If you were going to pick any team to go to the Final Four, it’d be this one. They don’t have obvious weaknesses. They’re pretty deep. They have a lot of the makeup of a good power-conference team.
“I think you’re on pretty safe ground putting them in that pool of teams that could go to a Final Four and win a national title.”
About that schedule and the WCC...
Feb 4, 2017; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs students holds up the Bulldogs current overall record after a game against the Santa Clara Broncos at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Bulldogs won 90-55. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
The fact that Gonzaga plays in the WCC is not enough reason to diminish its chances for making the Final Four, but as Pomeroy stated, it does make it difficult to compare the Zags against other top-tier programs.
To Few’s credit, he always schedules aggressively in the non-conference. Gonzaga played five major-conference teams (Florida, Iowa State, Arizona, Washington and Tennessee). Four of those are projected to make the NCAA tournament.
Florida is ranked sixth in Pomeroy’s ratings and just ran Kentucky off the floor. Arizona has climbed as high as fifth in the Associated Press poll and will likely be a top-two or three seed in the NCAA tourney field.
If you average out the rankings of those five teams on Pomeroy’s site, it’s 48.4. That’s roughly the equivalent of playing five games in the ACC, in which teams have a 45.5 average ranking.
Granted, Gonzaga did not have to play any of these teams on the road, but four were neutral-site games and the Zags outscored those five power-conference teams by 14.7 points per 100 possessions.
Any other team that does that against that caliber of opponents in a power-conference league would be considered a national-title contender.
Gonzaga is also working with a luxury that 2015 Kentucky had because of its depth. Those Wildcats were in one of the worst power-five leagues, but their practices were super competitive because John Calipari could have his two platoons square off.
"Gonzaga's practices are wars because they have such a volume of talent up and down," the scout said.
Let’s also go ahead and squash the notion that past tournament losses suggest Gonzaga is just incapable of winning a title.
Four of the last five years the Zags have lost to eventual Final Four teams, one of those in the Elite Eight against the eventual national title winner (Duke) in 2015.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 23: Kelly Olynyk #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives to the basket against Ehimen Orukpe #21 and Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament a
The 2013 season gets used against Gonzaga because that team had a No. 1 seed and lost in the round of 32. But the Zags lost to Wichita State, a team that had three eventual NBA players, made the Final Four and went 35-1 the next season, also losing in the round of 32 to a stacked Kentucky roster that ended up in the national title game.
And in that loss to the Shockers, the Zags led by seven with 5:31 left and Pomeroy’s numbers had Wichita State at a 7.4 percent win probability at that point.
That comeback was the start of a historic run in college hoops, built around three future pros.
But shame on those Zags for losing.
The timing is right
Feb 4, 2017; Spokane, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few reacts after a foul call against the Bulldogs during a game against the Santa Clara Broncos during the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Spo
There is no guarantee that this is the year Gonzaga breaks through, because the NCAA tournament does not care about narratives or teams that deserve to break through. Anyone who tells you team X is guaranteed to get to the Final Four is foolish.
But there are characteristics of teams that have success in March, and Few has built what is essentially the perfect modern-day roster for a tournament run.
Mainly, a combination of experience and talent, and having it at the right spots.
At point guard, he has a pro in Nigel Williams-Goss, who was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school and is now a fourth-year junior.
Williams-Goss started his career at Washington and played for two mediocre teams before transferring out. That experience gave him some perspective that most players with his talent do not have.
“They’ve totally rebuilt Williams-Goss,” the scout said. “They’ve made him more into what he was reputed to be at Washington, and that’s not a slight against Washington. It’s the situation he’s in. He’s a little older now. He’s a little more mature. He’s in elite shape and he has an ability to kind of show out a little bit more at Gonzaga.”
The scout compared Williams-Goss to former Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon, who is killing it with the Milwaukee Bucks. One reason for the comparison is a realization that intangibles and playing the game the right way will get them to the league.
Williams-Goss is smart enough to know that he doesn’t need to dominate the ball, but, rather, keep feeding Gonzaga’s four-headed beast in the interior.
Gonzaga is one of the rare teams that can crush you with back-to-the basket scoring.
The Zags entered Thursday’s game scoring at a 1.07 points per possession clip on post-ups, which ranked second nationally, according to Synergy Sports Technology. Gonzaga has also scored the second-most points on post-ups, trailing only Purdue.
Karnowski is one of the toughest covers on the blocks because he’s immovable with a soft touch, and bringing a double-team is not an advisable option. Karnowski is such a gifted passer that teammates and coaches call him “Magic Przemek," and doubling him typically results in a wide open layup or three-pointer.
Few still has Karnowski in Spokane because of a back injury that put him on the shelf last year and forced him to redshirt during his senior season.
That allowed Karnowski to play one season with the perfect complement to his game, Missouri transfer Jonathan Williams. Similar to former Gonzaga big man Kyle Wiltjer, Williams thrives in the high post, giving room for Karnowski to set up camp on the blocks. But unlike Wiltjer, Williams is a versatile defender who is comfortable out on the perimeter.
According to Synergy’s numbers, Karnowski is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country—allowing 0.54 points per possession—because Williams allows him to simply hang back in the paint and make opponents shoot over Mount Przemek.
MALIBU, CA - JANUARY 28: Nolan Taylor #31 of the Pepperdine Waves looks to shoot the ball while being guarded by Przemek Karnowski #24 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Firestone Fieldhouse on January 28, 2017 in Mali
Freshmen Collins and Tillie also offer similar versatility and are Gonzaga’s best shot-blockers. When they sub in, Gonzaga doesn't miss a beat.
It’s arguably the best frontcourt in the country and definitely the deepest.
Then on the perimeter, the Zags spread the floor for their bigs with three-point threats. Jordan Mathews, a grad transfer from Cal, was the dead-eye shooter on the wing this team was missing.
Third-year sophomore Josh Perkins was the team’s starting point guard last season and slid over to shooting guard with Williams-Goss in the lineup. Perkins is Gonzaga’s most accurate three-point shooter (43.7 percent) and playing two point guards has been a recipe for success in the tourney recently—the last four national champs have had similar two-point guard backcourts.
Gonzaga also has a starter-level guard in junior Silas Melson, a strong defender who averages 8.1 points per game off the bench.
“They give you so many problems because their perimeter is good and they’ve got experience,” Barnes said. “They’ve got so much size that they can bring at you, and they just have an unbelievable culture of winning.
“I also thought they had terrific chemistry. I think they really enjoyed playing together. Being on the court with them, you could see the way they play with emotion and always talking to each other.”
Barnes went on to say that he doesn’t think Gonzaga has any weaknesses, that they play with a sense of freedom and swagger.
“I think it’s the best team they’ve ever had,” Barnes said.
Every coach interviewed for this piece, Iowa State's Steve Prohm included, put Gonzaga among the title contenders. The Zags simply fit the blueprint in every way.
In a season where the perceived elite in November (Duke, Kansas, UCLA and North Carolina) have come back to the field, maybe this is Gonzaga’s year.
Or maybe it isn’t.
Nothing is a given in the NCAA tournament. But Few is as well-equipped as ever to shut up the doubters for good come April.
C.J. Moore covers college basketball and football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @CJMooreBR.
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