Fire back in Zags bellys?

We wrote last week that maybe Gonzaga wasn't fired up enough. This statement came after fumbling a game to Loyola Marymount.

Even the Zags players realized they placed with a laid-back attitude, which can partially explain the 72-54 beatdown on Pepperdine this weekend. However, perhaps the two losses to USF and LMU are a foreshadowing of an early exit in the WCC tournament or worse, in the NCAA tournament. "We just didn't want to have that feeling we had on Thursday. We just wanted to show who we are as a team, not the sleepy, lackadaisical team that has randomly made appearances this year," said Steven Gray.

One key to look for in terms of scouting a potential Gonzaga upset: watch the game's tempo. Gonzaga averages about 69 possessions per game and in some of their closer wins, the pace has slackened (although, weirdly, the loss to USF was one of GU's fastest paced games of the year -- 79 possessions). Slow the pace and Gonzaga could struggle to see the first weekend of NCAA play: "The last game, we weren't pushing the ball at all, and that's a really big part of our game," said Demetri Goodson.

This was from ESPN.com rumors on Feb 22nd or 23rd.