Postgame thread: Gonzaga-Memphis

Beat Portland, the late game on Thursday, concludes at 10:30 pm, on the plane 11:30 am Friday for a Memphis bombing run, back on the plane. Taken Care of Business, great job ZAGS!!!!

Zag Man is in Florida this week and weekend…..so he stays up past 2 a.m. on Thursday night watching the Portland game…..which was well worth it, IMO. Today, he has a dinner engagement at 6 p.m., but the Memphis game was in the balance, and he ends up calling his friends and asked them to wait for 5 more minutes so he can see the end of the game….which again was well worth it! The Zags really looked like a mature team during the last 4-5 minutes of this game and that won it for them. Memphis is a very good and very athletic team. However, I felt our maturity and defense won this game for us. I’ve been really impressed with how the Zags have played defense in these past two games, as they remind me of the team that played so well in Maui! Matt played his usual solid game and made the big free throws at the end. He certainly would be deserving of winning the WCC POY because of his consistency throughout the season. Will Foster, IMO, played his best game of the year and was steady throughout! Congratulations to Big Will! Finally, Rob Sacre played big tonight and was a difference maker in the paint! He scored, rebounded, and defended like the big-time player he will become!

I think the thing that impressed me the most in this game was the calmness of our players during those last couple of minutes. The Zags made their free throws, made the defensive stops, and then executed on the offensive end. To me, they looked like a nationally ranked team tonight! I don’t think there are a lot of teams in the country that would want to face the Zags in the NCAA Tournament on a neutral court! Zag Man will sleep well in Florida tonight!

Will & Rob played awesome tonight. Bouldin was solid and consistent, as usual. Elias struggled, but never let up made a key basket late, I like the fact he still wants the ball at the end of the game even on a bad night. Meech another solid defensive performance, with great ball control. I would like to have seen him continue the fast break to ice the game but he was clutch at the line late when it counted. Good thing Few didn’t listen to me and others. I do not think he is so a true PG, so much as he is ball handler & defensive specialist. Bouldin is the one who directs the team w/ or w/o the ball. Should his FT% improve teams will be less likely to collapse on him inside the paint. Steve w/ another clutch three late to give us the lead, it seems to be either him or Matt each night.
Manny being Manny!
Foster being Bill, okay a little stretch, after all he is three inches taller, (pun intended).
Best game of his career, difference in the game as far as bench play is concerned.
KO w/ another up & under move to the basket.

Enjoy this one Zags you earned it!
Kennel & Players, I just know you are fired up!
Study, cite your sources on those papers, and prepare for St. Mary’s to meet their doom!

We proved we are worthy, on the road even.
Our resume is one of the best.
Has there been a team all season that has had the road trips Gonzaga has had.
We know those Blue eyes wouldn’t travel to Alaska for an Iditarod shootout.

Great game @ Memphis, OU beats Texas, Illinois beats MSU and BYU loses. What more could you ask for?

We’ve got serious problems with too much depth in the 1-3 slots. Few feels like he has to play Bouldin 37+ minutes a night and Gray needs to be about the same. This leaves just Meech’s spot for any real flexibility to rotate Kong, Arop, Villarino and Gibbs into the game. That is 5 good, young players to compete for about 46 minutes a night. None of them are getting consistent opportunities to show what they’re capable of and develop. It has to be affecting all of their confidence.

Look at Gibbs’ line over the previous 2 games:
32 mins, 4/9 FG, 2/2 FT, 1/2 3’s, 11 pts. 6 rebs, 2 asts, 3 TOs.
The game before that he played 2 minutes against SCU.
The game before that:
17 mins, 3/5 FG, 2/4 FT, 8 pts, 6 rebs, 1 ast, 1 TO
The 5 games before that, a combined 2 minutes.
Today:
0 minutes, and 1 post game tweet: “What a great seat I had at the game today! First class treatment!”

Arop, Villarino, Kong all have similar stretches throughout the season. It’s not good for the development of any of them and will end up costing us down the road.

Just my 2 cents, take it for what it’s worth (1 cent on the open market).

two on the road (LMU & Pepp), Bakersfield a nonconference tournament tune-up since the WCC tourney is so early.
 I do see the WCC getting three in as Gonzaga is now a lock, barring a seven game losing streak; St Mary’s is in (before a second Pac -10 anyway) even if Zags sweep, as long as the Gaels win all other regular season games remaining as they would be 24-4.
Which means a conference tourney upset could lead to a 3rd WCC team.

or would that be Drew.
Watched the game again (had it tivoed), even though his shot was off he fed Sacre, Goodsen, Bouldin, Gray, and Foster for easy pts in the paint or wide open 3’s.

Rob’s 3pt the hard way was awesome, I believe he is back, with a vengance and an intent to prove he could be the go to guy if needed.

Elias has been quiet points wise, but just like Manny finding other ways to contribute, which will elevate him into an even more dangerous player in the tournament and next year.

Matt arguably the most consistent (on the positive swing of the pendulum) player in college ball.

Bouldin, Foster, & Elias

we would still have:
Gray (Sr.), Sacre (Jr), Goodson (Jr), Olynyk (Jr), Arop, Kong, Gibbs all sophmores, and some kid who’s father leads the NBA in assists and a few other prospects.

Gonzaga just reloads!

These guys will have tournament experience come November, for now all that matters is
St. Mary’s.

*Great road win in hostile territory! Hey- shouldn’t the 30 year old coach in diapers have to pay his dues. After his tirade, the refs made “make-up calls”. Should have been a T and the Zags would have put the game away.
*Oklahoma home big.
*Illinois had a huge win.
*BYU got pummeled.
*Wake Forest is playing better.
Let’s get that seed in Spokane.

Bol Kong is really struggling offensively, I would say he has hit a wall, he just needs to be more aggressive

Steven, Demetrius, Matt, Elias, Will, Rob all did what it took to win. It is fun to watch a Zags game not know what the end result is going to be. Kind of like the Zags of 1999. The older teams just kept cutting wood as Few is want to say. That is what happened in Memphis. This next Thursday will be very interesting.

we aren’t in spokane yet and St Mary’s is coming at maybe the right time for them – everyone is caught on the high of winning at Memphis, and they need to win in an impressive fashion. All this staying in Spokane talk is still way too early

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but can someone explain why Sacre got called for a foul when he tried to block that 3-point shot? I watched it a few times, and there’s no way he made contact with the Memphis player until after the ball left his hands. Is it still a foul if you hit somebody after they’ve made the shot?

Clearly, I’m more a fan of basketball than a player of the sport.

I was at the game and that call just looked like complete BS…I mean he fell down WAYYYY after he took the shot.