Gonzaga Defeats San Francisco in Snowy Spokane
by Zach Bell on Jan 19, 2012 10:22 PM PST
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PrintGames like tonight are the reason for the phrase "A win is a win". Gonzaga took down San Francisco this evening in Spokane by a score of 74-63. While they lead by a pretty wide margin for a majority of the game, there wasn't a whole lot to write home about if you are a Bulldog fan. Four Zags were in double figures tonight, led by Guy Landry Edi who scored 15 points off the bench tonight. It was the junior college transfer's best offensive output of his young Gonzaga career. Elias Harris, Rob Sacre, and Kevin Pangos joined Edi in double figures for the Zags.
San Francisco hung with the Zags for most of the first half but a strong end to the half propelled Gonzaga to a 41-32 lead at the break. Gonzaga got off to a very quick start out of the halftime break as Edi, Elias Harris, and a couple of Rob Sacre dunks broke the Dons backs with 15 minutes left in the second half. USF was never able to mount a meaningful run following the first five minutes of the second half.
As I said in the opener, tonight was a fun game to see Guy Landry Edi shine. Gonzaga has had such a weakness all season at the small forward spot so any production out of that role is huge. Many believe Edi is the guy that needs to step up as Mike Hart is really never going to provide consistent offense, Marquise Carter continues to struggle, and Mathis Keita & Monninghoff's minutes are very limited. This puts a ton of pressure on the freshmen backcourt combo of Gary Bell and Kevin Pangos. While the two have handled that pressure admirably, life would be a ton easier if the Zags could rely on production out of the three spot. Edi did a little bit of everything tonight. He knocked down open shots from deep, got to the rim, and made plays. He still really struggles handling the ball and turns it over too much but it is hard to ignore the potential that he has.
To put in plainly, Gonzaga won the game but they are in a bit of a funk that is similar to what we have seen in year's past during WCC play. Not a whole lot of rhythm in their offense, poor against any type of pressure, and just moments where scoring seems to be nearly impossible. I feel like a broken record but the absolute key to this team's success is Elias Harris. Everything runs so much better when he is touching the ball and is allowed to dominate the flow of the game. For whatever reason, the Bulldogs either take a while to realize this or forget throughout the game. Harris' performance this season has been outstanding and his play in the second half was a huge reason why the Zags pulled away.
Feel free to discuss in the comments below. Tonight was just a whole lot of "eh, ok" with some flashes of solid play. The Zags February 2nd date at BYU inches closer and closer. While the Cougars have struggled, a performance like tonight in Provo would absolutely result in another conference loss.
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Carter
I saw slight improvement today. I credit it to the staff keeping him in the game to work through things; the quick hooks often messes with the guy’s minds.
I loved the kennel club tonight. Doolin got a quick 5 points, but once they started chanting “Bieber” at him incessantly, he folded like a lawn chair.
Sacre had a nice game
hopefully this means he’s back.
Check out the picture on the front page of the Spokesman's sports section
No wonder he’s been struggling…
by Pyrrhuloxia on Jan 20, 2012 10:32 AM PST up reply actions
thanks for the pic
Good Grief!…Robs big & strong, but carrying around 2 players all game long might wear a fellow out, ya think? lol
Final 4 or Bust!!~
Holy Cow!!!
Now that gives new meaning to blocking out!!!
We see Rob getting mugged every game…give the guy a purple heart!
No wonders he has had sub par games with having to literally “carry” the other team with him…geez refs, get a grip!
I liked what I saw
SF is no cupcake. I really like that pressure defense they put on the floor. Their best unit for the pressure were the new kids and they will only get better. Now their offense is another matter altogether.
The Zags got schooled a little bit . . . and that’s not a bad thing. Better they have to face this kind of thing now than in a tournament game. Chalk it up to another night of experience with a positive outcome.
mjc
SF seems to always give us trouble.
Its a terrific win. A season has many twists and turns. Some nights we look like superstars, some nights not so much.
It’s a win. Just ask BYU what it feels like to not play your best at home after getting clocked by LMU last night. We were never in any danger of losing. As far as not playing our best…Sh*t happens, and we just happened to win.
15-3 is one of the BEST starts we have had in the past 10 years! Count it.
*Welcome back Rob!
Final 4 or Bust!!~
Bell and Dower
Didn’t think either had a good game. Bell seemed a step slow last night and really stuggled with the high court trap. Dower let them push him off the block (may have been due to the early offensive foul) and never got in a rythmn. I think if those 2 would have had a “normal” game we get them by 25+
Some lengthy, personal thoughts on some of the players:
Pangos continues to be steady at the PG position. I felt like this game did start to get away from him—as he started taking more chances on the attack, but I felt he was able to corral that overzealousness and continue his rock steady play. And I must say, as a freshman, his ideas are all good and, more often than not, he continues to make the correct choices. Also, his shot selection continues to be fantastic, IMO—unlike some players on our team cough Harris cough
Bell Jr. is my new favorite player on this team (sorry Dower!). His defense, much like Pango’s offense, is well above where it should be as a freshman; and now his offense is starting to come around—in an aggressive, smarter shot selection type of manner. So fun to watch this player on the court.
Stockton can play against WCC teams. I am fine with his contribution last night.
Carter is too much of a case study to get into. I just hope he doesn’t hurt us. He didn’t last night.
Sacre is still a machine—and not in a good way. He looks like a robot out there, performing all his functions. Loosen up, man! Feeeeeeel the game. Act and react like a human!…But seriously, I am glad he got back on track. I really hope his confidence continues to grow.
Edi looked great tonight. Yes, he had some pretty horrible moments where he turned the ball over, but he actually looked into this game. What I mean is: Edi looked like he knew he belonged; he was in the flow of the game making plays. Unfortunately, I think his excitement, for finally being in the flow, had him forcing things a bit much, and thus causing those turnovers. I hope he grows off this game and continues to make the smart plays within the flow of the game. Oh, and I hope he keeps shooting well!
Hart was fine. I am still glad he starts.
Dower reminded me that he is still a sophomore. Those 2 bogus offensive fouls got to his head, and everything went downhill from there. I have little to no concern about his play tonight. Young players have these nights, I am confident he’ll grow from this.
Harris. Where should I start? I’ll start with this: He’s just not that good. I would love for him to prove me wrong down the stretch—and especially in the tournament, but I just don’t see it happening. His shot selection is awful—he still forces most everything. His outside shooting is mediocre to acceptable, at best. His free-throw percentage is terrible. His attitude is on the wrong side of intense—it’s more Daye than it is Pendo or Hart. And the only thing that makes him OK are his intangibles—those things like hustle (which, I might add, still lacks, IMO), intensity (which I already mentioned is on the wrong side), luck (because some of those ridiculous shots he takes need some luck to fall!), and I am sure there are others. Like him being from Germany…maybe? I don’t know. Maybe I expect too much from him. But if he is our best player, which many people believe, than we should have nothing but the highest of expectations. And as our best player, we should probably recognize that compared to other teams best players, our’s just maybe isn’t that good. Again, this is my opinion. You may ask, “If Harris isn’t our best player, then who is?” Easy. It’s Pangos.
I just wrote that paragraph and I now instantly regret it. But I am not going to delete it and not post it. Harris just has this weird thing, that I can’t put my finger on, that really gets to me. What I end up putting my finger on, is that maybe (maybe!) he just isn’t that good. Again, I don’t know. I’ve just rambled myself into trouble…(maybe!?)
Pangos...
Pangos is my fav player…even when he has an off night shooting, like last night, he does so many other things well, creating angles to find the open man, and his defense is good! some steals, and he is always willing to take the charge…
Bell, he is progressing nicely, but honestly he was out of his element vs USF, there where a few times he was burned by there guards for the easy lay up, but thats going to happen periodically, he is just a FR, and seems to ooze with potential….
Harris is fine, he definately has some extra pressure/attention on him because our lack of Center play, when he is on, he is unstoppable, I wouldnt call his shot selection horrible because he can hit from anywhere, but last night he did force a few bad shots near the rim when he could have kicked it out…
I want to see some more EDI !
Also some more MM or Keita, Keita comes in and provides a great spark vs LMU and then registers “0” minutes vs SF…still confused about some of these line up questions…idk…
JSH
I think Harris forces shots
Because our coaching staff refuses to run enough plays for him. My one and only criticism of our freshman guards is that they are pretty mediocre at feeding the post. Rob/Elias will have great position on his man and will not get fed the ball. Anyone else notice that harris/Sacre were doing much better at the beginning of the season when Stockton/Carter were getting more minutes?
I’m not saying that I’d rather have these 2 than the freshmen duo, but they certainly make smarter and better passes, especially into the post.
one word
Disagree.
Pangos and Bell are scoring options. I know DS and Quise have gone off at some point in their 1.5 yrs, but the two frosh are always threats and have to be accounted for every possession. I don’t mean to bag, everyone has a place on the team and has proven so.
Did you even read my post?...
I said that Stockton/Carter are better at feeding the post than Pangos/Bell.
Hands down Pangos/Bell are overall better players and scoring options and I would rather have them on the floor for a majority of minutes. I hope that both of these guys can improve their game to become better half court offense passers. I was simply offering an explanation to ZigZag’s comment that Harris forces too many shots.
Totally Agree.
I find myself completely frustrated at times when I see Sacre wide open when the guards continue to pass around the perimeter. Then they try to force it in when there are several guys around the big guys. Sacre at times seems completely frustrated when he works so hard underneath only to get passed up or get a 3 second violation on him. Feed him the ball at the right time, and he can be a monster. Our guards need to work on that for sure. DS and Carter definately have a pass first mentality which ends up better for the big guys.
The timing is just off.
Over and over again. Unfortunatley, Sacre is going to have to deal with the growing pains of Pangos & Bell.
Hopefully, the passes to Rob start coming on time, sooner rather than later.Otherwise, he might drop dead from exertion exhaustion. lol
Final 4 or Bust!!~
if you were Pangos or Bell, would you be feeding Sacre?
Sacre is weak and predictable in the post, just look at what he’s been doing against WCC opponents, or even when he played against a bunch of short and weak players in St. Mary’s and the few times they did pass the ball into him he got blocked or just jumped 1 inch off the ground and lost the ball.
Our post players are not very good, and I don’t blame our perimeter for not feeding them the ball every time down the court. Sacre has to pray that the refs like him and give him some little foul when he goes up like a panzy to score. He really makes me miss the days Violette and Fox, those guys weren’t that good but at least they went to the basket like men.
Violette
Did you even watch Cory Violette play basketball?? He was a double-double machine every game against weak and strong teams. He always got great position in the post and would convert with a great move, dunk, or get fouled and knock down free-throws. He was a beast on the glass too. Always in the right spot, blocked his guy out and got the board. Sorry Irish Zag, not meaning to put you down, but IMO Violette was VERY good and went to the basket like a man!
believe me I love Violette....
he was pretty good, but if he was that great he would have done something in the league? I loved Violette, he might be one of my favorite Zag players all time. He was great against almost everyone and good against the best….but it was all because of how physical he was with the opposition in addition to his soft touch around the basket.
Sacre has that nice touch, but he seems to be the opposite of a bull in a china chop, when that is exactly what he needs to play more like. Personally I’d love to see a charge called against him once in a while, and I wouldn’t even mind seeing a hard elbow to someone’s face once in a while.
Not to mention, I got to party with Violette at his house when I was a freshman and he was a senior, and he could not have been a nicer guy….miss those days
Cory didn't have the foot speed to play in the NBA
In the right situation he could have played but . . . you could say that about a lot of guys.
mjc
Yes, I would be feeding Sacre,
and if I worked on my passing angles and timing, and got him the ball when he should be getting it, maybe Sacre would have a little energy left to get more than an inch off the ground (of course his vertical never was anything to write home about). He has 2/3 guys hanging off of him like a coat rack, doubling and tripling him constantly.That has got to get freaking old, and when the passes don’t come, frustrating.
Our post players admittedly have not been playing very good. But, they ARE good post players. Did you have a different pair you’d like to change with in the WCC?
Sacre has his limitations, I understand how irritating it is when instead of pounding the rock he brings it down and goes into this dribbling mating call. He will never be accused of jumping out of a gym, but he is a load. Ask Dower WHY he red-shirted. He did it because he could not hang with Sacre. He was tired of getting the crap beat out of him during practicing in the low post.
Sacre is no pansy…A little worn down, his knee is almost 100% and his thumb is much better. I promise you he will finish strong and change your opinion of him.
Final 4 or Bust!!~
when does a good post player not have 2/3 guys hanging off him like a coat rack?
That’s the game, and the good post players know how to respond and be productive
And, That is exactly what he has been doing the last couple of games now that
he is getting healthy.
Sacre is one of the best post men in the WCC. He is being productive. I do not see Harris being a coat rack. Wonder how it would affect his productivity if he were one too?
Final 4 or Bust!!~
Harris can be dominate
he simply dissapears at times, and I’m not sure if it is him or the coaches.
We have an excellent 8-10 man rotation.
I do hope K.O. is eating some steaks this season, he has skills and could be dominate.
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