I'm sure we'll have plenty to say about this game in the next few days but I just wanted to throw up a quick post game thread to let you vent/celebrate/curse/or whatever other emotion you are feeling.
We have come to expect insane things with this Gonzaga team but this is really in a whole new realm. Gonzaga led by 21 early, fell asleep in the middle of the game, and finally woke up in time to steal a win from Illinois in Chicago.
There's a world of negatives we can harp on from this game. Demetri Goodson really, really struggled with turnovers and offensive decision making, Matt Bouldin may have played his worst game not against Memphis for the first 30 minutes, and just the team in general got totally out of sync to the point where fans in our game thread were nearing heart attack levels!
The overarching positive is Elias Harris. He's a true gamer and is the best freshman I've seen in a Gonzaga uniform. He's confident, fiery, and stepped up at the end of the game with big play after big play. He kind of got worked out of the offensive flow in the middle twenty minutes of the game but really asserted himself and flat out wouldn't let his team lose.
I've also got to give a little credit to Steven Gray. He came out of the gates and was the main reason for Gonzaga's big lead, then REALLY fell asleep in the middle of the game but made a few big shots late in traffic and sank two huge free throws before fouling out on a bogus call. I've come to really expect feeling a wave of emotions from Steven and today was no different. Matt Bouldin is the same way. Awful (and I mean awful) early but then hit a few big shots that helped this team win.
All in all, I'm happy. We won and enter conference play on a high note.
What say you?