10 Observations from Gonzaga’s win over Saint Mary’s

Order is restored, and in the most fun way possible. The Zags put on a clinic at both ends of the floor while looking like a team that has hit its stride at the perfect time. The trick now is to bottle up the magic they had in Vegas and take it on the road to wherever the NCAA Committee sends them next week. Too much to ask?

1. Drew Timme now stands alone. His is an achievement built by thousands of hours in the gym, care and attention from his coaches since he was a kid until today, a great collection of teammates that helped him be his best on the floor, and the enduring support of his family. It takes a village to come away with a legacy achievement like that. What a player. What a career. What a Zag.
2. Anton Watson ripping a rebound out of Kyle Bowen’s hands a few minutes into the game previewed what was to come the rest of the night and was emblematic of this rivalry and Gonzaga’s dominance of the WCC. May it never end.
3. It wasn’t the quick offensive start Gonzaga fans might have been hoping for, but I’ll certainly take a stout defensive start in its place. It’s exceedingly difficult to keep the Gonzaga offense at bay forever, even with a defense like Saint Mary’s, so a few minutes of quality defense from Gonzaga in both halves to pair with the offense will go a long way to securing a W in every game.
4. Gonzaga didn’t even dial up the press very much but the Gaels were still completely out of sorts. The Zags were attentive to disrupting passing lanes, were tough in contesting at the rim on SMC’s drives, and did a nice job with switches on Aidan Mahaney to keep him at bay. By the end of the night the Gaels looked like they were seeing ghosts and were tentative even when they had good looks.
5. Logan Johnson threw up some prayers at the basket in the first half. I was not complaining that the guy we saw in the Kennel didn’t show up for this game.
6. Saint Mary’s was once again reminded that it is exceedingly difficult to beat Gonzaga twice in one year. LMU found that out a few weeks ago, and Saint Mary’s has now found it out twice. The Zags learned and grew from their shortcomings this season, and demonstrated that they have tremendous pride based on how they’ve bounced back against each of those teams.
7. The Zags dominated this game without having a prolific night from the three-point line until the game was well into garbage time. The ball movement was flowing and the Zags were getting a lot of good action moving to the rim, which is not something that Saint Mary’s gives up easily.
8. Anton Watson’s floater is unstoppable these days. Just let him and Drew tear teams apart from eight feet and in.
9. If Nolan Hickman shoots in the tournament like he did in this game, the Zags will be a very tough out. His confidence was sky high in the second half and you could how that manifested in his aggressiveness off the bounce, which we haven’t seen too much of this year.
10. Give Anton Watson the respect he deserves!