How to beat Gonzaga

[Kemba Time]

I always look back at their non-conference games against more athletic top teams to see where Gonzaga might be exposed later in the tournament.

Two games stand out this year:

1. Gonzaga beat Xavier in an almost dead-even Phil Knight matchup. X struggled on the glass and Strawther went off late, but these two teams are mirror images of each other in style of play and Xavier is definitely the comp to go to for our closest opponent (Hurley said as much this weekend too).

2. Texas completely dominated the Zags, and there is a lot UConn can take from what they did so well (and, yes, the game was at Texas which certainly didn’t hurt):

+ Frustrate Timme. Texas‘ long athletic bigs took Timme off his game and the Zags off theirs as a whole. His line looks OK, but he was limited to 10 shots and turned it over 5 times. We have the bigs to do this and can vary looks with someone like Dre coming over. I don’t know how tonight is going to go exactly, but I do know that Hurley is not going to let Timme simply go to work like he did against UCLA last game.

+ Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. The Zags don’t have a real head of the snake type guard and they are not used to seeing top-end ball pressure defense. Texas forced 20 turnovers and the Zags never looked comfortable running their stuff against those athletic guards.

+ Tyrese Hunter went off. Gonzaga elected to play under on a lot of Texas’ ball screens and action, and Hunter made them pay big time with 5 3s and 26 points. Seems like the Zags were trying not to get beat to the hoop by superior athletes and we have guys who can make them pay the same way.

+ Texas turned a bunch of those turnovers into points, taking advantage of having multiple guys who can get out and run. This is something that Gonzaga rarely sees in their conference and a night that Dre’s ability to run the break off of deflections or rebounds and the number of guys we have who can fill a lane or spot up in transition can give them a lot of trouble.

+ Similarly, Texas had 17 assists. Gonzaga had 10. Add the turnovers and 17 assists with 10 turnovers is going to beat 10 assists and 20 turnovers every single time. Just as Texas attacked with multiple guards, the varied action and number of weapons we have is something Gonzaga just does not see often. If the ball moves like it did against Arkansas, there is going to be an opportunity to make the Zags pay possession after possession.

Texas 93-74 Gonzaga (Nov 16, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Texas Longhorns vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 93-74, from November 16, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[UConnRock]

I think that Diarra’s pressure defense will be a factor in segments of the game. The best way to stop Timme is to make it difficult for the guards to run their system

 

[auror]

Texas' defense is on a level above ours I think, and it's important to note that game was essentially the unveiling of their new arena designed to maximize crowd noise. It was a raucous environment.

Our offense is better than Texas, so we're going to have to hope that we can score a bit more efficiently to counter act some of our inability to contain Gonzaga. We've not been forcing many turnovers lately.

 

[caw]

Not sure Texas' defense is a level above UConn's but it is vastly different. UConn really only pressures the ball when Jackson, Diarra and usually Alleyne are on the floor at the same time with Clingan. Texas exerts much more ball pressure throughout the game.

Most of UConn's defense is prevent threes, make shots tough and clear the glass. They don't really go for steals that much.

Even with Clingan in, the defensive philosopohy doesn't change a ton aside from the centers responsibility.

I always look back at their non-conference games against more athletic top teams to see where Gonzaga might be exposed later in the tournament.

Two games stand out this year:

1. Gonzaga beat Xavier in an almost dead-even Phil Knight matchup. X struggled on the glass and Strawther went off late, but these two teams are mirror images of each other in style of play and Xavier is definitely the comp to go to for our closest opponent (Hurley said as much this weekend too).

2. Texas completely dominated the Zags, and there is a lot UConn can take from what they did so well (and, yes, the game was at Texas which certainly didn’t hurt):

+ Frustrate Timme. Texas‘ long athletic bigs took Timme off his game and the Zags off theirs as a whole. His line looks OK, but he was limited to 10 shots and turned it over 5 times. We have the bigs to do this and can vary looks with someone like Dre coming over. I don’t know how tonight is going to go exactly, but I do know that Hurley is not going to let Timme simply go to work like he did against UCLA last game.

+ Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. The Zags don’t have a real head of the snake type guard and they are not used to seeing top-end ball pressure defense. Texas forced 20 turnovers and the Zags never looked comfortable running their stuff against those athletic guards.

+ Tyrese Hunter went off. Gonzaga elected to play under on a lot of Texas’ ball screens and action, and Hunter made them pay big time with 5 3s and 26 points. Seems like the Zags were trying not to get beat to the hoop by superior athletes and we have guys who can make them pay the same way.

+ Texas turned a bunch of those turnovers into points, taking advantage of having multiple guys who can get out and run. This is something that Gonzaga rarely sees in their conference and a night that Dre’s ability to run the break off of deflections or rebounds and the number of guys we have who can fill a lane or spot up in transition can give them a lot of trouble.

+ Similarly, Texas had 17 assists. Gonzaga had 10. Add the turnovers and 17 assists with 10 turnovers is going to beat 10 assists and 20 turnovers every single time. Just as Texas attacked with multiple guards, the varied action and number of weapons we have is something Gonzaga just does not see often. If the ball moves like it did against Arkansas, there is going to be an opportunity to make the Zags pay possession after possession.

Texas 93-74 Gonzaga (Nov 16, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Texas Longhorns vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 93-74, from November 16, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

I tend to think Purdue is a better example of how UConn could beat Gonzaga.

Purdue 84-66 Gonzaga (Nov 25, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Purdue Boilermakers vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 84-66, from November 25, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

That does seem to be a fantastic example of how Texas dominated X yesterday though.

 

[Kemba Time]

Not sure Texas' defense is a level above UConn's but it is vastly different. UConn really only pressures the ball when Jackson, Diarra and usually Alleyne are on the floor at the same time with Clingan. Texas exerts much more ball pressure throughout the game.

Most of UConn's defense is prevent threes, make shots tough and clear the glass. They don't really go for steals that much.

Even with Clingan in, the defensive philosopohy doesn't change a ton aside from the centers responsibility.



I tend to think Purdue is a better example of how UConn could beat Gonzaga.

Purdue 84-66 Gonzaga (Nov 25, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Purdue Boilermakers vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 84-66, from November 25, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

That does seem to be a fantastic example of how Texas dominated X yesterday though.

I debated using Purdue but thought “Have a 7-foot-4 guy” would be a pretty boring post and feared the negative mojo of comparing us to the possibly the worst tourney performer of all time going into a big game.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Texas' defense is on a level above ours I think, and it's important to note that game was essentially the unveiling of their new arena designed to maximize crowd noise. It was a raucous environment.

Our offense is better than Texas, so we're going to have to hope that we can score a bit more efficiently to counter act some of our inability to contain Gonzaga. We've not been forcing many turnovers lately.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I always look back at their non-conference games against more athletic top teams to see where Gonzaga might be exposed later in the tournament.

Two games stand out this year:

1. Gonzaga beat Xavier in an almost dead-even Phil Knight matchup. X struggled on the glass and Strawther went off late, but these two teams are mirror images of each other in style of play and Xavier is definitely the comp to go to for our closest opponent (Hurley said as much this weekend too).

2. Texas completely dominated the Zags, and there is a lot UConn can take from what they did so well (and, yes, the game was at Texas which certainly didn’t hurt):

+ Frustrate Timme. Texas‘ long athletic bigs took Timme off his game and the Zags off theirs as a whole. His line looks OK, but he was limited to 10 shots and turned it over 5 times. We have the bigs to do this and can vary looks with someone like Dre coming over. I don’t know how tonight is going to go exactly, but I do know that Hurley is not going to let Timme simply go to work like he did against UCLA last game.

+ Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. The Zags don’t have a real head of the snake type guard and they are not used to seeing top-end ball pressure defense. Texas forced 20 turnovers and the Zags never looked comfortable running their stuff against those athletic guards.

+ Tyrese Hunter went off. Gonzaga elected to play under on a lot of Texas’ ball screens and action, and Hunter made them pay big time with 5 3s and 26 points. Seems like the Zags were trying not to get beat to the hoop by superior athletes and we have guys who can make them pay the same way.

+ Texas turned a bunch of those turnovers into points, taking advantage of having multiple guys who can get out and run. This is something that Gonzaga rarely sees in their conference and a night that Dre’s ability to run the break off of deflections or rebounds and the number of guys we have who can fill a lane or spot up in transition can give them a lot of trouble.

+ Similarly, Texas had 17 assists. Gonzaga had 10. Add the turnovers and 17 assists with 10 turnovers is going to beat 10 assists and 20 turnovers every single time. Just as Texas attacked with multiple guards, the varied action and number of weapons we have is something Gonzaga just does not see often. If the ball moves like it did against Arkansas, there is going to be an opportunity to make the Zags pay possession after possession.

Texas 93-74 Gonzaga (Nov 16, 2022) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Texas Longhorns vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs NCAAM game, final score 93-74, from November 16, 2022 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[auror]

I debated using Purdue but thought “Have a 7-foot-4 guy” would be a pretty boring post and feared the negative mojo of comparing us to the possibly the worst tourney performer of all time going into a big game.

The more interesting part about the Purdue game is that they let Timme get his and really stopped Strawther. I think we'll definitely try to do something similar. Will be tough to hold him to 0/4 from three though.

We can beat them on the offensive glass similarly as well

Not sure if we can get to the line that many times though.

 

[caw]

I debated using Purdue but thought “Have a 7-foot-4 guy” would be a pretty boring post and feared the negative mojo of comparing us to the possibly the worst tourney performer of all time going into a big game.

True, but mojo only exists if you think it does. I don't believe it does because Purdue beat Gonzaga.

While UConn doesn't have Edey, I think the thing I took away from that and Texas to an extent is to come close to matching Timme's production with your post players. Gonzaga has trouble when Timme can't dominate the other bigs statistically. They have other guys who can win the game for them, but they rely on Timme being dominate to keep them in games. Not saying you have to shut Timme down, because that will be near impossible. I'm saying Sanogo/Clingan have to at least come close to matching his production.

I think UConn can win the other positions, so keeping that close, or winning it is the key for me.

Unless Hawkins just decides to go bananas on them, which is always possible.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

True, but mojo only exists if you think it does. I don't believe it does because Purdue beat Gonzaga.

While UConn doesn't have Edey, I think the thing I took away from that and Texas to an extent is to come close to matching Timme's production with your post players. Gonzaga has trouble when Timme can't dominate the other bigs statistically. They have other guys who can win the game for them, but they rely on Timme being dominate to keep them in games. Not saying you have to shut Timme down, because that will be near impossible. I'm saying Sanogo/Clingan have to at least come close to matching his production.

I think UConn can win the other positions, so keeping that close, or winning it is the key for me.

Unless Hawkins just decides to go bananas on them, which is always possible.

 

[Kemba Time]

True, but mojo only exists if you think it does. I don't believe it does because Purdue beat Gonzaga.

While UConn doesn't have Edey, I think the thing I took away from that and Texas to an extent is to come close to matching Timme's production with your post players. Gonzaga has trouble when Timme can't dominate the other bigs statistically. They have other guys who can win the game for them, but they rely on Timme being dominate to keep them in games. Not saying you have to shut Timme down, because that will be near impossible. I'm saying Sanogo/Clingan have to at least come close to matching his production.

I think UConn can win the other positions, so keeping that close, or winning it is the key for me.

Unless Hawkins just decides to go bananas on them, which is always possible.

Yup. Think this is much more realistic than Let Timme go to work and take away their other guys.

He’s a guy who can go for 40 if that’s your strategy, their offense runs through him whether its his scoring or passing so if you a make his day hell, you are in a sense taking away the other things they try to do and, perhaps most importantly, I cannot see Hurley’s strategy for defending just about anyone being let their star scorer go off and see where we land.

 

[7774]

Like 80-90% of all college games it will probably come down to making 3s. If we shoot like we have in the first 3 rounds we’ll win the huge, huge majority of the time. If Hawkins shoots like he did against Marquette we’ll lose. In between and it will be close.

People love to do analysis but the reality is you can probably guess the winner of a college basketball game correctly 70-80% of the time if you know nothing beyond 3 point attempts and makes for each team.

 

[Storrsbred]

And exactly how many times did UConn beat X this year?
To me, just because Zags are the mirror of X is very worrisome.
UConn needs to drive a stake through that type of team. Tonight would be a great time to start.

 

[BigFanCT]

And exactly how many times did UConn beat X this year?
To me, just because Zags are the mirror of X is very worrisome.
UConn needs to drive a stake through that type of team. Tonight would be a great time to start.

This is not the team that played Xavier twice

We are on a mission

 

[jibsey]

This is not the team that played Xavier twice

We are on a mission

Agree, I posted this before but Hurley tweaked our individual defense since then.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I think Karaban's defense is going to be key. Sanogo and Clingan should be able to somewhat contain Timme. He's going to get some points. If Karaban can just be good (which he defintely has the ability to) the perimeter guys should be able to attack the 3 point line.

Will also need Jackson to stay out of foul trouble.

Gonzaga and UConn both have potent offenses. I think the difference is on the defensive end and UConn should certainly have the advantage there.

 

[ucp990411]

Texas' defense is on a level above ours I think, and it's important to note that game was essentially the unveiling of their new arena designed to maximize crowd noise. It was a raucous environment.

Our offense is better than Texas, so we're going to have to hope that we can score a bit more efficiently to counter act some of our inability to contain Gonzaga. We've not been forcing many turnovers lately.

Some of you guys crack me up. Texas is better defensive team than us, really? Some guys on the chat say this guy is better than Andre or this guy is better than Newton or that guy is better then Adama or that guy is a better coach than DH. It goes on and on. Come on guys, we are playing for a trip to the final 4. How about if you appreciated the moment?

 

[Fan1978]

And exactly how many times did UConn beat X this year?
To me, just because Zags are the mirror of X is very worrisome.
UConn needs to drive a stake through that type of team. Tonight would be a great time to start.

Xavier was a work in progress when they lost to gonzaga. New coach, new system and new point guard. If uconn plays its normal high intensity defense and limits turnovers they will win. This Gonzaga team not as good as recent years. A healthy ucla would beat them easy. Ucla ran out of gas. Uconn plays 9 and will not tire. Dumb fouls is the only other potential issue.

 

[1999GoodSon]

I think Karaban's defense is going to be key. Sanogo and Clingan should be able to somewhat contain Timme. He's going to get some points. If Karaban can just be good (which he defintely has the ability to) the perimeter guys should be able to attack the 3 point line.

Will also need Jackson to stay out of foul trouble.

Gonzaga and UConn both have potent offenses. I think the difference is on the defensive end and UConn should certainly have the advantage there.

Agreed. I'd up the ante though. We need everyone to stay out of foul trouble especially early. The key to our demolition of Arkansas was our continuous flow of fresh legs, like switching lines in hockey. In other words, we need everyone. Our depth wore them out, and when you're tired and lose a step, you end up playing behind your guy and that's when the fouls start piling up. Help defense down low, abandon the idea of keeping Timme scoreless (ain't gonna happen) and realize it's going to take 40 minutes of total commitment from everyone to win this one.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

 

[Letsgohuskies11]