SEATTLE — One by one during Saturday’s post-game media session, Gonzaga coach Mark Few, point guard Ryan Nembhard and post Graham Ike detailed the second-half and overtime issues offensively with a common refrain.
Good looks, not-so-good shooting.
After further review of the key stretches in the Zags’ 90-89 overtime loss to Kentucky at Climate Pledge Arena, those assessments were pretty much spot on.
Of equal concern were Gonzaga’s defensive lapses, which led in part to the Wildcats controlling the glass, as well as its faulty shooting.
And the overriding concern that has emerged in both of GU’s losses this season — finishing tight games by executing at both ends of the court.
The Zags are 1-2 in that department.
They rallied past Arizona State in the final eight minutes, spurred by defensive stops in an 88-80 win in early November. They lost their way offensively and defensively in an 86-78 setback to West Virginia, which outscored GU 55-39 in the second half and overtime.
Saturday was virtually a West Virginia replay with the Wildcats holding a 56-39 edge in the second half and OT.
As combinations go, this one is suboptimal: Gonzaga scored a season-low 29 points in the closing half while yielding a season-high 45 points to the Wildcats.
“They’re a good team, and obviously we had our runs, they had their runs,” Nembhard said. “It was a good basketball game. I think that’ll just prepare us for later in the year for games like this and learn how to close out games a little better.”
How the Zags fare with that task going forward could tell the tale of their season. Only a few teams cruise through March Madness: UConn the last two years, Baylor in 2021 when it handled Gonzaga in the title game and North Carolina in 2009. Most championship teams dig out at least a couple of nailbiters along the way.
So what went wrong inside Climate Pledge Arena? There were countless examples of the Zags failing to hit shots, quality shots, inside and particularly outside.
They had just two turnovers in the final 25 minutes, and one of those was a shot-clock violation a fraction before Braden Huff hit a bank shot. They had very few examples of forced shots or nomadic possessions.
They made 5 of 6 field-goal attempts in crunch time as they attempted to stem Kentucky’s comeback. One problem: They lost ground because Kentucky made 6 of 6 in the same stretch.
On one possession, Nembhard, Nolan Hickman and Khalif Battle all missed open 3-pointers with GU in front 56-50. That came after Ike was unable to connect on a couple of interior shots.
Leading 58-52, Nembhard’s 3-point attempt with the closest defender 10 feet away didn’t drop. Still on top 65-61, Dusty Stromer’s reverse layup rimmed out, and so did his ensuing short bank shot.
The Wildcats’ 1-3-1 zone, whether they stayed in it for a full possession or just for a pass or two, did give GU some problems, but the bigger issue was not converting.
“Again,” Few said, “we were just getting really good looks.”
Ike’s bank shot from 8 feet was a bit too hard on Gonzaga’s last possession of regulation. Overtime was just as frustrating with the Wildcats swatting Ben Gregg at the rim, Nembhard missing a 3-pointer and Gregg and Battle each misfiring on 3s as Gonzaga fell behind 86-79.
Kentucky went from shooting 33% in the opening half to 53% in the second half and 71.4% (5 of 7) in overtime. Rebounding, particularly offensively, helped fuel those rising percentages.
Just when the Zags regained their 3-point stroke and Stromer and Nembhard connected to trim Kentucky’s lead to 86-85, Ike helped on a ball screen to contest Koby Brea’s 3-pointer that bounced off the iron, leaving Michael Ajayi alone in the paint against two UK bigs. He boxed out Amari Williams but Andrew Carr was free to collect the rebound and score on a putback.
It was a recurring problem for GU in the last 25 minutes. Kentucky outboarded the Zags 27-17 in that span and converted nine offensive rebounds into eight points while GU’s seven offensive rebounds led to just two points.
Gonzaga, leading 66-61, forced a missed 3 by Brea, but three offensive rebounds later Otega Oweh scored on a tip-in.
“We did a nice job in the first half,” Few said. “But again, we were caught in rotations and not taking care of our business on the defensive end, then you have guys in tough places. And we kind of started making up rules where we would randomly start doubling guys which opened up the glass and all kinds of things.”
In other words, there are several items on Gonzaga’s crunch time to-do list.
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