HOUSTON For a while Friday night, Gonzagas strategy seemed to be: Lets miss shots by a smaller margin than UCLA. Gonzaga struggled to put the ball in the basket. UCLA struggled to put the ball near the basket. For long stretches, it was the kind of ugly game that makes people question why basketball has to be played in a dome. Or at all, really.
And you know what? It didnt matter. The Bulldogs were never going to lose this game. Never. Not from the opening tip, not when the teams combined to miss 19 straight shots and not when the Bruins went on a predictable run to start the second half, cutting Gonzaga's seven-point halftime lead to 35-34.
The Bulldogs were the tougher, smarter, more skilled team, and they knew it all along. The difference in Gonzagas 74-62 win in the Sweet 16 of the South Regional could be summed up in two players. UCLA has a freshman named Kevon Looney who could be an NBA lottery pick this summer. He finished with nine points and eight rebounds, but there were members of the Gonzaga band who had a bigger impact on the game.
Meanwhile, Bulldogs center Przemek Karnowski had 18 points, nine rebounds and roughly 11 yells with his fists outhe was one rebound away from a Caveman Triple Double. He was fantastic. Somebody should reward him with a jersey that isnt so tight,
And when it was over, Gonzaga coach Mark Few poured some verbal high fructose corn syrup on his press conference. He talked about all the lovey-dovey college stuff that makes people roll their eyes. But if you watched the game, you could see it. You could see what Few meant when he said this:
"The biggest thing with this win is, it allows this group to play together, which is the highest motivating factor theyve got going on. Were 40 minutes away from another week together. The way they feel about each other, care about each other and love each other, that is the motivating factor."
Thats nice, Coach, but those of us in the media will choose your motivating factors, OK? You just coach the team.
We have decided that your team's motivating factor is to bring Gonzaga to its first Final Four, thus legitimizing the incredible success the program has enjoyed for the last 17 years unless you then lose in the Final Four, at which point we will decide you need to win a national championship. Got it? Thats your narrative. Dont stray from it unless we give you permission.
Kidding aside, even Few would acknowledge that making the Final Four would mean so much for Gonzaganot just for the current players, but for all the former ones. And you know, its unlikely that the Bulldogs will beat Duke on Sunday, because the Blue Devils are the second-most talented team in the country and are playing extremely well. But its not impossible.
Duke has the nation's best post player in 6'11" freshmanJahlil Okaforbut does not have much depth behind him. And while Okafors defensive deficiencies have been overblown, he is always at risk of getting into foul trouble. With the 7'1"Karnowski and 6'10"Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga can make Okafor work on defense, and may be able to send him to the bench.
Thats where I think our teams deadly, said Zags star Kyle Wiltjer, who was speaking generally, not about Duke specifically. We have that depth and we can put really big foul pressure on other teams bigs. Sometimes we get easy baskets because they are scared theyre gonna foul.
Few called upon that strength during the only moment when there was any real tension in Friday's game, after the Bruins had gotten within one point two minutes into the second half. He called timeout, tweaked the Bulldogs' defense against pick-and-rolls and reminded his team to play inside-out.
We called a bunch of sets that pretty much demand the ball goes in there, Few said.
Gonzaga respondednot just by playing well, but by playing well in exactly the way Few wanted. As Wiltjer, the junior forward who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, said: We really just stayed true to our values Were very confident. We believe that we belong here. Were playing with a chip on our shoulder.
Few said afterward: We didnt play perfect tonight. Probably didnt even play what we would consider really good. But we were tough and we were physical.
The Bulldogs werent very good, but they were good enough. Thats the sign of an outstanding team. They will have to be great to beat Duke. But know this: They will be ready. After all these years, give them that.
Fast Breaks: (1) Wisconsin vs. (2) Arizona preview
The Wisconsin Badgers will take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in an Elite Eight matchup in the West region.
Source: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/27/gonzaga-ucla-sweet-16-ncaa-tournament
