The Gonzaga Bulldogs narrowly escaped with a win at Pepperdine to kick off the WCC slate, 89-82. In recapping a game like this, it is difficult to actually find positives, because there weren’t too many.
However, in the interests of attempting to be remotely objective with the current state of affairs in this squad, let’s try it out.
The Positives
- Braden Huff in the first half (17 points, 8-of-8 FG) and Graham Ike in the second half (12 points, 5-of-6 FG) were two of the reasons Gonzaga won this game. Huff, in particular, helped immensely in building the 18-point halftime lead (more on that in the negatives section). Huff didn’t really play any minutes in the second half, but that was largely because Ike was going to work. The two players’ style of play is largely redundant, and a major reason we rarely see them on the court at the same time.
- Khalif Battle finished with 21 points, but most importantly, he demonstrated down the stretch that he is the guy that needs to have the rock in his hands. He can create instant offense if he gets to the hoop with his right hand. His ability to finish at the rim and/or drain free throws makes him one of the more steady players at crunch time, which this game unfortunately found itself in.
- Gonzaga was aggressive with a capital A on the offensive glass, highlighted by Little Ben Gregg crashing those boards and getting those second-chance points. The Zags finished with 21 second-chance points–a huge game-changer in a contest that runs this tight.
The Negatives
- Gonzaga has struggled out of halftime mightily this season, but this was a whole new level of apathy and ineptitude. The Zags were well on their way to coasting to a win and then Pepperdine, owners of the No. 201 ranked offense in the nation, rattled off a 19-2 run in the first six minutes of the second half to make it a three-point game.
The first five minutes of the second half featured five Gonzaga turnovers and just four field goal attempts. It was an absolutely pitiful display on defense and a completely disinterested effort on offense. For a team that is theoretically as analytically good as Gonzaga, the long stretches in which the squad looks like it has never seen a basketball in its life is utterly baffling. This time, it was nearly the downfall against a Pepperdine team, that in all honestly, deserved to win this game. They actually showed up and cared enough to play for the win. - I really don’t know what Coach Few does with Michael Ajayi at this point. He finally looked like the player the Zags hoped for against UConn. Since then, in four games he has played 65 minutes and scored six points. Last night was really the peak of miserableness. He had four turnovers and just didn’t seem to be moving in step whatsoever with anyone else on the team.
Ajayi is a great defender and a great rebounder. You know who else was? Mike Hart. At this point, if Ajayi is going to be operating as a blackhole on offense, I don’t see a reason to start him. He needs to figure out how to work better in this system, because right now, he isn’t anywhere close to the potential he demonstrated last season with Pepperdine. - The Zags got lit the heck up by freshman guard Jaxon Olvera, who averages 7.8 points on the season and finished with a career-high 27 points. In the second half, it was junior guard Moe Odum who led the charge, scoring all of his 24 points in those 20 minutes. Guys will get hot, so it goes, but it also just kind of shows how wretched of a defensive effort this was on Gonzaga’s end.
- The losses to UConn, Kentucky, West Virginia, and UCLA have all been rather frustrating, but those were losses to three teams who will be high seeds in the NCAA Tournament and then whatever West Virginia is.
Pepperdine is not nearly at the level of those teams. This is a squad that lost to No. 290 ranked Cal-State Fullerton at home, 72-63. Last year, when the Zags hit rock bottom and lost to Santa Clara at home, the Broncos were a borderline KenPom top 100 team. Pepperdine is a top 200 team. There is absolutely no reason that this game should have been single digits for the majority of the second half, and yet, it was.
Full stop, Gonzaga looks like a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament at this point. There is still plenty of time in the season to right the ship. But whereas the previous losses we could all kind of blame on open threes not going in to hold in our sanity, last night’s output doesn’t fit that bill. The Zags just looked like they didn’t give a shit they had to play against Pepperdine and nearly lost. And honestly, they probably should have.