One of the unrealized perks of having an infant in my life is that I need to turn off almost every single Gonzaga game for bedtime-related activities.
In previous years, myself would whole-heartedly disagree with this notion. But my past self would also not have had to sit down and watch a Gonzaga team ranked way-too-high in the analytics absolutely hecking struggle to a 27-24 lead at half against LMU, at home, on Februrary 6.
Sure, Gonzaga won the game handily by the final box score. The defense was improved. Yay. It is what we all asked for.
Apparently it came at the expense of any sense of offensive joy, and for the first 20 minutes of this game, we were all forced to endure the unhappiness. The Zags looked joyless on the floor. Five guys standing around with their thumbs up their asses as if they had just seen a basketball for the first time in their lives. I rather would’ve watch Saint Mary’s on offense. That is how painful it was.
The Zags have lost close game after close game against largely good teams. They’ve also dropped a couple of question marks against West Virginia and Santa Clara. They’ve looked absolutely amazing 23 games ago, and since then, in general, they’ve looked, smelled, tasted, and felt thoroughly mediocre.
I know that being a fan is going with the good and suffering through the bad. TRUST ME. I went to 30 Mariners games in 2010 and they were 3-27 in my presence if I remember correctly. And yet, I still had fun. The Mariners were a laughably bad team and that was that.
However, this Gonzaga team is supposedly good? Or at least that is what the analytics tell us. And yet, every night, we see bad. The question is just how long the bad stretches for.
Some nights, it only happens for three or four minutes and unfortunately those three or four minutes are the final three of four minutes of the game. Other nights, like tonight, it is longer–MUCH LONGER.
That isn’t fun. That isn’t the escapism sports allows. Turning on each night and authentically investing in this team seems like more effort than it is worth given the ROI on the season. That feeling is a bummer. It isn’t like I am wanting the guys to fail by any stretch. I’m just wanting them to play better basketball. And if you find yourself wanting the team to play better basketball in February, well sir, things aren’t going so well.
Gonzaga won by 20 tonight. There is something special about a team that is able to make a 20-point win leave a bad taste in the mouth, but that is this team’s daily special.
March can always dictate a different outcome. This team could end up in the Final Four and all will be forgiven. But for now, I’d argue we are watching probably one of the worst Gonzaga teams in well over a decade. It is a group of guys who still don’t know how to play together for reasons no one can quite figure out. The mesh just isn’t there. Whatever magic that normally exists in the locker room, they must’ve deep cleaned it out.
The final stretch of the season isn’t easy. Five of the final six games: home vs. San Fran, at WSU, home vs. Saint Mary’s, at Santa Clara, and at San Fran. Based on play tonight, I’d say Gonzaga loses at least three of those games.
Woof. Just woof. Turning into WCC contests can be hard enough sometimes, and these guys sure don’t make it any easier.