INDIANAPOLIS – It looks like the Gonzaga Bulldogs should already be in the final four, with 29 wins and not a single defeat in the books and national semi-finals in just six days. However, the best of the teams also need to win four games in the modern NCAA tournament to reach the grandest stage of the game.
The Zags are the best of the teams, but they will still need to prove once again that reaching the destination is every college basketball player’s dream, though perhaps as a gift as planned for the group is more.
Mark Five has been in the Elite Eight as Gonzaga’s head coach and previously as an assistant. This is the program’s fifth appearance, and it has received four times in the last six tournaments.
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Gonzaga has been recently seen as the No. 1 seed in 2019, again in the West Region. That team missed a chance to move on. This team bears an even greater burden, a perfect record and a role as the favorite to win the national championship.
Zags are not a favorite though. They are going to win that team, like Kentucky in 2015 or UNLV in 1991.
“We went 3–0 if we wanted to win the championship,” he told reporters after Sunday dangerously 83-65. No. 5 West Region win over Seed Crighton. “The pressure is on all these teams as you move back and forth along with it. The pressure comes from all kinds of places, and the biggest pressure of all is you just don’t want to end it.”
Usually, something feels different about the regional finals, because after that game either the season is over or this huge basketball extra is available to win another trip with a championship for the extra trip. This year, the title still continues, but reaching the final four means staying inside the NCAA bubble for only one week.
“It just comes so quickly,” some told Sporting News. “Before this time we had too much time, especially when you were not traveling. We had plenty of time. We would not locate our opponent (Oregon or USC) until after midnight.
“There will be a lot of film, a lot of prep work by the staff. This is where there’s a great staff – the staff that I have, I think, is the best in the country … that’s why they’re so valuable Gone. Maybe tomorrow will be nothing more than a walk-through, and then you wake up and the next day is game day. We need to rest and be ready to roll. “
The plan against Creighton was to run the Bluejays from the 3-point line, giving them as few open jump shots as possible. He hit only 5 of 23 out of 3.
In three games that moved the Zags to the Elite Eight, they have won by 43, 16 and 18 points. This average is 26 points. And we all know that it can be about any margin Gonzaga wished. No attempt was made to embarrass the Bluejays, and none warranted it. He had a great season to reach this point.
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It was far from Creighton’s finest, but also far from its worst. When Jas played Georgetown in the finals of the Big East tournament and ran out of the gym, it was some substandard basketball.
“Defense made the difference,” some said. “We did a really good job, especially in line 3.”
Creighton allowed All-America wing Corey Kispert to hound and allow guards Andrew Andrew Bembard and Joel Ayay to shoot 3s unopposed if they wanted. And they did. And he made enough, a combined 6 ball movement of 15. That led to those shots, allowing 23 assists on 34 bunched baskets.
“The whole year was fantastic,” some said. “That’s probably our best feature. That’s why we have such a good balance, which is why we score so well in the paint.
“Maybe you’ve come with us to take a little bit of your poison. At this point in the season, it’s not like there are things that haven’t really been seen. Our people get plans that people choose, and Then they adjust accordingly. “
Marcus Zegarowski of Creighton had no desire to become the latest victim. He will do everything in his power to prevent Gonzaga’s undefeated season from progressing. It would have helped if he made plays, made shots, made magic. How much can anyone do in this game, though, if his name is not James, Jordan or Abdul-Jabbar?
Zagrowski was not alone against the Zags. There was help from any teammates. And yet it seemed as if they were overwhelmed when the game started.
Gonzaga dominated the center draw Dime Lane. The numberhead was rising in double figures the week before. Ayyashi occurred three times from 3-point range in the first nine minutes. Freshman guard Jalan Suggs was so enticing that some of the feeding NBA team made him No. 1 all week, besides the inconvenient fact that there were still 20 minutes left to play, and possibly three more games, and someone A lottery has not been organized yet.
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In this way the breadth of Gonzaga’s talents outweighs opponents: Kipert, the team’s leading scorer, scored just two points in the first half. Creighton ordered 6-5 forward Damien Jefferson to allow Kispert as little room as possible, and the result was a single shot attempt from the Zags senior star. And yet Jas spent most of the half in a double-digit deficit.
Kispert was ready to see his teammates dominate in the first half, but he was certainly not satisfied. They entered the final 20 minutes, to ensure that the game does not become more competitive than any requirement. (Which was: it is not at all competitive).
Kispert took Jefferson to the team’s third offensive possession, using a sizzling cut across the lane as a result of a jumper hanging from 8 feet. He made a layoff three minutes later and converted his first 3-pointer two minutes later, and the Zags took their biggest lead 56–39. He added another 3-pointer, as that was all he needed. He made his point. The rest of the Zags could finish the work.
“At this point, every team has to go undefined to win it, so there’s really no pressure to keep that streak,” Nemhard told reporters. “We always talk about squeezing that last 5 percent, especially at this point in the season. I definitely think we’re still improving. There’s still work we can do. “
“I don’t think we’re at the peak.”
If it sounds inauspicious, consider it as a challenge to Gonzaga as someone else. The Zags do not want to leave this season without playing as many games at the highest attainable level. There will be an opportunity to reduce anything.
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