Ok. I know what your thinking...Gonzaga lost another one. Well, honestly im happy. This game was important for one big reason, continuity. The zags continued to improve, they played their hearts out. They didnt beat themselves, if anything they kept in it with a team who was playing very well. Tennessee was relentless, forcing turnover after turnover and out hustling the hobbled zags. When all was said and done, the zags didnt lose, they won at getting Heytvelt those passion minutes and introducing new offensive sets to a team who has looked atrocious on the offensive end all year. Matt Bouldin had 21 points and really set the pace for this bulldogs squad, Josh Heytvelt had some thunderous blocks and dunks. The man who seemed invisible at times against Oklahoma, was simply amazing. Heytvelt is still winded at times, but he demanded the ball and took a lot of attention off the perimeter allowing Austin Daye, David Pendergraft, Steven Gray, and Matt Bouldin to get some nice looks at the basket. One dismal note, Pargo continued his inconsistent play, at times he has looked like a genius(28 points at Oklahoma) and times has played like he did tonight. With the zags firing on all cylinders i think they will be a tough opponent for any team in the country. I honestly think this was the only game all season that a team has outplayed the zags. Wazzu, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech were games where we didnt play to our potential and beat ourselves with bad plays and stupid mistakes. At times the zags disappeared tonight, but i think with so many players just now making it back, that is to be expected. I expect that the whole Zags team will be back to 100% and firing on all cylinders by the Memphis game on january 26th. I expect to be 15-4 by then and back in the top 25 with solid wins over Utah and Georgia. I think we should all be satisfied with the progress that was made tonight. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!
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