Final Score: Duke 76 Gonzaga 41
Box Score Snapshot
Scorer: Robert Sacre 9 Points
Rebounder: Manny Arop 6 Boards
Passer: 3 With 2 Assists
Swatter: Foster/Sacre 1 Blocks
Thief: Steven Gray 4 Steals
Game MVP: Manny Arop
6 Points and 6 Boards
Team Comparison: Zags/Blue Devils
Points: 41/76
Assist to /Turnover Ratio: 0.44/1.23
Rebounds: 29/41
Shooting Percentage: 28%/45%
3pt Percentage: 10%/33%
What it means for the future (Analysis):
Am I a little embarrassed? Yes. Is the the end of all hopes that Gonzaga could compete on a national stage this year? No. The Zags were playing in a Snowfilled New York City roughly 3,000 Miles from home against a team who had probably a 90% fan base in the arena. Matt Bouldin had just returned to practice late last week following a Concussion. Steven Gray is still not himself, his shot has been horrible this year. So what did the Blue Devils do? They realized there was no perimeter game and decided to double and triple team Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. This game got ugly quick and with no one playing to their ability there was little that the coaching staff could have done to jump start this team.
Contrary to popular opinion, Mark Few did not decide this game. He and his assistants did what they could to stop the bleeding but when someone has suffered internal organ failure on this scale, all you can really do is wait and hope that a donor surfaces with the correct blood type. I do not think that subbing in Bol Kong for any more than the 17 minutes he played would have fixed the problems that were largely compounded by the Swarming Dukie defense. It also does not help when you have a smart coach on the floor in Jon Scheyer who knows how to penetrate defenses and get to the line and then hit 92% of his shots...did i mention that his assist to turnover ratio is 6-1? That is one of the highest a/t ratios i have ever seen. Smart Basketball.
Gonzaga will turn around this ship and come into Spokane with more vigor and enthusiasm than we saw at MSG, in the future i think it would be best not to schedule Duke at MSG, maybe we need to start thinking about who we can get Home and Homes with. If Duke is not willing to provide a return game in say Seattle, then there is no reason to continue this every now and then series. Embarrassment like this hurts recruiting.
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