Gonzaga 85 – Pacific 67 AND 'Some Interesting Stats'

Travis Fulton came off the bench to provide 15 points and sparked the Pacific Tigers to an early lead last night with his 3/4 shooting beyond the arc. The Tigers jumped to an 18-10 lead 7½ minutes into the game to give Gonzaga fans their first real scare early on in the season. This scare was short lived, as the Zags were able to clamp down on defense and go on some impressive scoring runs that found them with a double-digit lead by halftime.

   Sam Dower going up for a shot

Sam Dower continued his efficient shooting with 18 points off the bench. He also showed some grit by pulling down 9 rebounds to lead the Zags to their first 8-0 start since the 94-95 season. Three other Zags scored in double figures with Elias Harris scoring 17, Kelly Olynyk with 15, and Pangos putting up 12 points. Bell had 9 points and a team high 4 assists to help the Bulldogs beat an athletic team that looks to produce fun to watch games when they join the WCC next year. 

There are two aspects of this game that I feel are the most important to come away with.  First, the Zags were able to fix their early struggles to come back and dictate the pace of the game. They continue to show their versatility to win in many different ways.

The second aspect, and the most crucial, was the drastically improved free throw shooting. They shot 82% from the line by going 23-28.  Mark Few has to be happy with this result. These early free throw struggles have been surprising, as some of the following stats would suggest:

Every player is shooting .426% or better this season. (The .426% going to Pangos).

This shouldn’t be too surprising as the Bulldogs are #1 in the country in field goal percentage shooting an outstanding .533%.

The Zags are also #5 in the country in points per game putting up 85.3 points per contest.  They are also #16 in rebounding with 42.4 per game.

We should note that we must be getting good looks and sharing the ball, as we are also #18 in the country in Assists with 17.5 per game. 

Finally, a stat that shows our improved defense, we are #38 in the country in steals with 9.38 per game. 

Gonzaga is an extremely well rounded team. I am so excited for the potential of this team. Everyone in the Spokane area make sure to buy a ticket to the WSU game this Wednesday and pack Beasley Coliseum in Pullman with wild Gonzaga fans. Also, don’t forget to buy tickets to the Battle in Seattle against Kansas State December 15^th. 

GO ZAGS!