Zags Win WCC Championship While Gaz Stumbles, Bumbles around Vegas

Confetti Time

Sorry this is late, but I am just now arriving home from our trip to Las Vegas and getting a chance to write something up. First, a little background on what went wrong, then I'll get to some pictures and the reason for going in the first place, the Zags.

Why the late return? Alaska Air oversold our connecting flight home from Seattle to Spokane. So, we were stranded in Seattle, along with about 25 other unhappy Gonzaga fans. To make matters worse, my laptop and phone were stolen early on during the trip. Although I did manage to get some pictures and tweets out with a borrowed phone, the coverage I expected to provide was not anywhere near what I had hoped for. I apologize for that. Not only am I a huge fan, but I want to be able to share insight with people that are unable to attend. Without proper equipment, I found myself more of a spectator than a reporter. That was not the plan. However, now that I have experienced a WCC Tournament, it will be much easier to fine-tune some things that went wrong, which will help in next year's coverage.

Gaz hanging out in Upper Media Area

Our room on the 53rd floor of the Palms Place Casino Resort also provided me with some unpleasant surprises, namely, the TV's were inoperable and there was no internet/WiFi connection for two days. We didn't realize it the first night as we got in just in time (our flight was late) to run over to catch the first Gonzaga game (missed 10 mins of the first half). No laptop, no phone, no TV, and no WiFi connection. Needless to say, things had gotten off to a rocky start. Talk about an information blackout!

View from room in Vegas, 53rd Floor -Where the oxygen masks?

Since the news regarding the Zags winning the Championship is old news at this point I'll simply add a few things from my perspective as a fan.

First, the Orleans Arena might as well be renamed the ZagLeans Arena or something similar. It was filled with Gonzaga fans. Every game the Zags played in was packed, while every game they did not play in had a lot of empty seats. There would have been even more empty seats if Zag fans didn't attend those games as well.

BYU has a good following too, but nowhere near the level as Gonzaga. One thing I enjoyed was the back and forth that goes on between opposing fans during the games. I had never attended a WCC Tourney before so it took me by surprise and I enjoyed it. Especially since we won!

Domas Sabonis After Winning Championship

1st up: USF. I was certainly concerned about the Zags going into the tourney. They had not been playing very stellar ball this past month. Adding to my anxiety was a red hot BYU team, winners of 8 of the last 9 including the Zags on senior night in the Kennel. So, to hold the naysayers at bay and show the nation they are indeed a top 7 team what do they do? They struggle right out of the gate, get behind by 7 to the Dons and are behind at halftime. Karnowski held the Zags together in that first half as he came up big, time and time again. Kyle Wiltjer joined the party in the second half and Gonzaga forged ahead to win. The heavily pro Zag crowd all held their breath when Wiltjer went down. He was getting hammered the whole game by USF. Anyone besides me think that was part of Rex Walters plan? Kyle definitely showed some toughness as he was bloodied, bashed around, heavily iced after the game, yet still came through big time. Coach Few seemed upbeat after the win saying "We were able to get through that first half then we got the pace going in the 2nd half, we stepped up and started shooting the ball, making shots we're capable of, and all the while we played pretty darn good defense." (Zags 81 USF 72)

Team Banners Outside Locker Rooms

In the semi-final game vs Pepperdine, once again the Zags were sluggish and they only led by 2 at the half. In the second half I sensed that everyone settled down, including nervous fans, as they thoroughly enjoyed a proper dismantling. Defensive intensity was key and the Zags scored 10 points off fast breaks. Gonzaga blew the doors off as they ran out to a 20 point lead and coasted from there. This game was a monster one for USC transfer Byron Wesley who scored a team high 25 points. He said "that was easily the most fun we've had in a game all year, just the energy we had, and the crowd was great. From the players in the game to the players on the bench, everyone was engaged and that's what we want." It was also nice to see Wiltjer able to go at it 100%, showing no ill effects from the pounding he took on Friday. He had a great game barely missing a double double getting 17 points and 9 boards. (Zags 79 Pepperdine 61)

Angel Nunez has his Game Face on!

Dustin Triano & Alberts Thumbs Up!

Gonzaga vs BYU for the title. It's odd what a difference a few days make. In their last game BYU led the Zags the entire way. In this WCC Championship game they pretty much never led. Back and forth it went. Every time Gonzaga would start to pull away, say 7 points or so, BYU would come storming back. Try as they might, they would never catch these Zags. It was an offensive onslaught. The crowd was going crazy, it was LOUD, and a lot of fun. Kyle Wiltjer, who was named WCC MVP, finally got his double double garnering 18 pts along with 10 boards. After the game he said "we want to play fast and can score with the best of them. We wanted to push the pace and that's what we did." Ninety one points is a whole lot of points. I heard a fan jokingly say "first one to 100 wins." At times it felt like he might be right. It was an offensive masterpiece with 6 Zags scoring in dbl figures. But, the Zags D played well too, clamping down in the second half and holding the Cougars to just 33 points.

So, the Zags rebounded from their shocking loss at home on senior night and destroyed a red hot BYU team to win another WCC Tournament Title. It looks like they've turned the corner from a month of what looked like lackluster play. It's definitely a good feeling heading into the Big Dance. GO ZAGS!~

Conner Griffin Working that Pen

Odds and Ends-- I talked to Domas Sabonis for a minute and he said his hand feels great and it is now 100% healed. That's nice to know because it had been hampering his ability to get rebounds and hold onto the ball. Of course he's been playing so well people might not have noticed. He is a special player. I cannot remember a Zag "Big" being this polished in his true freshman season. He is also one of the most polite, respectful, approachable, and friendly players you will ever meet. Basically, he's just like all of these Zag players. Good on the coaching staff for recruiting these types of kids into the program. Josh Perkins is still not cleared to participate in practice or play. It looks good for a medical red-shirt. Coach Few- He is letting his emotions show (I mean this in a good way). His voice cracked when he talked about the players and his love for them is evident. Also, people have complained about this in the past so I wanted to address it. He is improving in "on the fly" game management and decision making. Changing defensive schemes, running full court press, player substitutions, and using time-outs to his advantage, and coaching the players on the bench among other things. Television tends to hide these things. You get to see so much more when you are actually at the games. He is doing an exemplary job. Also, once again I had a chance to say a quick hello to our new Director of Basketball Operations, John Jakus, who came over from Baylor. Although it is sad to see Dr. Jerry Krause leaving the fold after so many years, we are in great hands with John going forward. I have a picture I'll throw up below but my "borrowed" camera didn't do very well, sorry about that. In case you're curious, John can usually be seen sitting next to Przemek Karnowski's right during games. Kyle Dranginis- he is becoming more confident. He will be a 5th year senior next year and I expect big things. He can do all things well, thus his nickname "swiss army knife" but let's not forget, he can flat out score. He  "draino'ed" 55 points in the Idaho State title game. With the graduation of Byron Wesley, he will most likely be counted on next year to score more.

John Jakus- New Director of Basketball Ops in Blue Suit

All-Tourney Team

Final Bracket

Zags Heading to Hotel- I know where but can't say- It's a secret

* Special thanks to KIXI Seattle for flying me down to Las Vegas for the Tournament and thanks to the WCC for approving Media Credentials. Congrats to Gonzaga!!~

Buzzer Beater Classic: Recapping the Gonzaga/Butler game

Sorry for the delay in posting the game recap.  After that heart-breaker, I took a page out of Crash Mathews book and followed my own rendition of the GU Blues.  I started with number 9 (no chick flick though, just a good ol' fashioned cry), I followed that up with number 10 (drink...a lot), done immediately following the cry and into the deep hours of the night.  After drinking, I added a new number to the list: #11, I went into hibernation.  Hibernation consists of denial, refusal to talk about the game, and lots and lots of sleep.  Finally (similar to the 5 stages of grief), I started to accept the loss and moved forward to work on number 7: thinking about the next game, and the next GU victory.  Only 3 more days to wait!

I had the fortune (misfortune, perhaps?) of attending this game, and it was definitely one for the ages. It caused a myriad of emotions: hope, elation, devastation, dismay, excitement, frustration, belief, and finally, disbelief, sadness, and shock...and that was all in the final 4.6 seconds of play.  It was a series of improbable events.  Gonzaga was up by 1 with 4.6 seconds left, Butler got the ball back, had trouble inbounding and was forced to take a timeout.  It didn't help, as the second they inbounded, they were called for a travel and turned the ball over to GU with 3.5 seconds left.  At that point, the Butler fans around me were quiet - shocked, upset, and sad...but then the place erupted.  All Gonzaga had to do to seal the deal was inbound the ball and waste the final 3.5 seconds.  Instead, the lob from David Stockton to Kelly Olynyk resulted in a steal, a run down the court, and a last second buzzer beater, awkward shot by Roosevelt Jones.  Gonzaga lost.  Just like that, the arena erupted.  The crowd rushed the court, the fans around me were screaming with jubilation, and simultaneously telling me it was a good game.  I had trouble responding, my heart was pounding, my eyes were welling with tears, and my jaw had dropped.  It was an improbable loss, one that has been since shown over and over and over again as the top Sports Center play.  It is a play that will likely never happen again, a veteran David Stockton unable to connect with the solid Kelly Olynyk.  It was a mistake, one that I am not going to fixate on, nor am I going to place blame.  It was just a sad ending to a classic game.  Had GU not been involved, it easily would have been one of the best games I had ever attended.  But that is the curse of a college basketball fan, we CARE about our teams.  Our moods are swayed by a win or a loss, and that one HURT.  If you can make it through this ramble, then please read on for more about the experience of Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Recap: Gonzaga @ San Diego (wcc tourney)

Final Score:

(20)Gonzaga 62 San Diego 69

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 22 points
Rebounder: David Pendergraft 6 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 4 Assists
Swatter: Abdullahi Kuso 3 Blocks
Theif: Austin Daye 1 Steals

Game MVP: Jeremy Pargo, (Stat line: 22 points, 5 boards, 4

assists) He took over at times, but in the end his effort just wasn't enough.

Team Comparison: Zags/Toreros
Points: 62/69
assist to turnover ratio:0.64/1.88
Rebounds:23/36
Shooting Percentage: 52%/42.4%
3pt Percentage: 0%/31%

Notes from the sideline:
-The zags did not make a three pointer for the first time in 491 games.
-This is the first Conference Tourney loss since 2003 when San Diego also won on their home court, as of next year the WCC tourney is moving to Las Vegas, no more home court advantage.

Analysis:
So Billy Grier is the one laughing in the end, after the zags swept the season series 2 games to none, the Toreros are getting into the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2003. Congrats to Mr. Grier and all the San Diego Players, whats even more, the WCC will most likely get 3 teams into the NCAA tourney. Im happy for the conference, but dissapointed in the tournament loss. Hopefully the team will take this as a wake up call and improve considerably come the big dance.

Recap: Santa Clara vs. Gonzaga (wcc tourney)

Final Score:

(23)Gonzaga 52 Santa Clara 48

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Josh Heytvelt 15 points
Rebounder: Austin Daye 8 Boards
Passer: Austin Daye 3 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 3 Blocks
Theif: Matt Bouldin 2 Steals

Game MVP: Josh Heytvelt, (Stat line: 15 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-2 3pt FG) Is the mushroom man finally coming back to form right before tournament time?

Team Comparison: Zags/Broncos
Points: 52/48
assist to turnover ratio:0.53/0.79
Rebounds:26/18
Shooting Percentage: 42.1%/41.3%
3pt Percentage: 30%/37.5%

Notes from the sideline:
-Heytvelt asserted himself with confidence from behind the arc as well as in the low post, showing passion that has only been flashed at times this season, it seems he may finally be returning to form after a dissapointing and injury riddled season.
-Mark Few thought Heytvelt played one of his finest defensive games of his career against a very tough assignment (John Bryant) He held bryant to 12 points with 5 turnovers and foul trouble held him to 28 minutes.

Analysis:
sluggish, ugly, just plain nasty, the best description of this game. Six days after pummeling a shorthanded Broncos team, the zags fall victim to the look ahead factor, now fortunately for them, the team they played still gave the game away, but it wasnt pretty. Next up is the resurgent Toreros squad led by prodigal son Billy Grier.

Recap: Gonzaga @ St. Mary's

Recap

Final Score: St. Mary's 89 Gonzaga 85 OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 27 points
Rebounder: Abdullahi Kuso 12 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 9 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 4 Blocks
Theif: Jeremy Pargo 2 Steals

Game MVP: I have to give this one to both Pargo and Kuso. Kuso played at such a high level and pargo took over the game at times.
Jeremy Pargo
27 points, 4 Boards, 2 steals, 9 assists, 50% from three.
Abdullahi Kuso
11 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, lots of energy

Team Comparison: Zags/Gaels
Points: 85/89
assist to turnover ratio:-0.88/+1.56
Rebounds:41/37
Shooting Percentage: 50%/41%
3pt Percentage: 41%/41%

Notes from the sideline:
-Austin Daye continues to look more and more confident, he showed some sick moves for a man of his height that took his defenders out of their shoes.
-To start out the offense showed some great fluidity, i think starting steven gray was a great idea, he provided some good perimeter defense and a good shooter for the offense to kick it out to
-Josh Heytvelt looked horrible at times, and he was held out for large portions of the game.
-Abdullahi Kuso was brilliant, he did not get into foul trouble until the end of the game and was a monster on the boards all night long. He even showed some flashes of great offensive awareness, something that has been a weakness in the past.

What it means for the future (Analysis):
First of all, this game was called very poorly by the refs for both sides. Honestly the zags outplayed the Gaels for large stretches of the game, the end saw many bad calls in the Gaels favor that helped them walk out with the Win. All said, the zags played a great game, and made lots of good decisions, i think when i comes time for the rematch it will not be close and the zags will overcome. I still think the zags will walk away with 1 loss in conference and take the conference title again.

Recap: Gonzaga @ Santa Clara

Recap

Final Score: Gonzaga 87 Santa Clara 82 2OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Austin Daye 22 points
Rebounder: Josh Heytvelt 7 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 7 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 3 Blocks
Theif: Bouldin/Downs/Gray 2 Steals

Game MVP: Austin Daye
22 points, 5 Boards, 1 assist, 1 steals, 3 blocks, 75% from three.

Team Comparison: Zags/Broncos
Points: 87/82
assist to turnover ratio:+.70/-.72
Rebounds:23/31
Shooting Percentage: 50%/52%
3pt Percentage: 39.1%/38.5%

Notes from the sideline:
N/A

What it means for the future (Analysis):
Well i thought it would be a tough game. John Bryant and Brody Angley were dominant at times, and honestly the zags were outplayed. We will see what this development means for the big St. Mary's matchup, if the zags lose, we could see the Gaels take a firm lead of the WCC, whereas if the zags win they continue to assert their claim for being the best in the west.

Recap: Utah @ Gonzaga

Final Score: Gonzaga 61 Utah 59





Matt Bouldin is starting to turn the corner. Over the last two games Bouldin has averaged 23.5 points and carried this inconsistent zags squad. This all with his bum calf and ankle. Josh Heytvelt added a season high 16 points and is slowly starting to work his way back to the form that he showed last year. Jeremy Pargo continued his inconsistent play scoring 7 points and no assists. Austin Daye had one of those weird nights not attempting a shot but ending up with 5 boards. When all was said and done, the zags looked good, bad, and ugly. This is another one of those games where it seems like they are still trying to find themselves. I wonder if that feeling will ever end this year. At least we got out with a W. Look forward to saturday against Georgia at home. That game will be a better barometer of what this team is capable of. Hopefully we can make it January 26th against Memphis without another loss to better heighten the Top 25 billing and try to walk out with an upset of the best team in the country. I will have a Georgia Scouting report in a couple days. Sorry there was not one for Utah, been pretty busy with the holidays. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

Recap: Gonzaga @ UConn

Final Score: 85-82

I am almost speechless. This game was so huge, so big in the scale of the Zags season. Matt Bouldin was literally breathtaking, Jeremy Pargo was almost perfect, Robert Sacre and Micah Downs flashed potential i have not seen before. When all was said and done, Gonzaga walked away with a 2 win east coast road swing, Amazing! Honestly, with the recent struggles of our offense and the plethora of silly mistakes and turnovers, i almost felt that UConn would walk out with an upset. Pargo would have none of that, demoralizing A.J. Price with 4 big threes; many times it appeared that price was "challenging" Pargo to hit the big three with his recent struggles at the long range shot. Bouldin appeared at times to be a wizard with the rock, dishing it out, weaving thru triple stacked defenders and swooshing big mid range jumpers. I think the turning point in the game with only a couple minutes on the clock was how the zags seemed to continue to attack Hasheem Thabeet and take the Gentle Giant out of his element and force him into careless foul situations. Big Win, Bigger confidence booster, look out Wazzu, this isnt the depleted young roster of last year that seemed to disappear with the game on the line. LETS GO ZAGS! LETS GO!

P.S. Andy Katz had an article showcasing the Zags tough Road trip here.

Recap: Gonzaga @ St. Josephs

Final Score: 70-65 OT

Tough Win. Not the best way to handle a team like Saint Josephs, but it will do. Pat Calathes stood out as a great player. His 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocks showcased his ability well, a do everything, wiry forward who plays fast and hard. It seemed at times he held the Hawks destiny in his hands. On the Zags side of the ball, Matt Bouldin continued his solid play with 16 points, 7 Rebounds and 4 assists. He continues to improve with every passing game, i personally think he happens to be the most well rounded player on the team. Austin Daye excited with 17 points 4 boards and 2 blocks, but he also made 5 costly turnovers; Most of them being traveling violations. At times it seemed he lost his composure as he did with Texas Tech and let his frustrations get the best of him. Daye is a paradox of sorts because he shines so bright, with remarkable ability and gutsy play, but at others he makes boneheaded mistakes and looks almost overwhelmed by the sheer pressure that fills the gym every time the zags play. Hopefully this OT win is a stepping stone that will prepare the Zags for their behemoth opponents that are still to come. There is no rest, for tomorrow we play UConn who is no small task followed by #6 Wazzu Next week and Tennessee and Memphis later this year. Overall i saw many things that i liked, but i am wary that this team is too young and may hurt themselves with costly turnovers and poor decision making. Either way, Lets Go Zags, Lets Go!