Gonzaga Has Had Some Early Losses, and That’s OK

By Akiva Wienerkur   December 15, 2021 

Gonzaga Has Had Some Early Losses, and That’s OK

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team has already lost more games this season than they did all of last season.

Of course, last season’s Bulldogs didn’t lose at all last season – until the worst possible time. Gonzaga breezed through the regular season undefeated, winning all but one of their games by double-figures. That trend continued through much of the postseason as well, until the Final Four.

The Bulldogs needed a miracle shot by Jalen Suggs and overtime to beat UCLA in their semifinal game and then lost by 16 in the championship game to Baylor.

The team entered this season having to replace big parts of their lineup. Suggs and Corey Kispert were first round picks in the NBA Draft and the team also lost Joel Ayayi. Together, that trio represented 45 points, 17 rebounds, and 9 assists per game.

They certainly made a big splash in recruiting to replace at least some of that production. Freshman Chet Holmgren, the likely No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft, committed to Gonzaga and has fit right in. He’s averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds per game while making 66 percent of his shots overall.

Holmgren’s perimeter shooting has been a bit of a disappointment so far, though. He’s making just 30 percent of his threes, a number that should go up as his career progresses.

He’s also added a new element to Gonzaga’s defense with his shot-blocking, averaging nearly 4 blocks per game. The entire team only averaged 2.8 blocks per game a season ago. Holmgren has been the WCC’s Freshman of the Week for four straight weeks.

Dec 9, 2021; Spokane, Washington, USA; Merrimack Warriors forward Jordan Minor (22) shoots the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs center Chet Holmgren (34) in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

In a head-to-head matchup with Duke freshman Paolo Banchero – another player in the conversation for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft – Holmgren had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks while Banchero had 21 points and 5 rebounds.

The biggest knock against Holmgren so far has simply been related to his physical makeup. He’s tall, but slender – he only weighs 195 pounds, leading many to wonder if that slim build will impact his durability as a high-level college and pro player.

Holmgren’s defensive presence has changed up Gonzaga’s style and defensive potential this season. A scouting report from San Antonio Spurs blog Air Alamo described Holmgren’s unique skillset this way. “Blocks aside, Holmgren’s length and quickness make him a fixture around the rim. Even when he looks out of a play, he’s never really out of the play. Much like Rudy Gobert, he can be a near-ever-present deterrent around the rim, no matter where he might be on the court at the time. Even if it doesn’t always translate to the box score, it’s hard to overstate the impact that Holmgren can have on opposing teams just by making their players consistently alter their shots to get around his massive wingspan.”

The team also has a major holdover from last season’s team. Leading scorer Drew Timme is once again back on the team and leading the Zags in scoring for the second straight season. Timme is averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds per game and he’s also shooting above 60 percent overall for the season.

Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton, Nolan Hickman, and Andrew Nembhard round out a rotation that is once again formidable. But the talent is never a question for Gonzaga – whether or not they can win late in the NCAA Tournament is always what hangs over their head.

Nov 29, 2021; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) shoots the ball against Tarleton State Texans guard Montre Gipson (11) in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga won 64-55. James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Few is one of the most successful college coaches in history, but he’s yet to win an NCAA title. He’s had several teams with the talent to do so and has a long track record of sending players to the next level. 

One issue for Gonzaga is the fact that they often play relatively easy regular season schedules. That isn’t entirely their fault – they play in a conference that doesn’t have a lot of high-level competition, so by the time the tournament starts, they haven’t always played in high-intensity, physical games that are common in the tournament.

Last season, they played four ranked teams in the regular season and would’ve played Baylor had that game not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This season, they’ve played four top five opponents (Duke, Texas, and UCLA) and a fifth team that is ranked (Alabama). Unlike last season, they’ve lost two of those games. Duke beat Gonzaga by three and Alabama won by nine.

This is the first time since 2018-19 season that Gonzaga will enter conference play with more than one loss. Those early losses could be a good wakeup call, though. Few has expressed a desire for the team to play with more urgency, and if the losses now can help them do that later in the season, it might be worth it.

“I think we had a way, way, way greater sense of urgency and I would that would’ve been a little more attention to detail than we had in the first half,” Few told The Spokesman Review after the Alabama loss. “But again, we just got a little too gap concerned in the first half and that’s on me and our staff and everything. We were concerned about them getting in the lane and then playing off of that. But we’ve got to be able to do both things. That’s what all our great teams have done here is provide help but also not let guys shoot 3’s.”

The biggest issue for Gonzaga has been slow starts. Those hampered them in the losses to Duke and Gonzaga and they also played sluggish in a win over unranked Tarleton. 

If Holmgren can continue to develop as one of the best two-way players in the country, Gonzaga has more than enough talent to repeat a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. Despite their early season slip-ups, they’ve also shown far more positives than negatives so far this season. A close loss to Duke should give the team confidence that it can compete with any championship contender in the country.

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