Gonzaga Bulldogs
West Coast Conference (23-10, 11-3)
Seed: #10
West Region
RPI: 60
Big Wins:
11/22 vs North Carolina (82-74), 12/2 at Texas (87-77), 1/31 at Stanford
(90-86)
Bad Losses:
1/15 at St. Mary’s (75-80), 2/5 at Loyola Marymount (61-67), 2/12 Santa
Clara (73-84)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2006, Sweet Sixteen loss to UCLA
Coach:
Mark Few (9-7 in 7 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Derek Raivio,
Senior, Guard, 18.2 ppg, 2.6 apg
Jeremy Pargo,
Sophomore, Guard, 12.2 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.4 rpg
Matt Bouldin,
Freshman, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 3.1 apg
Sean Mallon,
Senior, Forward, 7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Abdullahi Kuso,
Junior, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Micah Downs,
Sophomore, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg
David
Pendergraft, Junior, Guard, 7.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Pierre Marie
Altador-Cespedes, Junior, Guard, 3.3 ppg, 1.3 apg
Why They Can
Surprise:
A trio of
guards who can handle the ball is never a bad thing come March. However,
Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin, the youngsters of the group, are still
working out some turnover problems. Derek Raivio has moved off the ball in
order to get more open looks and, despite his streaky shooting, it has been
successful. Raivio leads the squad with 18.2 points per game. Pargo can beat
just about anybody off the dribble and will be the next great Gonzaga guard
once the turnover problem is addressed.
Raivio is the
second best free-throw shooter in the nation and his teammates are
not too far behind. The team shoots 75.5% from the charity stripe and is
in the top 15 in that category. In fact, the sharp shooting Bulldogs
rank in the top 20 in field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal
percentage.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
Gonzaga lacks
an Adam Morrison type go-to scorer. Raivio and Pargo have the ability to
take over a game, but inconsistency does not allow the team to depend on
them on a game by game basis. For all the great shooting on Gonzaga, the
opposition almost shoots just as well. The Bulldogs give up over 70 points
per game and when they run into an offense that is just as potent as theirs,
Coach Mark Few’s squad has a hard time stopping them. Gonzaga can win the
high scoring games, but it is tough to overcome giving up 96 points to
Georgia and 108 to Virginia.
Who To
Watch:
The suspension
of Josh Heytvelt has left a huge void in the frontcourt. Sean Mallon is used
to doing the dirty work, but is not an effective back to the basket scorer.
Gonzaga has struggled since Heytvelt has been gone and without a scoring
presence in the post, the team is finding fewer good looks from outside.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: First Round loss to Indiana
