Game-Planning for Gonzaga

A day before future conference foes face off in the NCAA Tournament, the BYU Cougars and Gonzaga Bulldogs prepared for their Third Round meeting with Pepsi Center practices and media obligations here in Denver.

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You can hear the podium sessions featuring the BYU and Gonzaga players and coaches by clicking on their respective "play" buttons in the "Cougar Cuts" box to the right.

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BYU coach Dave Rose was asked about St. John's coach Steve Lavin remarking that the Zags are a "Final Four-capable" team, after watching his team get beat beat 86-71 last night.

Rose's response:

"The way they played last night, because they had such balance, they had great three-point shooting, I thought their inside presence defensively was very strong, very intimidating. I think their ability to offensively rebound the ball...I mean, you look at the pieces that you need on a team in order to advance, continue to advance in this tournament, and the way they played last night I can see why Coach Lavin made those comments."

The key point of Rose's answer was "the way they played last night." Gonzaga is physically imposing team on a roll right now, having won ten games in a row and essentially playing nothing like an 11 seed.

BYU needs to take the Zags out of their comfort zone, primarily by establishing a defensive presence in the post, most likely out of a zone. Rebounding will be key, as the Zags have had a backboard advantage of almost 11 rebounds per game over the last five games. Against St. John's, the Bulldogs were +23 on the glass.

"That's pretty impressive to have a team be able to dominate the inside and the boards as much as that was in that game," said Rose. "We've been through this before as far as playing teams that have great strength up front, great depth up front. So we'll kind of rely on those experiences to try to help us through this."

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BYU would also like to rely on its own shooting tomorrow night, as was the case in recent wins over Wyoming (55%fg) and New Mexico (50%fg). However, since Brandon Davies' suspension, the team has shot 39% or worse in three of six games, losing two. BYU was able to shoot 39% and beat Wofford; a similar outing against Gonzaga is unlikely to yield positive results.

Conversely, the Zags have shot 49% or better in five of their last six games, and hit on 60% of three-point attempts v. the Red Storm. The Bulldogs are also hitting their free throws--topping 79% in six consecutive outings. If Gonzaga's recent shooting numbers remain on the same plane, a BYU will will require a Herculean effort. That said, this is still a Gonzaga outfit that lost nine games during the season, and is not infallible.

The Cougars need to restore some swagger, and it would be nice if Jackson Emery is part of that resurgence. As detailed in a blog posting earlier today, his shooting numbers in the last four games amount to one of the worst slumps of his career, and to say he is due would be an understatement. BYU has never lost a game when Emery scores 20 points or more. Emery last topped the 20-point plateau at Utah back on January 11th. Not coincidentally, it was one of BYU's best games of the season (a 104-79 win). Emery has never been needed more than he will be versus Gonzaga.

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BYU and Gonzaga have played once on the hardwoods (in 1949, as sharply noted by the Trib's BYU beat writer Jay Drew), but their meeting tomorrow will usher in a new era as BYU joins the West Coast Conference next season.

Zags Coach Mark Few was asked about BYU's entry into the WCC, and had this to say:

"I mean, it changes our league dramatically. It adds another top-25 school to it, gives us another school much like ourselves with a national profile. I think it probably across the country enlightens some people to the level of play that's in our league."

"I think people will probably look at it as a three-bid potential league year in and year out."

Few, on the soon-to-be rivalry with BYU:

"Obviously I think it will be a great, healthy rivalry in conference. Both teams with national-label programs, national aspirations, battling out. Both are used to winning their conference year in and year out. I think it will be a very good, healthy, but tough."

"I mean, we've got a string - gosh, I don't even know what it is - 11 straight conference championships just behind the UCLA teams. Obviously, adding BYU to the conference will make that even more difficult to keep going."

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The Gonzaga players' press conference featured this exchange:

Q: "I noticed last night and today, whenever you are asked about Jimmer, you all three have real big smiles on your faces. Are you not buying the hype?"

Robert Sacre: "He's a great player. But we also had Adam Morrison with us before. We've seen great players. You know, we also saw Mickey McConnell, who could put up buckets. We've also seen great players around our league who can put up buckets. We've seen great players all throughout the season. It's just one of those things where we're happy to play, be in this tournament, have a good time and play a great player."

Marquise Carter: "The reason why I smile every time I hear his name is because, like, everywhere I go, it's just about Jimmer Fredette, Jimmer Fredette. You can't doubt his skills. He's a really good player. He can put up a lot of points at any given night. So going into tomorrow's game, we know he's probably going to get whatever he's going to get. But we're just going to try to do our best to contain him and make others have to work."

Steven Gray: "I mean, for a guy to do what he's done consistently all year, I think it would be kind of dumb to not buy into it, going into such a big game. He's been hitting just ridiculous shots. I feel like every time you watch him, you're like, He didn't just shoot that. Night in, night out, that's what he's doing. You definitely got to respect him and know that he's capable of putting it in from just about anywhere."

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