Unable to close out another close game, Zags have several items on crunch time to-do list

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Dec. 8—SEATTLE — One by one during Saturday’s post-game media session, Gonzaga coach Mark Few, point guard Ryan Nembhard and post Graham Ike detailed the second half and overtime issues offensively with a common refrain.

Good looks, not-so-good shooting.

After further review of the key stretches in the Zags’ 90-89 overtime loss to Kentucky at Climate Pledge Arena, those assessments were pretty much spot on.

Of equal concern were Gonzaga’s defensive lapses, which led in part to the Wildcats controlling the glass, as well as its faulty shooting.

And the overriding concern that has emerged in both of GU’s losses this season — finishing tight games by executing at both ends of the court.

The Zags are 1-2 in that department.

They rallied past Arizona State in the final eight minutes, spurred by defensive stops in an 88-80 win in early November. They lost their way offensively and defensively in an 86-78 setback to West Virginia, which outscored GU 55-39 in the second half and overtime.

Saturday was virtually a West Virginia replay with the Wildcats holding a 56-39 edge in the second half and OT.

As combinations go, this one is suboptimal: Gonzaga scored a season-low 29 points in the closing half while yielding a season-high 45 points to the Wildcats.

“They’re a good team, and obviously we had our runs, they had their runs,” Nembhard said. “It was a good basketball game. I think that’ll just prepare us for later in the year for games like this and learn how to close out games a little better.”

How the Zags fare with that task going forward could tell the tale of their season. Only a few teams cruise through March Madness: UConn the last two years, Baylor in 2021 when it handled Gonzaga in the title game and North Carolina in 2009. Most championship teams dig out at least a couple of nailbiters along the way.

So what went wrong inside Climate Pledge Arena? There were countless examples of the Zags failing to hit shots, quality shots, inside and particularly outside.

They had just two…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/unable-close-another-close-game-030200654.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-12-09 03:02:00

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