‘Lot to play for’: Gonzaga faces short turnaround with Santa Clara up next

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Feb. 23—Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman just finished answering a question on playing in their final home game when Nembhard offered an unsolicited reminder that Gonzaga isn’t short on motivation with the regular season winding down.

“We still got a season left to play,’ Nembhard said Saturday following the Zags’ disappointing 74-67 loss to Saint Mary’s on Senior Night at the McCarthey Athletic Center. “There’s a lot to play for still. There’s a lot we can still accomplish this year and we’re going to figure it out.”

Hickman chimed in “for sure” four times during Nembhard’s reply.

That sentiment went hand in hand with Nembhard’s comments to a previous question on the quick turnaround before Tuesday’s game at Santa Clara, which dropped 23 3-pointers — tying the Division I record for a road team — in a 109-79 victory over Washington State on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a short prep,” the point guard said, “so we have to flush this one and move on to the next.”

And how do the Zags right the ship? Almost in unison, GU’s starting backcourt said, “Gotta win.” Hickman added: “Figure out a way to dig all these ‘Ws’ out and that should be it.”

Part of that equation, particularly if Gonzaga gets a third crack at the Gaels in the West Coast Conference Tournament, will be addressing rebounding and zone defense issues that contributed to Saint Mary’s fourth win in the last five series meetings.

Rebounding on the boards

Rebounding was at the top of Gonzaga’s scouting report prior to both meetings with the Gaels, ranked second nationally at plus-9.5 per game. That nearly matches their plus-9 in a pair of wins over the Zags. SMC held a 38-26 edge Saturday.

The Gaels are plus-6 per game on the offensive boards with a 30-18 advantage in second-chance points in two victories by a combined 11 points.

“That’s what they do,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “You have to be ready to fight them on the glass physically. Our guys tried but we just had some bad matchups in there, especially when they go to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/lot-play-gonzaga-faces-short-030500793.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-02-24 03:05:00

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