How the 3-ball has influenced Gonzaga’s season and past WCC and NCAA tournaments

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Mar. 8—The last time we did a deep dive into Gonzaga’s 3-point shooting was in mid-December after the Zags had gone through a cold stretch.

GU was at 33.7% from 3, ranked in the 180s out of 355 teams nationally, roughly one-third through the season.

Update after a recent hot streak beyond the arc: The Zags have made progress at 35.3% and rank No. 99 nationally but remain in danger of the program’s lowest percentage (35.3 in 2010) since the 3-pointer arrived in college hoops in 1986-87.

Why bring it up now? Because 3-point accuracy often has been a telling factor this season — 37.1% in GU’s 23 wins, 30.2% in eight losses — and past successes and failures in the postseason.

Gonzaga, which plays Monday night in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, is 66-17 in the conference tournament, including 52-6 under coach Mark Few.

GU has connected on 38.6% of 3-pointers in 83 WCC tourney games, with John Rillie, Kevin Pangos, Kyle Wiltjer and Killian Tillie among those putting on memorable shooting displays.

A year ago, Gonzaga shot better on 3s (11 of 20) than inside the arc while handling San Francisco in the semifinals. The Zags were just 2 of 11 behind the arc in a title-game loss to Saint Mary’s.

Most bracket projections have the Zags in the NCAA Tournament field as a No. 8 or 9 seed.

Guard Nolan Hickman, who is at a career-best 44.4% 3-point clip in his senior season, didn’t need to see the stats from Gonzaga’s recent NCAA Tournament losses to know how 3s influence March Madness outcomes.

“Definitely it’s important, really important,” Hickman said. “Down the stretch when you get to big games, you gotta step up and make big shots. That’s something I really want to take pride in this year, knowing that I’m a senior and I’m going to be the one people are looking to to knock down the big shot.”

“Just knowing that and going into every game with that mindset is the best approach.”

Gonzaga is just 30 of 123 (24.4%) on 3s in six season-ending losses since 2018. GU’s best effort…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/3-ball-influenced-gonzagas-season-030600139.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2025-03-09 03:06:00

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