Gonzaga packs chip on shoulder for NCAA Tournament trip

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Nolan Hickman noticed a novel approach to Gonzaga’s preparation for the West Coast Conference Tournament and the likelihood of round three against Saint Mary’s.

The Gaels won close decisions in the first two matchups, prompting GU’s coaching staff to not only adjust the starting five – inserting Braden Huff for Ben Gregg – but push the players to summon every ounce of their competitive fire in Las Vegas.

“The prep for Saint Mary’s was much different than our past experiences running into Saint Mary’s,” said Hickman, who has lined up against the Gaels 12 times in his career. “It was, ‘We just gotta be nastier,’ just being nastier on defense and the rebounding end. They kind of made that a point in practice.

“It was just more of our guards having to get in there and muck it up in terms of rebounding.”

The result was Gonzaga’s gritty 58-51 win, in essence beating the Gaels at their own game. Despite losing the rebounding battle, the Zags limited the damage by forcing SMC into a season-high 18 turnovers, several following offensive boards, and converting those into 20 points.

“Those plays swung our way (against Saint Mary’s) and in both games in the tournament,” GU head coach Mark Few said of the 50-50 balls and hustle plays. “Now we have to keep playing with that edge. It’s important to see that continue.”

It’s common for Vegas visitors to attempt to stockpile as many chips as possible in the casinos. For GU, the trip was about finding and playing with a chip, err, boulder, on their shoulders.

“We know it’s win or go home now and that game kind of showed when we’re playing desperate, we’re pretty dangerous,” Gregg said. “If we’re playing that hard every possession and that locked in, we’re going to be hard to beat. I don’t think anybody is ready to go home now, so we still have a big chip on our shoulder.”

Zags point guard Ryan Nembhard would have preferred a blowout but acknowledged the…

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Publish date : 2025-03-19 02:02:00

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