Thursday’s game against UNC-Greensboro had Zags fans on the edge of their seats.
It might have even had some fans wondering how the No. 4 seed GU would do against other team after their tight game against UNC-Greensboro.
Evan Closky said fans should not be worried.
Struggling out of the gates as a top-4 seed is nothing new for Gonzaga, outside of 2004, every one of these games was hard to watch for GU fans, said Closky.
First and foremost, UNC-Greensboro is a good team.
This squad has tremendous defensive metrics and slowed the game down, which is a formula to beat Gonzaga.
Second, the Zags played at 10:30 AM Pacific time, which wasn’t an excuse, but could explain the lethargic nature of the squad. That tired nature showed in the rebounding department as the Spartans snatched four more boards from the Bulldogs which rarely happens.
On top of that, Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie and Zach Norvell combined for 5 made baskets. Tillie and Rui combined for 6 points.
That's just not going to repeat itself. Finally, a team that shoots 72 percent from the free throw line missed 12 out of 25 free throws.