Gonzaga gets ready for Sweet 16 battle with the Razorbacks
Chet Holmgren's nine points against Memphis may not jump off the stat sheet, but the 7-foot freshman was a +18 addition for the Zags when on the court Saturday.
As if it’s guaranteed, many Gonzaga Bulldogs faithfuls are already eagerly anticipating a rematch this coming Saturday between either Duke or Texas Tech, two schools that GU has already challenged earlier this season. That game is anything but guaranteed at the moment, and the Bulldogs must first prove themselves worthy of an Elite Eight berth in a contest against the University of Arkansas Thursday.
Both teams are clearly coming off of two wins in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. GU most recently mounted a second half comeback against Memphis to keep its playoff hopes alive, while Arkansas outlasted the upset happy New Mexico State Aggies.
The regional four seed Razorbacks, a team that can put on some impressive offensive performances, won the lowest scoring of all second round games by beating out NMSU 53-48. GU is the highest scoring team in the country averaging 87.8 points a night, a score the Razorbacks’ offense have only eclipsed twice all season. However, head coach Eric Musselman’s squad has only conceded more points on defense than what the Zags average twice all season as well.
Arkansas is a standout squad defensively, ranking the third highest in adjusted defensive rating out of any team GU has played this season, falling only behind Saint Mary’s and UCLA. The Razorbacks rank well with respect to the rest of the country in half court defense, with forward Jaylin Williams able to secure the paint if he’s able to get back and guard JD Notae consistently posing himself as a steal threat against opposing guards.
Where Arkansas can struggle defensively is in transition as a team that allows opponents to score 51.2% of their shots taken within 10 seconds of gaining possession, and GU is a team that thrives off of getting transition buckets.
The Razorbacks also have some really strong scorers to accompany their lock down defense. Notae is more than just a defensive aficionado, he’s also the team’s leading scorer at 18.4 points per game and head distributor with 3.6 assists per contest. In fact, the Razorbacks have four players averaging over double digit points scoring, three of those being guards with Stantley Umede and Au’Diese Toney also a part of that back court pack.
Umede is Arkansas’ greatest weapon behind the 3-point line, shooting 37.4% from deep. GU has struggled in its first two games of the tournament at keeping each of their prior opponent’s top shooters from scoring from deep, allowing Cory Allen from Georgia State and Memphis’ Lester Quinones to each shoot 40% from beyond the arc.
At the same time, the Zags have been proficient at containing opposing bigs this run. By attacking the paint with Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren, the Zags forced three of GSU’s forwards to foul out and put three Memphis players on the bench for extended periods after getting them in deep foul trouble.
It’s more difficult to put guards into foul trouble early, but expect GU to go right at Jaylin Williams with both Timme, who’s been the team’s leading scorer throughout the tournament, and Holmgren, who despite putting up nine points in the last game, was a +18 addition when on the court.
Meanwhile, the Zags’ guard room is poised for a big outing if they want to keep pace with Arkansas’ back court. Andrew Nembhard has been an electric scorer and distributor all tournament and Rasir Bolton stepped up with 17 points last game.
The key piece however, will be Las Vegas native Julian Strawther, as someone who’s shot just 4-for-16 this tournament but has been the Zags’ fourth leading scorer all season. If he shows up alongside Nembhard and Bolton, expect this matchup to turn into a guard dual.
The Zags and Razorbacks kick off the Sweet 16 in San Francisco at 4:09 p.m. PST on CBS.
