Aztecs of the State of San Diego, Gonzaga Bulldogs baloncesto masculino, Black Knights Army, Gonzaga University, Armed Forces Division
A season that was on its side suddenly started again.Twelve days after the worst defeat of the Brian Dutcher era, we got the characteristic victory of the Brian Dutcher era: 72-70 against the No. 12 Gonzaga on Thursday night in front of the first sale of Viejas Arena in almost a year . It may or may not rekindle the hopes of the 8-3 Aztecs to win a place in the NCAA Tournament, but what they did revive was perhaps more important: their spirits, their swagger , their sense of being.
Life as a major medium in a single-bet league can be a depressing proposition these days, with little real meaning to play outside of a week in March in your conference tournament. But put a classified opponent in your house, in front of a rabid crowd, against a proud team that fights for a return to national relevance , and you get a memorable electric night with the feeling of an NCAA tournament.
The Aztecs used the 12-day layoff , you have to go back 37 years to find a longer break between the regular season games, to work on their own shortcomings . They could also have drilled Gonzaga offensive sets over and over again.
Which screens to go under What change? When to double team in the low publication. When to help
They also (finally) discovered how to solve a zone defense and made some opportune 3s , particularly in the frantic opening moments that made Viejas a foam.
But they won this with their old basic style, they feel defensive and they are paired with the grind -out-out offense . (How else do you win by shooting 36.1 percent?)
SDSU kept the Zags (10-3) with a 42.4 percent ERA three days after they ignited the IUPUI by 68 percent. Top scorer Josh Perkins did not score until the second half and finished with five points before committing a foul , almost 10 less than his average. He and his teammate Silas Melson combined to shoot 4 out of 19.
And they won with a healthy Trey Kell , who had been out during the crunch of ( unbearable ) losses in Washington State and Cal . Kell did not start, but he was on the ground, with the ball, when it mattered : he tied fouls that sent him to the line three times in the last three minutes, and then made an inverted tray that was closed within a minute to go. Thirteen of his 14 points came in the second half.
They also won with freshmen . Matt Mitchell and Jalen McDaniels had 15 points apiece . Mitchell played a 36-minute team high, and McDaniels had 10 rebounds , five on the offensive side.
Malik Pope had nine points and six rebounds in 21 minutes, but he went to the bench with 6:39 to play, presumably for a quick hit before the time of the crisis. Instead, he never returned and McDaniels and Montana played the game.
Both teams of coaches faced key tactical decisions before the draw. Dutcher , who had seven victories in his career as head coach, had to decide who to start. Mark Few of Gonzaga , the 513 career winner, had to decide whether to open in man or zone defense.
Give the guy a salute with the blackboard with seven.
Kell was healthy enough to play because of his recent punches (right ankle, left thigh ), and Dutcher had played with him in practice along with 6-foot-9 Max Montana instead of 7-1 Kameron Rooks , the idea was get another shooter on the floor in case the Zags , as expected, opened up in the area.
But Dutcher chose to start with Jeremy Hemsley instead of Kell , as he did with the victories against USD and Bradley when Kell was left out. And he went with Rooks despite a loss against Cal .
And few opened in man.
The result: SDSU leads by 11-0 and 22-10, and an animated crowd from Viejas Arena .
Few finally switched to a 2-3 zone, and played it in a similar way to Cal - with the protectors on top joined together to avoid the high pass and the wings of the baseline pushed up and up, with only one great protection of the basket.
The Aztecs were more active and moved the ball better than the Dec. 3 debacle against Cal , but they were not much more effective on the scoreboard , scoring just three points in the last eight minutes of the first half for a total of 25.
The good news was that the Zags were even worse against SDSU 's man to man and lost by 25-23. They shot 10 out of 30 in total, 2 out of 12 in 3s . They had nine turnovers and reached the free throw line only once, the recipe that sent them overtime at home last week against a team from North Dakota that had 30 points of disadvantage and had a RPI of 252.
