With the 60^th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Robert Sacre, a seven foot center out of Gonzaga University. Okay, here’s the real deal.

Rob Sacre and the legendary Reggie Miller joke around before the NCAA tournament in March

Congratulations to Rob for making it to the next level. That is quite the accomplishment, and a hard earned pick that numerous athletes never even come close to. With that being said, Sacre was the last player to be drafted on Thursday. I honestly didn’t even think he would get drafted, so kudos to him for surpassing my expectations, and I’m pretty sure many others as well.

The thing is, before the 2011-2012 season, I thought for sure Big Rob would be a force to reckon with, would easily make it professionally, and would be a solid NBA pick, but after this winter, I was convinced he would have to attempt an overseas career if he wanted to continue playing basketball. The guy has the physical body to play the game, and is a great free throw shooter, but for his size, he does not do what he needs to in the paint to be effective.

Also, I don’t think Rob is athletic enough to play against a lot of these guys in the NBA. He is a very fundamental player—not exactly the essence of the NBA—and he takes too long to react in the paint offensively; another issue if he wants to be a presence on the court.

When my dad asked me a few days ago what I thought would happen with Rob as far the draft was concerned, I said there is no way he gets drafted. “He needs to go play in Europe and maybe he will develop after two or three years and then can make in in The League, but as of now, he’s not ready.”

Clearly, the Lakers didn’t have the same take on Rob. Good for him, good for them. (I really don’t like the Lakers, so honestly I’m not thrilled Rob is destined to wear purple and gold.) On a side note, we can all remember the last time LA had a Zag on their roster—Adam Morrison won two titles with them, while riding the pine.

Let’s hope Rob can blossom into a well-rounded NBA player and show the world what can come out of a lot of hard work in Spokane.

The Good: Gonzaga’s women upset Rutgers to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bad: The men fell to Ohio State in the round of 32, ending their season at 26-7.

The Ugly: Whatever that stuff growing on the faces of the men’s team is.

THE GOOD: Lady Zags' bench celebrates

Zags don’t lose in the McCarthey Athletic Center, and that fact remained true as the 11^th seeded Lady Bulldogs took down No. 6 Rutgers 86-73. It was all blue as the Zags wore their dark uniforms as the away team, despite playing in their home gym. The Scarlet Knights never really had a chance, they trailed from the first basket and no way were the Zags or the crowd going to let them back in.

GU held a 20-4 advantage 10 minutes into the game, and kept that 15+ point lead most of the game. Kayla Standish led the team in scoring with 23 points. Kelly Bowen earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Also in double figures was Haiden Palmer with 21 and Taelor Karr who chipped in 14 points.

For Rutgers, Erica Wheeler took over the scoring with 28 point. Khadijah Rushdan grabbed a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. In all fairness, it was rather rude for the selection committee to send a six seed to an 11 seed’s home gym across the country. In the words of the Scarlet Knight’s head coach C. Vivian Stringer; however, “it’s the arena we play in,” indicating that wherever her game is scheduled is where her team needs to play, no matter any other circumstances, they need to step up.

Gonzaga advances to the second round of the Big Dance to face third seeded Miami. The Hurricanes defeated No. 14 Idaho State Saturday. Game time is set for 6:30pm (PST) in Spokane.

THE BAD: GU's bench as the loss sets in

In Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon, Gonzaga came out playing tough as the men took on second seeded Ohio State. Until the last few seconds of the half, GU made a statement leading the Buckeyes. OSU took a two point advantage into the locker room at the half—they never looked back.

The Zags remained in the game, even after trailing by as much as ten in the second half, but in the end OSU avoided the huge upset with a 73-66 win. The Zags fought for the Sweet Sixteen, and brought it to a three point game with one minute to go, but things just didn’t fall their way.

By the looks of the box score, OSU should have dominated GU, as four of their starters were in double figures; however, their bench had no points. The Bulldogs added ten from the bench, keeping them that much closer—three starters were in double digits for GU.

Gary Bell Jr. led the Zags with 18 points and five assists. Elias Harris chipped in 16 points, while Kevin Pangos added 10. The Buckeye’s two big men, Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas each racked up 18 points, while Aaron Craft contributed with 17 and William Buford tossed in 13.

GU played three Big Ten teams this season, and lost all three of those games. I guess that conference just had the Zags’ number. And if nothing else comes from the loss, the nasty facial hair can disappear off the boys’ faces now that they lost.

THE UGLY: Gross facial hair growing on Rob Sacre and Elias Harris' faces during the tournament

The chorus of the classic John Denver song, “Country Road” is what the West Virginia Mountaineers are singing as the Zags rocked WVU 77-54 Thursday. The Mountaineers are a one and done team, and Gonzaga proved the selection committee successful as they held their own as the seven seed against the highly favored ten seed.

Distance travelled didn’t make a difference, and hometown crowd had no effect, as the Bulldogs plowed to their victory—leading from the 17:51 mark of the first half on. It was absolutely stunning. An odd mix of Zags filled up most of the minutes throughout the game, giving the key players rest, while dominating a Big East team.

In the win, several Bulldogs had trouble controlling their aggression earning several early fouls, but by the end, no one had more than three, and physicality wasn’t a concern. Rob Sacre and Gary Bell Jr. led the team with 14 points apiece. Kevin Pangos contributed 13, and Elias Harris rounded out the double figure scoring with ten.

As a team, the Zags knocked down nine threes, shooting nearly 53% from behind the arc. Mike Hart and Ryan Spangler earned some great minutes and made a tremendous impact considering their typical lack of court time. Hart drained a buzzer beating three for five points and four rebounds with 17 minutes on the court. Spangler racked up 21 minutes, in which he grabbed a team high of eight boards; he tossed in four points as well.

The Bulldogs will face Ohio State, a two seed, Saturday Morning in Pittsburgh. Tip-off is set for after the conclusion of the Syracuse-Kansas State game; roughly 11:30am (PST) on CBS.

Gonzaga's Head Coach Mark Few

Let me begin by saying Mark Few and his coaching staff have done an incredible job over the past 12 years, bringing Gonzaga’s men’s basketball program to an elite level that competes against the nation’s best competition annually. With that being said, I am about to rant off my frustrations with coaching decisions and game management from Monday’s WCC Championship game.

First of all, David Stockton should not have played for 15 minutes in that game—one third of the time he was on the court.  While the redshirt sophomore did have four assists, he did not score at all. In fact, for the season, he has the second worst shooting percentage of anyone on the team at 39%.

If you watch him play, the generously listed 5’11” point guard cannot keep up in fast paced games—he is always a step behind, and constantly caught in a size mismatch in the paint. He does have a great court sense, but when the game is very transition/fast-break oriented and not a slow it down, run the set offense kind of game, Stockton is not the guy to have at the point. Monday’s championship game was very fast paced and when Stocks was in at crunch time, it was flat out questionable.

On the other hand, why was Marquise Carter not in the game more, and in potentially instead of David? Carter was the WCC Tournament MVP last season, and although he didn’t have superstar year, he is so athletic, and much quicker than Stockton. Quise only saw four minutes on the court, yet in that time he went 2-2 from the free throw line and gathered a steal.

All season long, Carter managed to find his way to the line while he was in the game.  While at the charity strip, he shot 70%, which is significantly better than Stockton’s 60%. David averaged over two and a half minutes more than Quise, yet Carter was at the line 30 more times than Stockton. Not only does that show Marquise was more scoring oriented, but that he made better use out his scoring attempts.

Also, Marquise is a senior with pressure game experience, he knows how to make the key plays and maintain the pace of the game. Yes, Carter is more of a shooting guard, but utilizing three guards, like Coach Few did much of the game with Pangos, Stockton, and Bell, could just has easily been done with Marquise at the two or three spot. He definitely deserved more than four minutes in the title game—poor decision to have him on the bench for 41 minutes.

Other players that should have seen more time are Sam Dower, Ryan Spangler, and Mike Hart. All three bench players were extremely effective in their sparse time on the court, yet clearly the coaching staff didn’t see fit to adjust the line-up in times of need.

Sam Dower produced 14 points in 15 minutes. He nailed two threes that sparked a ton of momentum for Gonzaga, yet he only played a third of the game. That’s right, the backup center, along with power forward Elias Harris were the only Zags to make multiple shots from behind the arc. Dower also contributed with nine points inside. He is a dual threat that should most definitely be on the court more when he is having a great game like he did Monday.

Mike Hart, the one time starter who barely saw the court once Guy Landry Edi became eligible halfway through the season is the best hustle player on the entire Gonzaga roster. While he played for eight minutes in the title game, it was predominately because Edi was in foul trouble.

However, Hart grabs boards, causes jump balls, and outside of Elias Harris nailing the last second three, is the reason for GU heading into overtime. He forced a trap in the corner with his tenacious defense, which resulted in Dellavedova turning over the ball with 10 seconds remaining. That play resulted in a GU ball that led to Harris’ trey.

While Hart and Edi play in the same position most of the time, they have two completely different styles of playing. In certain situations one athlete is better suited for time on the court, but considering in 22 minutes Guy fouled out, only grabbed one rebound, and score four points, it appears that Hart’s eight minutes may have been more valuable to the team. He racked up three boards and a steal with no fouls in his few minutes.

Finally, Ryan Spangler, the most efficient player of the game if you ask me, made use of his one minute on the court in the first half. He made a basket and added a rebound to his stat line in the 1:30 he spent on the court. Oh and that rebound was on the offensive end, something that the Zags struggle with frequently.

While Spangler is typically a late sub for Elias Harris at the four position, and surly the Bulldogs wanted Harris on the court, it still seems like Coach Few should have utilized the 6’8” freshman better. One potential use for him could have been to use Dower, Harris, Spangler, Pangos, and Bell as a rotation when Sacre needed a break.

Spangler might not be as tall as Rob or Sam, but he is a legitimate post player; who, like Mike Hart, has tenacity and works hard every second he is on the court. Considering Dower and Harris were shooting well from outside the paint Monday, it would have made since to move Harris to the wing spot, while Dower and Spangler played down low.

This line up would create pressure on SMC’s defense because there would be four outside threats to guard on the perimeter, and quite frankly Spangler’s inside presence would likely take a back seat to the defense. This would have opened up the court and allowed either Spangler to sneak some interior points, or if nothing else cause a size mismatch with three bigs on the court for Gonzaga. This should not be a rotation that is used all the time, but in a game in which needed some creative coaching, and Spangler showed production in limited time, it seems only right to figure out a way to shake things up as a coach and get the kid some more minutes.

Finally, I would like to understand where the communication breakdown is between timeouts, effective clock management, and whatever is done on the court in between. When Gonzaga lost to USF a few weeks ago by one, it was the final two minutes of the game in which GU failed to score that really hurt the Zags. Two timeouts were called, but neither proved to do anything but stop the clock. Both times the Bulldogs came out of the huddle and were unable to run an effective play or even get a high-percentage shot off before the shot-clock was about to expire. That made the difference in the game, the regular season title, and the WCC tournament seeding.

In the championship game, with 1:18 left in regulation, Few called a 30 second time out. Once the game resumed, GU allowed 28 seconds of the 29 available to tick off the shot clock before Kevin Pangos launched a missed three. Considering he had made one trey all night, it is doubtful that a last second toss up from beyond the arc by Pangos was really the game plan. If it was, Few clearly had not been watching the game I was. If it wasn’t, then why is it that Gonzaga was unable to effectively use a timeout strategy in the critical moments of a game?

There is plenty to criticize when your team loses, especially a very close and emotional game. It is always easy to judge game decisions based on the game, when one doesn’t know the ins and outs of what happens behind closed doors either. However, from merely watching the WCC Championship, I think that there were several coaching decisions that just did not make since, or were not effective. Let’s hope nearly two weeks off gives the team and coaching staff adequate time to prepare for the real championship.

Elias Harris was incredible against the Gaels

Five seconds remained in regulation, Elias Harris stepped back from the top of the key and drained an off balance three pointer. Electrifying. The game was tied with four seconds to go. My classroom filled with the 18 people that showed up for our 6-9pm night class the night of the WCC Championship game went nuts.

Harris is a member of that class, and quite frankly the room was flat and disappointed; filled with little hope. But what he had just done no one thought was going to happen— E hit the tying shot to send the title game into overtime. New life was inspired into the Zag Nation; unfortunately, after five more minutes of play in overtime, Gonzaga was the quietest college campus in America.

It was double bonus, and the WCC player of the year was fouled twice in the final minute of OT. Matthew Dellevadova swished all four free throws, and his freshman teammate Jordan Page knocked down two more with 30 seconds left complete the necessary two possession lead.  Neither player had come off the court all night, and those final seconds showed why. The Gaels beat the Bulldogs 78-74.

It was said best by a friend on Facebook, “Live by the Pangos, die by the Pangos.” After dropping 30 on BYU two nights ago, Kevin Pangos was only another body on the court. He finished the night with seven points, going 1-10 from behind the arc. Pangos’ inability to spark a scoring run was only one of the many mistakes and frustrations that littered Gonzaga Monday night in Las Vegas.

Pangos never even made an attempt at the free throw line, the other place on the court where he racks up points. Kevin was a good freshman basketball player that was not able to fill the role as the general on the court that most of GU was expecting him to, despite being the only Zag to play 45 minutes. It’s not his fault, by any means, that Gonzaga lost; there just happens to be a correlation of his performance and the outcome.

The one commanding player on the Bulldogs’ side was Elias Harris. He was a monster, hero, and by far the best athlete on the court. Harris knocked in 22 points and pulled down 13 boards in the game and hit the biggest shot of the night. He is peaking at the right time.

Rob Sacre had a good game inside, as the seven foot center shot 6-12 from the paint on his way to a 17 point performance. He was pumped for his final conference game of his five year career at Gonzaga, and it showed in his play.

Sam Dower was another spark for the Zag offense as he netted 14 points in 15 minutes of play. His performance was much needed, considering he had not been in double figures for quite a few games.

Dower’s time on the court is one of the many factors that contribute to my questioning of the coaching staff. If you look at the big picture and how the game was managed, along with the stat-line of several other players, so many red flags go up. Of course, it is extremely easy to criticize anyone when they lose, but tomorrow there will be a rant on what could have been done better, or who should have been on the court to win the game.

The season isn’t over, however. While, St. Mary’s did get the automatic bid, the No. 24/25 ranked Bulldogs should have no problem making another trip to the Big Dance. Selection Sunday is less than a week away, so now the anxiety of seeding kicks in, as March Madness has only begun.

Gonzaga’s men’s and women’s basketball program received numerous conference awards this week for having outstanding squads on and off the court.

Most importantly, redshirt junior Mike Hart and senior Shannon Reader were named to the WCC All-Academic teams. Hart is a Business Administration major and tallied a 3.63 GPA. Reader earned a 3.26 GPA as a Public Relations major.

On the court, GU had a strong presence, with numerous men and women making the all-conference team, as well as earning individual awards.

Gonzaga dominated the WCC awards, proving they are the best of the WCC

Four lady Zags were honored as Kayla Standish and Katelan Redmon were named to the All-WCC first team squad. The seniors, who both represented the United States in the Pan-Am games prior to the season starting, had a great year individually, and as a team for the Zags. They are a part of the winningest class in GU Women’s Basketball history.

Haiden Palmer, a red-shirt sophomore, was honored as the Co-newcomer of the Year for the league—she transferred after her freshman season at Oregon State. Palmer was also a first-team Honorable Mention. Freshman Sunny Greinacher was named to the All-Freshman team.

For the men, senior Rob Sacre was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. His seven foot presence and ability to block-out in the paint made it extremely difficult for opponents to move inside on the Zags. Sacre also racked up enough blocks this season to move to second all-time in that stat at GU. He was given a spot on the league’s 10-man WCC First team, as well.

Kevin Pangos, the freshman super star from Canada was honored as the WCC Newcomer of the Year. Pangos lit up the conference awards, earning spots on the all-WCC first team roster, and the All-Freshman team. He was joined by fellow freshman starter Gary Bell Jr. on the conference freshman squad.

Joining Pangos and Sacre on the 10-man team, was junior Elias Harris. For his third straight year the power forward was honored by the conference. As a freshman he earned a spot on the first team and as the New Comer of the Year. Last season he was recognized as an honorable mention for the all-conference roster.

This was it; the last game in the Kennel for Robert Sacre and Marquis Carter, and they went out with style and stardom. The two seniors were recognized prior to the game, and featured throughout the 40 minutes of play. Rob was rested for most of the game, since he is a typical starter and key player in the Bulldogs’ line up, yet managed five points and six rebounds in limited minutes. Marquise added 13 points as a starter and dished out five assists—including the first three assists for the first three baskets of the game.

Marquise Carter delivers a goodbye speech with fellow senior Rob Sacre (00). Photo from @GonzagaBulldogs the official GU Athletics Twitter

As the final minute counted down in the game, and Mike Hart waited to replace Carter, so he could receive the proper farewell cheer, a dead ball seemed impossible to come by. Hart was signaling his teammates to foul in order to stop the clock, but the referees wouldn’t blow the whistle. Finally Quise had a drive inside and rolled the ball in the bucket, while he hit the floor hard with Longview players flying into him. He made the free throw. Carter left the game, and the court, with the perfect “And 1” scenario.

That moment captured the night as a fan. The emotion, the passion, the execution, it was all present. Considering the final score favored the Zags 92-60, it is hard to really find how the atmosphere of the MAC really factored into the game, but man it was still good.

Unfortunately, the visiting Lancers from Virginia only had seven available players. The independent division one team that will be joining the Big South next year struggled to hang with the Zags after about the first seven minutes. Most of the starters for Gonzaga sat on the bench for the majority of the game, as the bench players earned valuable minutes.

Freshman Ryan Spangler earned a career high and double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He wasn’t the only freshman to have an outstanding game, though; Gary Bell Jr. came off the bench to net 20 points—18 from behind the arc (6-9). Bell was unreal, that is the only way to explain it. He is a usual starter, but was replaced by Carter for the first half in the two guard position. GB2 started the second half in place of Guy Landry Edi, considering he had drained four three pointers in the first 20 minutes—few of which he was actually on the court—Few couldn’t leave him on the pine.

Pangos was also in double figures with a strong first half from the trey—he finished with 13 points. He went 4-5 from the three, contributing to the 46% outside shooting.

All good things must come to an end, and so after five years of Rob Sacre on the Gonzaga bench, and two years of Marquise Carter wearing No. 2 for the Zags, it is time for the Kennel to bid farewell. Their contributions to the team, program, and atmosphere of Gonzaga Basketball were remarkable and cherished.

Thank you Rob and Quise for contributing to the Zag experience, you will be missed.

Now it’s time for the postseason: Vegas Baby!

So much has happened in Gonzaga Athletics in [roughly] the last 48 hours. The Lady Zags’ basketball team avenged a 30 point loss to BYU with a 17 point victory and their eighth straight WCC regular season title; GU’s men had a nail-biter game in San Diego—in which the Bulldogs got the win; the baseball team won four games to capture a 7-0 start to the season; all of which were positives. Yet, the one thing that no Zag was involved in was the most devastating to the school—St. Mary’s beat San Francisco in men’s basketball to earn the outright regular season West Coast Conference title.

It had been 11 straight years of success. The only program with a longer streak in NCAA men’s basketball: UCLA with 13 straight league championships under the legendary coach, John Wooden. We were so close, yet it doesn’t really matter now because as soon as you let go of controlling your own destiny, there is no hand in the outcome, which is likely to be detrimental.

Some may want to blame USF for not pulling through with an upset over the Gaels Saturday night, but the reality is, if Gonzaga had taken care of the ball better and beat the Dons last week, none of it would have mattered. The sudden emotion of the streak ending is challenging to deal with—for as long as I can remember Gonzaga controlled the WCC—now that era is over.

There are two ways to deal with the outcome of the regular season; first is to be completely angry and make excuses for failing to execute when needed during conference play. The second approach is to reflect on having one of the most remarkable runs in college basketball and be grateful to have been a part and a witness to the mark in history Zags Basketball has made. It truly is impressive to see where Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference, and the basketball program have progressed to over the last 12 years all because of that first championship that started a decade of excellence.

It may take a while to move to that second phase, but by the time the post season ends, I have a feeling the devastating state of ending the streak will fade and appreciation will remain for a lifetime. I hope anyway.

Winning is what it means to be a Zag

However, while one run ended, another remained intact. The women have continued the trend of capturing conference titles in Spokane, and did it for the eighth straight time Saturday afternoon. As the Kennel said goodbye to five seniors in their final regular season game, the Zags said goodbye to BYU and their aspirations of taking the crown from the queens of Spokane and the WCC.

Katelan Redmon showed she was going to be the hometown hero in her final home game at the MAC (if the team makes the NCAA tournament she will have a shot a few more, however). Redmon racked up 28 points for the Bulldogs. Fellow senior Kayla Standish tallied 15 points—all of which came in the second half. Standish sat the majority of the first half due to two early fouls; yet she took control of the paint when she started the second.

Underclassmen may not have been glorified, but junior point guard Taelor Karr scored in double digits with 11 points and dished out six assists. Sophomore guard, Jazmine Redmon, who comes off the bench, gave out seven assists and scored five. GU won the game 77-60.

On the men’s side, a fiery San Diego squad hosted the Zags and made it interesting, and nerve wrecking for the Zag fans. No one, except for Guy Landry Edi had a good game. Edi capitalized on great shooting with a perfect 4-4 from the field; six of those points came from behind the arc. He also was 3-5 from the free throw lined to end the night with 13 points and no turnovers.

Unlike Edi, the rest of the team combined for 13 turnovers (unfortunately that is significantly lower than most recent games for this team) and struggled to shoot well. Rob Sacre and Kevin Pangos each grabbed 11 points; seven of those for Sacre were from the line. Pangos had a decent night from the three, netting three of four attempts—yet that is where nine of his points came from—the other two were free throws. The common theme: not much inside from either of them. They also turned the ball over three times each.

Elias Harris, who was by far the most athletic and explosive athlete on the court, only managed seven points; however he did grab 12 boards. He needs to take over games and teams like the Toreros, not allow them to control his play. Gonzaga pulled it out 65-57, despite trailing the majority of the second half.

On the baseball field in little Beaumont, Texas, the Zags played host school Lamar and fellow visitor Illinois in two double headers; one on Friday and the other on Saturday. All four games ended in the Bulldogs’ favor, including the final game of the weekend that stretched to 12 innings. Gonzaga is now 7-0 for the year and is looking like a solid team.

In the first game Friday, GU knocked off Illinois 13-3 with Marco Gonzales tossing eight innings with seven K’s and only giving up one run. Offensively, seniors Eric Lane and Andy Hunter drove in two runs a piece, as did junior transfer Alex Bonczyk.

Game two on Friday was a 6-1 W over Lamar with junior Billy Moon pitching eight solid innings for GU. He too had seven strikeouts and gave up one earned run. Senior outfielder Royce Bolinger collected three RBI’s, while junior short-stop Steven Halcomb knocked in two runs.

Saturday’s noon game against the Illini was a 7-3 win, as Andy Hunter pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs. Once again, seven strikeouts were recorded and only one earned run was given up. Junior designated hitter Clayton Eslick batted in two teammates, while Gonzales played first and drove in two runs as well.

After a long and condensed weekend of baseball, GU was set to face Lamar again Saturday evening. The Bulldogs gave up an early lead, but fought back to tie the game. After 12 innings of baseball it was Halcomb who brought home the winning run in the 6-5 victory. Tyler Olson started on the mound and through six and a third innings recorded, what do you know, seven K’s. Gonzales brought his offense for the second straight game collecting two more RBI’s for Gonzaga.

It was a weekend of winning for the Bulldogs. It is pretty impressive at how successful the Zags were this weekend all around the nation. Let the victorious attitude prevail in the next week as basketball heads to Vegas for the conference tournament and the baseball team returns to Texas for three games in San Antonio.

They lost to them on a neutral court to end last season. They lost at their place earlier this year. But they won at home. Gonzaga defeated BYU with style 74-63 Thursday night.

Before the game even started, Zag fans new it was going to be a good night. Brent Musburger was calling the game on ESPN2 in the Kennel. The longtime analyst never calls GU games, so knowing one of the greats would be commentating set the tone for the night of epic proportions.

Elias Harris slams down a dunk for 2 points

Kevin Pangos and Elias Harris combined for an insane alley-oop that was flashy enough to make the No. 4 play on Sports Center’s Top Ten segment. The slam by Harris got the crowd rocking, as the game was nearing the final stretch.

However, with every good thing, there seems to be a bad. Moments later, on the transition play, Rob Sacre went up for a powerful block and fouled the shooter. His fifth foul, he was done for the night with a few minutes remaining in a tight game. Not exactly what you want out of your “senior leader.”

Scoring was balanced and successful for Gonzaga. Harris led the Bulldogs with 19 points, while snatching a double-double with a career high 16 rebounds. Pangos racked up 18 points and Gary Bell Jr. had 12 for the night. The other two starters, combined for 13 points—Sacre had eight and Guy Landry Edi made five. Only 12 points came from the bench.

Yet, the negative side to the starters’ balanced scoring was their terribly awful even amount of turnovers. Somehow the Zags pulled out an 11 point victory with 20 turnovers. Pangos, Bell, and Sacre each had four. It was awfully ugly and the emphasis on taking care of the ball must be discussed before the team moves on to another game.

Several of Gonzaga’s points came from the free throw line, as the team made 36 of 44, a much improving statistic. It is nice to see one area of the game, at least, improve for the Bulldogs.

One stat that sucked for GU was the points in the paint. Until Sacre collected three fouls in a row with about eight minutes to go, the big men for the Zags were nowhere near foul trouble, yet not being fed the ball inside at all. Gonzaga had 18 points to BYU’s 26 down low. That is not okay; especially when the Cougars’ 6-8 star forward Noah Hartsock only played for seven minutes and didn’t produce any baskets due to a lingering injury.  Our guards are great passers most of the time, but they need to learn how to avoid bounce passes to the bigs’ knees and ankles and get the ball up in the air where their height can be an advantage.

It was great to get the win. The energy in the Kennel was great, and was more evidence as to why Gonzaga is in the running for the Naismith Student Section of the Year. (Vote here for the KC now please!  https://www.facebook.com/ilovecollegehoops?sk=app_148595948584796 ) However, it must be noted that GU shot the three well (6-13) and the Cougars did not (6-28). Also, Hartsock not playing the whole second half, and only the start of the game was in the Zags’ favor as well. Finally, Gonzaga led by as much as 17 in the second half, yet again their opponent closed the gap to a two possession game in the closing minutes. Something needs to be done about finishing games, in which big leads are held.

The reality of the situation, despite being on cloud nine for redeeming the two recent losses to BYU, is that the conference title pretty much rests in the hands of USF. If the Dons knock off St. Mary’s Saturday and GU takes care of business in San Diego, the two WCC powers will share the crown for the second straight year. If not, Gonzaga’s run of 11 straight regular season league championships will come to an end. It sure was nice to get the W against the Cougars, but the focus is now on what happens Saturday in California.

Call it de ja vu, call it an upset, call it whatever you want—it was a heart-breaking, turnover heavy, ugly loss. Gonzaga dropped Saturday evening’s game at USF 66-65.

It’s irritating. Three years I have been at Gonzaga, three years in a row the Dons have taken down the Zags in War Memorial Gym. The first two years it was overtime where San Francisco knocked off the conference power, this time, in regulation, with questionable calls and the Zags’ inability to capitalize in clutch moments, it was a final second lay-in that sealed the one point victory.

Not only does the Gonzaga fan base cringe at the fact that the Bulldogs can’t seem to get a W in San Fran, but the whole concept of controlling our own destiny went out the window with the loss. Adrenaline was rushing Wednesday night when LMU beat SMC to give the Zags a chance to repeat as the WCC champs for the 12^th straight year. Then an ugly, unexecuted game against the Dons threw those spirits away—just like that.

Sure there is still a chance for GU to grab a share if St. Mary’s falls again and the Zags hang on against BYU and San Diego next week, but the reality is the Bulldogs can’t come in clutch when it is needed most. Not in specific plays, not in specific games, and not in entire seasons.

Gonzaga is a great team this year—when they play great teams. When the competition is less than elite, the Zags sink to their level. Saturday’s game is proof. Not to knock USF, they have done some great stuff and have the talent to be a solid team. But realistically, the Dons are in the middle of a mid-major conference that has only had one NCAA tournament mid most years. They have 11 losses for the season and are barely over .500 (8-7) in the WCC. They are a decent team, but not a great one.

Yet they forced Gonzaga to turn the ball over 21 times throughout the course of the game. Completely unacceptable. I don’t care if you are playing kindergartners or the NBA all-stars, if you turn the ball over 21 times you don’t deserve to be even close to winning a game, but GU was. That is how much better of a team the Zags are than the Dons, yet the Bulldogs could not close it out.

Failure to capitalize in critical situations was apparent all night. In the final seconds of the first half, USF got a shot off with five seconds left on the shot clock, they missed; but grabbed the offensive rebound and tossed it up for a buzzer beating fade away to ultimately win the game, but also to close out the half with a 36-33 edge.

With a little over 2 minutes to play in the game, Gonzaga was up 65-64. GU called a time out and had 21 seconds on the shot clock to execute whatever was discussed during the break. That ended 17 seconds later with Gary Bell Jr. tossing up a shot to hopefully graze the rim for a fresh 35.

With 43 seconds to go, Coach Few called another time out, the Zags held the same one point edge. Elias Harris missed the jumper with 12 seconds remaining in the game. USF grabbed the rebound and with three seconds left as Rashad Green bulldozed over Kevin Pangos, in what most GU fans would consider an obvious charge, the ball rolled into the Don’s basket. Harris threw up a half-court attempt with two guys all over him as time expired, but it wasn’t enough.

Green and Yellow rushed the court; for the third straight time. Reliving it all—it’s painful. Obviously the players didn’t do their job because you can’t blame the coaches for 21 turnovers and failure to manage the shot clock after a time-out, but you can hold the coaching staff accountable for the lack of substitutions and poor rotation choices.

When St. Mary’s came to Spokane last week, the adjustments made by Coach Few and his crew were incredible. They defense was so fresh and the offense was precise. Saturday in San Francisco, it was like the coaches were doing whatever they could to enable the Dons to stay in the game.

Sam Dower, who is one of the best sixth mans in the country played 11 minutes. He only had one basket and one rebound, but he was not given much of a chance to get into his offensive rhythm either. David Stockton, meanwhile, played for fourteen minutes and pretty much did nothing besides make one three to help his team. He dribbles too much, is too short, and doesn’t take care of the ball. He hurt the Zags tonight.

Unfortunately, Kevin Pangos, the starting point guard couldn’t do much better, as he went 0-5 from behind the arc and committed three turnovers with only one assist. He finished with six points, not good enough tonight.

Elias Harris racked in a double-double with an impressive 21 points and 11 boards. He definitely stood out for the Zags and played better than any of his teammates. Rob Sacre contributed 11 points, and Bell Jr. tossed in 16. He was 3-4 from the three.

Mike Hart produced another great hustle game. He may have only had two points, but it was an impressive two points. He was alone in the middle of the key and laid it in with no one close. It showed his value to the team. Opponents ignore Mike when he’s on the offensive side of the court. He can create space and capitalize on it. He also plays great defense and plays hard for every second he is in the game.

That is what Gonzaga needs.

USF's War Memorial Gymnasium--where the Zags just can't win