-Jim Root
After a year hiatus from the WCC Tournament due to COVID restrictions, it was lovely to be back at the Orleans Arena for multiple nights of quality basketball.
That is especially true given the league’s surge this season. Likely in line for three NCAA bids, the middle teams in the standings – BYU, Santa Clara, Portland – are no slouches, either.
There was no question who the headliner was, though.
Gonzaga
The Bulldogs are obviously the best team in the league, and the fanbase travels like it. The energy in the arena is just different when they’re playing (and the parking lot is a lot fuller, too).
The Zags backed up their ranking, winning two games by double-figures – albeit with some stressful moments in both. Perhaps what was most impressive, though, was how differently they won those games.
The win over San Francisco was more of an up-and-down affair, eventually getting up to 73 possessions. The Zags pounded San Francisco inside with big man Yauhen Massalski sitting out, and Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren combined for 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting inside the arc.
Against Saint Mary’s, however, that was not an option. The stout Gaels have defended Gonzaga well in all three meetings – particularly Holmgren. Chet averaged just 8.3 PPG against the Gaels over the three meetings, while Timme tallied just 8.0 PPG on 37.5% shooting in the final two contests.
That put more pressure on the Zags’ backcourt – especially in a game that was played at Saint Mary’s pace (only 66 possessions). Andrew Nembhard, Rasir Bolton, and Julian Strawther rose to the occasion and then some.
Thanks to their deadeye shooting (combined 8-of-11 from deep) and timely playmaking, Gonzaga put up 1.24 points per possession – the most the Gaels have allowed since the 2019-20 season. Nembhard was masterful in both games, totaling 16 assists to just two turnovers, and this pass in particular had me wanting to cheer on press row:
Bolton, meanwhile, added an element of “go get a bucket” that the Zags will need in March:
A year ago, Bolton played for a 2-22 Iowa State team. On Tuesday, he was a crucial part of Gonzaga getting to cut down the nets. That embodies what this program is about: evaluate players that fit, develop them within a system, and launch them into unprecedented success.
I continue to stand by my take on these Bulldogs: they may not be better than last year’s team, but their ability to win in different ways makes them more than capable of playing on the first Monday in April once again.
Saint Mary’s
When watching the Gaels, I could not help but think how maddening it would be to play against them. They are outrageously disciplined on both ends of the court, playing within themselves and very rarely making obvious mistakes. It’s like playing tennis against a wall – no matter how great a shot you hit, it’s coming back, forcing you to make play after play after play.
What’s remarkable about this squad is how much better it is than last year’s squad despite ranking 16th nationally in minutes continuity. Adding a healthy Alex Ducas back into the rotation is vital – Randy Bennett constantly lament how little shooting last year’s squad had – but the real difference is internal improvement.
That has been a constant in Bennett’s tenure, but Tommy Kuhse (and Matthias Tass and Logan Johnson) truly embodies the Gaels’ developmental curve.
Bennett said after the Santa Clara win that Kuhse was a “mid-level Division II player, at best” when he arrived in Moraga as a walk-on. Now, six (!) years later, Kuhse is an all-conference guard who has drawn comparisons to Steve Nash Lite in how he manipulates defenses in ball screens.
His assertiveness and confidence have clearly risen. Old Tommy Kuhse would not clear out a side to attack a semifinalist for National Defensive Player of the Year:
That has been especially true in his willingness to launch from deep. Over the first 23 games, he was taking 2.7 3PA per game. That has risen to 3.7 per game in his last nine contests. When you knock down 47% of your triples like Kuhse does, more volume is a good thing.
San Francisco
What a season for the Dons. A wire-to-wire victory over BYU should have clinched the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1998. Intelligent non-conference scheduling is rarely discussed, but it’s a terrific inefficiency in college basketball, and the Dons excel at exploiting these tiny edges. Sure, they did not get to play a Gonzaga-esque murderer’s row of power conference foes, but they played games away from home against solid squads – that’s how you find Q1 and Q2 games.
On the court, the backcourt is what really jumps out. Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz might be the fastest duo in the country, and both give foes headaches with their pesky defense. Shabazz is especially lethal sprinting off a pin-down handoff – good luck keeping up with him:
Bouyea controls the game from the point guard spot, and San Francisco added plenty of size in the offseason to reinforce their interior defense. With Todd Golden game-planning, San Francisco will unquestionably be a tough out in the Big Dance.
Others – BYU, Santa Clara, Portland
BYU may not live down its two-week swoon in late January/early February. The Cougars still have a solid win profile for the NCAA Tournament: 7-9 against the top two quadrants with only one bad loss compares favorably to many other bubble teams. Unfortunately, the metrics lag behind, and taking a 9-6 WCC team – even in this year’s conference – is a dicey proposition for the committee.
Following the San Francisco loss, Mark Pope and Spencer Johnson had the feel of players who could sense the Selection Sunday disappointment. They have to sit in the clubhouse while copious other bubble teams have chances to knock in birdies or eagles on the final couple holes of the course, and recency bias is a legitimate concern for NCAA selection.
The larger problem, though, is that BYU has not beaten a single top 150 KenPom team since January 15th, going 0-5 since that date. Add in a loss to Pacific, and they’ve made the cardinal sin of giving the committee an excuse to leave them out.
I don’t have a ton extra to add on Santa Clara and Portland, though both seem to be on upward trajectories. Both have established clear identities, and their continued rise should only further strengthen the conference as a whole.
The Pilots in particular have tons of promise under Shantay Legans – a little more depth and size via the transfer portal will go a long way. Plus, the final month of the season offers some “proof of concept” to any recruiting targets. Legans’ wide open, free-flowing style with skilled bigs can win in this league.