Gonzaga aims for pout-proof effort
TUCSON, Ariz. – It was Ronny Turiaf who put this morning’s second-round NCAA Tournament matchup between Gonzaga and Texas Tech in the most proper of perspectives.
“We want to play hard and go to the Sweet 16,” the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-10 senior forward and co-captain said following a Friday afternoon workout at the University of Arizona’s McKale Center, where today’s game will tip off at 10:10 a.m. “If we win, we’ll be happy. If we lose, we’ll go home and pout.”
To keep from putting on their pout earlier than expected, the third-seeded Zags (26-4), winners of 13 straight games, will have to find a way to deal with the sixth-seeded Red Raiders (21-10) and coach Bobby Knight’s perpetual motion offense.
Tech, which is coming off a 78-66 first-round win over UCLA on Thursday, finished fourth in the rugged Big 12 Conference this winter with a 10-6 record. The Red Raiders are another guard-oriented team that has embraced Knight’s disciplined offensive scheme, which is built on screens, back cuts, curls and attacking the basket, rather than dribble penetration.
“They run an offense we have never really faced before,” said GU junior guard Erroll Knight. “It’s kind of a mover, blocker, I’ll-screen-you-screen offense with just constant motion. Coach Knight has done a really good job of getting guys to buy in and keep moving.”
The biggest beneficiary of Bobby Knight’s offense has been senior guard Ronald Ross, a former walk-on who is averaging 17.4 points per game. The 6-2, 185-pounder form Hobbs, N.M., shot better than 53 percent from the field during the regular season, including 45 percent (36 of 80) from 3-point range.
“He’s a great player,” said Errol Knight, who will be charged with defending Tech’s leading scorer and first-team All-Big 12 selection. “He’s quick, he’s got a nice change of direction, a nice midrange game and he can shoot it from outside or take it to the rack.
“The thing I’m going to try to do is stay in front of him, eliminate any easy shots and not let him get going early.”
The Red Raiders, who moved up to No. 24 in the Associated Press’ final Top 25 rankings of the season, have other offensive weapons. Jarrius Jackson, a 6-1 sophomore point guard, is averaging 15.4 points; Martin Zeno, a 6-5 freshman, is averaging 12.9, and Devonne Giles, a 6-8, 225-pound senior forward, is at 11.4.
“Their motion, it’s just great motion,” GU coach Mark Few said of the Red Raiders, who beat regular-season Big 12 champion twice prior to the NCAA Tournament and also posted impressive wins over Kansas, Texas and Iowa State. “Whatever reads you make on their screens, they’re going to go opposite.
“I think it gives their kids a lot more freedom than people probably realize, being that it’s a Bobby Knight team.”
The Red Raiders couple their motion offense with an aggressive man-to-man defense that can make life miserable for opposing perimeter players.
Gonzaga, rated No. 10 in the final AP rankings and owner of the nation’s longest winning streak, will counter with the inside strength of Turiaf and junior J.P. Batista and the versatility of 6-8 sophomore guard Adam Morrison, who scored a game-high 27 points in Thursday night’s 74-64 first-round win over 14th-seeded Winthrop.
It will help that sixth-man forward Sean Mallon proclaimed himself “ready to go” after twisting an ankle against the Eagles.
But the Bulldogs, to a man, admit they have to bring a much more inspired effort than they brought on Thursday if they hope to advance to the Sweet 16 and play in Albuquerque, N.M., next week.
“We’ve got to come out and attack a little more and not come out so flat and so wide-eyed,” said sophomore point guard Derek Raivio, who was an uncharacteristic 2 for 10 from the field against Winthrop. “We’ve got to come out swinging, get on the attack and be aggressive from the get-go.”
The Zags’ Knight said he and his teammates need to “get all loose balls, rebound well and not turn the ball over.”
“If we do those things, we should come out with a victory,” he added. “But if we come on and play reactive, that could determine the game right there.”
Then the Bulldogs’ pouting would begin – long before many expected.