1. The fog bank of fatigue that has been weighing on me over the past five days or so lightened up a bit today and I started to get hints of not feeling so draggy and weak.
2. I was eager to watch Baylor and Gonzaga square off today in that replica of 1950s high school gymnasium in Sioux City called the Sanford Pentagon. I decided to go ahead and subscribe to Peacock's premium service so I could watch it. I ran into a small glitch when I tried to do so, then figured out a way to overcome that glitch, and so, when my Peacock service began, I started watching early in the first half and Baylor had streaked to an early 19-7 lead.
I didn't know what to think, but it looked like a blowout could be under way.
Such was not the case.
For the rest of the first half and as the second half developed, I was impressed with the Zags' intensity, their fight, their willingness to mix it up physically with Baylor.
And the Zags came back and not only made the game close, but seized the lead in the second half.
In fact, the Zags led by seven point with just 1:38 remaining.
And then the one most glaring weakness in the Zags' offensive game got exposed.
They needed a confident and poised point guard to guide them in the game's last minute and a half, but, right now, there is no such player on the Zags' roster.
The Zags became tentative, turned the ball over, and couldn't/didn't stop Baylor's Adam Flagler from making two heroic and clutch three point jumpers. In a late game scramble for a loose ball, Drew Timme got called for a foul -- the replay showed that Baylor's Jalen Bridges may have been fouled, but not by Timme. But, Timme fouled out. Bridges' free throws put Baylor ahead by a point, 64-63, the game's final score as it turned out.
The Zags once again turned the ball over but then forced a Baylor turnover themselves.
Behind a point with 13 seconds to go, the Zags couldn't/didn't create a good shot for anyone and Rasir Bolton, possibly trying to draw a foul, threw a wild shot toward the tin that missed badly. Then with five seconds to go, the Zags forced another turnover, but once again could not or did not create a good shot.
The Zags have a little over three months worth of basketball games yet to play.
Can they, over that period of time, overcome this point guard problem, overcome the tentativeness and uncertainty handling the basketball in pressure situations? It's what plagued the Zags at game's end tonight.
I don't know the answer. I would think tonight's loss was scarring, might have created self-doubt among the Zags, or, at the very least, left the team wondering who its ball handling leader could possibly be.
(Oh! The Zags only made 13 of their 21 free throw attempts. Making their free throws would have helped them to victory tonight.)
(One other thing. Baylor stifled Drew Timme. With Timme drawing so much of Baylor's defensive attention, the Zags' Strawther, Bolton, and Hickman had plenty of opportunities to score. The Zags needed more than 10 points from Strawther. They needed more than eight points from Bolton. Hickman didn't score at all. That really hurt the Zags.)
To conclude: in terms of effort, determination, toughness, willingness to scrap, and overall fight and intensity, I thought this was Gonzaga's strongest game.
It was hard to see their guards look in over their heads in the last 1:30.
3. In contrast to Gonzaga's late game woes against Baylor, my former "home team" Maryland Terrapins demonstrated sureness and calm in their last minute victory over Illinois.
Illinois is a stout and talented squad and over the last several minutes of last night's tilt they reduced Maryland's double digit lead down to a single point with about 42 seconds to play. Maryland ran the clock down to about 28 seconds, called a time out, and Kevin Willard sent his troops back on the floor.
Maryland's Jahmir Young performed brilliantly under the late game pressure.
He created space for himself, lifted up to launch a three point shot with 14 seconds remaining, and buried it, securing Maryland's eventual 71-66 win.
No confusion.
No insecurity.
No self-doubt.
It's this kind of take charge clutch play that Gonzaga has got to hope its staff can help develop in at least one of their guards, whether Smith, Bolton, or Hickman.
I'll be staying tuned.
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