1. I mean, just on the most superficial level, I thought Gonzaga was in deep trouble today in their tilt against Alabama. I went to Google maps to see how far the Crimson Tide had to travel from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to play on a so-called neutral court. They traveled about 53 minutes, about the amount of time it takes me to get from Kellogg to the taproom at the YaYa Brewery in Spokane Valley.
Gonzaga travelled 2241 miles at the end of finals week to reach Birmingham. The two teams met at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena, in front of 15,847 people. I know some of those present were Gonzaga fans because CBS showed us Ma and Pa Timme several times, a woman wearing a T-shirt with Timme's name on it, and because my KHS, Class of 72 classmate David Dill was in the house sporting a Gonzaga hoody.
The first seven minutes of the game progressed pretty much the way I thought (feared -- I was pulling for the Zags) it would and Alabama held a nine point lead, 20-11.
But, the Zags began to close the gap and once they claimed a lead in the first half, they never trailed again and went on to defeat the Crimson Tide 100-90.
How did Gonzaga do it?
I have a few observations, none of which are hills I would die on. It's just how I see things.
* Turnovers. Gonzaga tightened up its own protection of the rock and only committed nine turnovers. Alabama, on the other hand, committed twenty-one. To me, turnovers present a question I can't readily answer. How many of those turnovers did the Zags force with quick hands, deflections, and anticipation of where Crimson Tide passes were going? How many of those turnovers were, to use a tennis term, unforced errors? I'd have to watch the game again to figure it out, but to their credit, Gonzaga had twelve steals. I don't know how many of those turnovers the Zags converted into points -- I haven't seen or read that statistic, but it's clear (if not obvious) that Alabama's turnovers, forced and unforced errors, hurt them badly.
Now, I admit that when I watch basketball games, I tend toward seeing the positive things teams do more than the negative and, in doing so, I might overrate or overestimate these positive developments.
That said, and I realize that Kent State and Washington were inferior opponents, but in those two games I thought Gonzaga was starting to play more intense defense. I didn't think they played with much intensity against N Illinois, but today I thought the intensity I sensed a week or so ago was back.
I found myself wishing that Gonzaga's coaching staff would do what Marquette's does and hold up a white board telling how many balls the team has deflected over the course of a game. Marquette's goal is 32 deflections per game. Did Gonzaga cause 32 or more deflections today? I don't know, but they had to have caused quite a few.
(By the way, Stu told me the thought it was a poorly officiated game. I am incapable of assessing officiating. It's just not what I pay attention to when I watch games and I can't tell much about officials' calls watching games on television. I know TAT, Byrdman, Lars, and Stu are all much more tuned in to how games are officiated than I am. So, if you are reading my observations and saying to yourself, but, but the officials. . . I am incapable, even after all these years of once playing and now watching basketball games, of participating in that conversation.)
* Drew Timme scored 29 points on 12-18 shots from the field and, as he does so often, scored those points with a variety of hook shots, floaters, lay ups, and fade aways. I thought Timme benefited in his production from how well the other Gonzaga players also scored. Anton Watson scored 17 points. I thought his production made it difficult for Alabama's defense to swarm Timme. In the second half, as the Alabama defense bunched itself in the key, Nolan Hickman exploited this by hitting shots from about 12-15 feet and ended up scoring 13 points. Julian Strawther is fighting off a bug, but in the 18 minutes he played, he scored 11 points, but more importantly, Malachi Smith came off the bench to play 24 minutes, score 12 points, and, in the last six minutes of the game, hold his man, the explosive Brandon Miller, scoreless. How explosive was Miller? Despite not scoring in the last six minutes, he tallied 36 for the game. He is one of the nation's very best players, for sure.
Only one other Alabama player scored in double figures. Jaden Bradley scored 18. Gonzaga's scoring was much better balanced. Timme, Hickman, Watson, Smith, Bolton, and Strawther all scored in double figures and, I thought, the Zags benefited from a couple of timely shots scored by Ben Gregg and Efton Reid.
* My last observation (thank God). Early on in this game, if I remember correctly, Alabama dominated rebounds on their own missed shots. Again, just trusting my memory, it seemed to me that as the game progressed, Gonzaga gave up fewer offensive rebounds. Yes, for the game, Alabama out rebounded the Zags 37-30, but I thought the rebounding were pretty even in the games last, say, 30 minutes.
From now until the NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga will be favored in every game they play, I think. Their last two non-conference games against Montana and Eastern Oregon should give their bench players the opportunity to play a lot more minutes.
Then WCC play begins. There's no guarantee that the Zags will zip through their conference schedule undefeated, but they could.
2. Today was a riveting one in college basketball with five games (I think) matching top 25 teams against each other. I didn't see much of North Carolina's impressive comeback against Ohio State and their eventual win in OT nor did I watch a lot of Houston's win over UVA. I enjoyed watching UCLA steadily wear down Kentucky, fend off the Wildcats' comeback attempts, and earn a 63-53 victory. Most of all, I enjoyed Tennessee and Arizona squaring off.
Much like with Gonzaga/Alabama (Alabama defeated the Zags a year ago), there was a little history between Tennessee and Arizona. A year ago the Vols defeated the Wildcats and enough players on each team were back for tonight's rematch that bad blood existed between these teams.
I enjoy watching Arizona play, especially because it's such a pleasure to see how the once awkward Oumar Ballo has matured and developed into such a strong player and because their junior forward, Azuolas Tubelis is such a skilled and versatile forward.
Tonight, Arizona prevailed, 75-70 in an emotional game. A fight almost broke out between the two teams after the game ending buzzer, but, fortunately, cooler influences intervened and both teams separated.
If Arizona and Tennessee meet again in the NCAA Tournament, it's going to be intense.
The same might be said if Gonzaga and Alabama should happen to face off again in March.
3. Yeah, yeah, maybe NBC/Golf Channel overplays their coverage of Tiger and Charlie Woods on the PNC Championship.
But, you know what? I've enjoyed Tiger Woods as a father and the way he talks with and interacts with Charlie. I like the interactions I see between other of the golfers in this fun tournament with their parents or their kids and I like the good times they are having, but I haven't felt the disappointment in these other players that I've felt at times with Tiger Woods and, with his son, Tiger seems attentive and supportive in ways I might not have thought him capable several years ago.
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