Tag: Gonzaga

Kentucky basketball is preparing for the looming scheduling gauntlet

Kentucky basketball will face a difficult schedule of the next few weeks.

Just over a month out of SEC play, and Kentucky basketball is preparing for one of its toughest stretches of the season.

Wildcat basketball kicks off a two-week gauntlet this Tuesday with a matchup against Clemson.

The Tigers are 7-1 to start the season, with their only loss coming against Boise State on November 17. They’re a tough out by every stretch, as ESPN expert Joe Lunardi currently has Clemson as a ten seed in his latest Bracketology.

Their next matchup is arguably their toughest of the regular season, as Kentucky is slated to play Gonzaga on Saturday, December 7. The Bulldogs (7-1) are the fourth-ranked team in the country and a one seed in Lunardi’s latest.

Related: Kentucky leads the nation in points scored per game

These matchups are two that the team is preparing for — particularly with physicality.

“You know, next week is our first true road game. Really, it’s going to be essentially our first true road games against elite level talent,” said Wildcats coach Mark Pope. “Both insanely physical teams. Clemson incredibly physical.  Gonzaga, I know Gonzaga well. We been messing with them for a long time and coach Hughes is probably the best in college basketball or close to it, I don’t know how to rate them. Gonzaga is always insanely physical and part of their team that people miss sometimes.  It’s something, we are going into a combat week where it’s going to be a massively physical game.”

The Wildcats then have somewhat of a lull, taking on 2-5 Colgate the following Wednesday, December 11.

Then it’s straight back into action, as Kentucky is set to host blood-rival Louisville (5-2) at Rupp Arena on Saturday, December 14.

A throwback to Caleb Williams’ championship-winning Hail Mary, a top play of the decade

2024 NFL draft rewind…

With the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears picked a player they hope will become the quarterback they have needed for oh so long to win a championship: Caleb Williams.

The former USC star and Heisman winner’s championship pedigree goes back to his prep days, and as a sophomore at Gonzaga High School (Washington, D.C.) in 2018, Williams put together one of the best championship performances the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference has seen — and clinched it with one of the greatest high school football plays of the decade.

Williams had led the Eagles to a go-ahead touchdown with 29 seconds remaining in the game vs. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), but the squib kickoff was returned to the house for a touchdown. Williams had 15 seconds to go to re-capture the league and terrible field position to do so.

It didn’t matter. In a precursor for things to come that would awaken anyone in the nation who wasn’t already on board, Williams and then-teammate John Marshall did this:

Gonzaga won 46-43. Williams finished the game with 358 passing yards and three passing touchdowns along with 113 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Williams scored three of his six total touchdowns in the final 3:03 of the game, rushing for the first and then passing for the second two. That year, as a sophomore, he was named Gatorade’s Washington D.C. Football Player of the Year.

The rest is history. He spent a year at Oklahoma before transferring to USC, where he won a Heisman. He built up his draft stock and got taken with the first overall pick.

The Bears have their guy. If history is any indication, they chose well.

Potential Thunder draft prospect Zach Edey dominates in Purdue’s win over Gonzaga

Potential Thunder draft prospect Zach Edey dominates in Purdue’s win over Gonzaga.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have two 2024 first-round picks in the lottery range. They own the Houston Rockets’ top-four protected pick and the Utah Jazz’s top-10 protected pick. The former looks more likely to come to OKC than the latter.

With the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament underway, the top prospects are in the spotlight as they draw national attention for their postseason performances.

Considering the Thunder will likely have at least one lottery pick, plenty of possible additions via the draft give fans a chance to see how they match up in high-stress situations.

One possibility is Purdue center Zach Edey. He finished with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 14 rebounds in 38 minutes in No. 1 Purdue’s 80-68 win over No. 5 Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 on Friday.

Edey is a polarizing figure as a draft prospect. After opting out of last year’s draft, he returned for his senior season at Purdue and put up monster numbers. In 35 games, he averaged 24.5 points on 62% shooting, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He led Purdue to a No. 1 seed.

The concern with the 7-foot-4, 300-pound big man is his mobility and slowness. If he can’t improve in those areas, he might not survive as an NBA center.

On the Thunder, Edey adds serious size to a small roster. He can play a traditional big-man role and pair with Chet Holmgren nicely. He ultimately might not fit with OKC due to his lack of playmaking.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Potential Thunder draft prospect Johnny Furphy falters in Kansas’ loss to Gonzaga

Potential Thunder draft prospect Johnny Furphy falters in Kansas’ loss to Gonzaga.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have two 2024 first-round picks in the lottery range. They own the Houston Rockets’ top-four protected pick and the Utah Jazz’s top-10 protected pick. The former looks more likely to convey to OKC than the latter.

As the NCAA Tournament progresses, the top prospects are in the spotlight as they draw national attention for their postseason performances.

Considering the Thunder will likely have at least one lottery pick, plenty of possible additions via the draft give fans a chance to see how they match up in high-stress situations.

One possibility is Kansas guard Johnny Furphy. The shot didn’t fall for the freshman starter as he totaled nine points on 3-of-12 shooting, 2-of-7 from 3 and seven rebounds in 31 minutes in No. 4 Kansas’ 89-68 loss to No. 5 Gonzaga in the round of 32 on Saturday.

The loss ends the Jayhawks’ season, and Furphy will likely declare for the 2024 NBA draft with aspirations of a lottery selection.

The stats don’t jump out, but Furphy plays on a stacked Kansas squad. The 19-year-old’s draft intrigue will be what he can eventually develop into, not his current production.

He’s a high-motor, off-ball moving shooter. The 6-foot-9 wing averaged 8.8 points on 48% shooting and 4.7 rebounds. He shot 35.4% from 3 on 3.6 attempts.

If the Thunder adds Furphy, he’ll bring on an off-ball shooter who can move around the perimeter and find catch-and-shoot opportunities. Considering how drive-heavy Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams are, this is an extremely complementary archetype. His spacing will give them more chances at clear lanes toward the basket.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Wisconsin basketball one of only five programs to make 23 of last 25 NCAA Tournaments

Wisconsin basketball has been a model of consistency for the last 25 years:

Wisconsin basketball enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament with high expectations and a fanbase starved of postseason winning.

The program is in the midst of a seven-year Sweet Sixteen drought, one which has included two years of missing the tournament entirely (2017-18, 2022-23). That is why the pressure seems to be turned up entering this year’s tournament. The Badgers fanbase badly wants to see head coach Greg Gard defeat No. 12-seed James Madison and No. 4-seed Duke on the way to the Sweet Sixteen, if not further.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

That said, the program still has been a model of consistency since the 1998-99 season under head coach Dick Bennett. Wisconsin has participated in 23 of 25 NCAA Tournaments since that season — omitting the 2020 tournament that the Badgers were qualified for but was canceled.

The Badgers are one of only five programs to boast that feat. Here are those five:

Reese Waters has become a much better player since leaving Andy Enfield and USC

Reese Waters dominated Gonzaga for San Diego State. A month ago, Gonzaga dominated USC. Bad look for Andy Enfield.

When we think about why this USC men’s basketball season has fallen so far short of its potential, one reason is that Andy Enfield failed to develop the players he had. Note the specific language: had, not has.

It’s true that Enfield isn’t developing his current players at USC. However, Enfield didn’t develop the players he previously had as well. One such player: Reese Waters, who transferred to San Diego State in the offseason.

Friday night, San Diego State went into Spokane and comfortably defeated Gonzaga, 84-74. That’s a 10-point win over a Gonzaga team which blew out USC four weeks ago in Las Vegas. Reese Waters was the star.

Waters scored 22 points. Beyond that, he did so on efficient 8-of-11 shooting. He committed zero turnovers. He played solid defense. He logged 35 minutes. That’s not the role-player basketball he offered USC. That’s a star turn. That’s an elite-level performance for the Aztecs. Coach Brian Dutcher is getting the most out of Reese Waters. Andy Enfield never got that level of quality from him at USC.

Seeing Reese Waters play at this level while USC struggles is a really bad look for Enfield. It helps paint the picture — one small piece of a larger portrait — of why the Trojans are falling short this season.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

USC gets hammered by Gonzaga as promising season takes a wrong turn

USC is in trouble.

The USC men’s basketball team is in a whole heap of trouble. The Trojans were handled rather easily by Gonzaga on Saturday night in Las Vegas. They fell behind 15-2 in the first several minutes. They lost by that same 13-point margin, 89-76. They did pull within four points of Gonzaga (28-24) later in the first half after their messy start, but fighting uphill for 40 minutes was simply not sustainable. USC never had control of this game, and the Zags were a step ahead of them.

Losing is one thing; losing decisively is another. This talented USC roster doesn’t yet have Bronny James, and that point can be acknowledged as a limitation on this team. Even so, with Isaiah Collier, Boogie Ellis, and Kobe Johnson all on the same roster, the Trojans were supposed to be better than this. A lot better.

A promising season — in which USC finally got the Cadillac point guard it had been missing since Jordan McLaughlin — is going nowhere. While Bronny James could give the Trojans the full roster they still haven’t had in one game this season, the Trojans have fallen far short without Bronny. They have three highly talented guards; very few opponents should be able to match what the Trojans do on the perimeter.

Yet, as the Gonzaga game showed, the USC backcourt is not dominating games. A key reason is that the USC frontcourt isn’t threatening at all. Defenses can lock in on the backcourt knowing the frontcourt won’t punish them. The Trojans have an imbalanced team in which their most talented players aren’t helping their less talented players to improve.

Boogie Ellis scored 28 points against Gonzaga. He’s a scorer who is doing what he is supposed to do. Yet, that output isn’t helping his teammates. Collier, as the point guard with a lottery-pick ceiling, was supposed to be the game-changer. Yet, he isn’t breaking down defenses in ways which create opportunities for the bigs. It is not significantly easier for USC to score, which is precisely what Collier was supposed to do for the Trojans.

The pieces aren’t fitting. The vision isn’t creating improvement.

This team is stuck.

The harsh truth is that USC isn’t ready to beat Auburn on December 17. The Trojans’ most realistic outlook is to get Bronny on the court for the start of Pac-12 play against Oregon on December 28, and to make a run at the Pac-12 title with the full roster they still haven’t had on the floor in 2023.

It’s not what we had in mind, but it’s the harsh reality for a team going nowhere in a season falling short of its potential.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

5 keys for USC basketball in Las Vegas showdown against Gonzaga

A final look at Trojans-Zags in Vegas.

The USC Trojans face the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday in Las Vegas in a neutral-site matchup. This is the biggest test of the year for Andy Enfield’s team and a great measuring stick for how things will go the rest of the way.

Of course, the only time these two programs faced off was in the Elite Eight in 2021, and Gonzaga won easily. The Zags advanced to the Final Four.

The Trojans have to feel good after breaking the 100-point mark against Eastern Washington on Wednesday, marking the first time in the past half-dozen seasons they did so. However, Mark Few and Gonzaga are always one of the top teams in the country. Here are five keys for the huge showdown on Saturday night:

Husker soccer first half dominance leads to 3-1 win over Gonzaga

Husker soccer first half dominance leads to 3-1 win over Gonzaga.

The Nebraska soccer team concluded its trip to Washington with a showdown against Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon. After blowing out Eastern Washington 6-0 on Thursday, the Huskers earned another victory, triumphing over the Bulldogs 3-1.

Though Gonzaga outshot Nebraska 17-10, the Huskers made their shots count.  All three goals for Nebraska came in the first half.

Nicola Hauk scored first and fast for the Huskers, putting her shot in the back of the net not even two minutes into the match. Hauk was set up by a pass from Sarah Weber, who brought in off a corner kick. Eleanor Dale took it from there for Nebraska, putting up two goals over the next 37 minutes. Dale’s second goal also came with an assist from Maggie Altman.

Though Gonzaga earned a second-half goal, Nebraska’s defense kept the match out of reach. Keeper Sami Hauk also played a part in Nebraska’s win, finishing the match with six total saves.

The Huskers improve to 3-0-1 on the season and will return home to face Missouri on Aug. 31. The match is set for 7:05 p.m. and can be viewed on B1G+.

Explaining why Drew Timme isn’t considered a strong prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft

Why isn’t this college star considered a better NBA prospect?

Despite dominating for four seasons in the NCAA, the professional outlook does not look as promising for Gonzaga Bulldogs big man Drew Timme.

The 22-year-old big man is a three-time All-American and two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year winner. But he did not appear on the latest aggregate mock draft provided by HoopsHype, which surveys several mock drafts from experts around the industry.

One primary reason is that Timme doesn’t offer much athleticism. His standing vertical (26 inches) and max vertical (30.5 inches) both ranked below the 20th percentile among all participants in the NBA Draft Combine since 2000, per Stadium Speak.

His three-quarter sprint (3.34 seconds) also ranked below the 40th percentile.

The biggest concern for Timme is on the defensive end of the floor. His opponents shot 130-for-275 (47.2 percent) when he was credited as the nearest defender, per Stats Perform, worse than any of the prospects included in the HoopsHype aggregate mock draft.

As one NBA scout told Seth Davis (via The Athletic):

“I hope he makes it, but I just don’t think he can. He scores with his back to the basket, and I don’t think that’s gonna translate to the NBA. He won’t be able to defend anyone. Some guys are just really good college basketball players. He’s a below the rim, undersized center. If he makes it, it’s because of his motor, his toughness and his IQ, but there’s more on the side of why he won’t make it.”

His defensive presence had little impact on the other team. His opponents were 43-for-84 (51.2 percent) when Timme contested their jumper, per Stats Perform, which was second-worst among top prospects.

When other teams applied pressure to the rim, it was a problem for Gonzaga. Opponents scored 0.64 points per touch on drives defended by Timme, per Stats Perform, which was also the worst among top prospects.

Gonzaga allowed opponents to shoot a whopping 67.9 percent at the rim during minutes when Timme was on the court, per CBB Analytics. That ranked as one of the worst marks among all heavy rotation Division I men’s college basketball players.

There are some question marks on the other side of the floor as well.

Timme use his size to score while in college, but he won’t have that same physical advantage against NBA defenders. He averaged 0.11 post-ups per offensive touch, per Stats Perform, the third-most among all top prospects.

He never improved his shooting from beyond the arc, either, which was disappointing. Timme made just four 3-pointers during the entirety of his senior campaign at Gonzaga.

Still, there are plenty of reasons to like Timme, who displayed solid leadership and helped establish a winning culture during his time in the NCAA.

He is a fantastic scorer who could provide some helpful depth. But at this point, the big man is likely someone who will receive a two-way deal as a second-round pick than a guaranteed contract earlier in the draft.

MORE: