Gonzaga Bulldogs Basketball: Poor Guard Play Haunts Gonzaga in Loss to UCLA
The Gonzaga Bulldogs dropped their second home game of the season to the UCLA Bruins. Horrible, pathetic, lazy, guard play killed the Zags all game.
UCLA hit clutch shots and showed that they truly are a good team as the Bruins prevailed 71-66.
Isaac Hamilton had 20 points, one rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Tony Parker also had a strong game with 16 points and five rebounds.
The Bruins hit clutch shots and took advantage of soft defense. Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer played poor defense down low. This is something that NBA scouts are concerned about and it is rightfully so.
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He’s not quite strong enough to guard good power forwards and he’s not fast enough to guard most small forwards.
If Wiltjer is going to be effective defensively he needs to put on some muscle so that he can more effectively defend the four.
Both teams showed the importance of good guard play. UCLA’s 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and only one turnover.
Each UCLA starter had only one turnover apiece and the Bruins’ bench had one turnover combined. Meanwhile four Gonzaga starters totaled nine turnovers four the contest.
Bryce Alford had 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one turnover. He controlled the game by taking care of the ball and making good decisions.
Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins had 10 points and two turnovers. His ten points came on 4-12 shooting as well as 0-5 three point shooting.
He made many poor decisions including trying to drive to the basket and turning the ball over during clutch moments.
Eric McClellan had a decent shooting night with 14 points, but he had three turnovers and is having trouble throwing passes to the recipient’s numbers.
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Kyle Dranginis had two points on 1-6 shooting. He was cold all night, but for some reason he took the three that would have tied the game up in the waining seconds. He missed and that sealed the game.
Silas Melson went without scoring a point for the third game in a row. He has been cold for the past few games, but for some reason he started tonight. The Zags do not have many options as their bench is not very deep.
The Gonzaga big men were good as usual. Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and eight rebounds. He also had three turnovers though.
Kyle Wiltjer was the only Gonzaga starter without a turnover. He finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Gonzaga is really missing Przemek Karnowski. His passing would have been very valuable in this game. Wiltjer and Sabonis played 39 and 33 minutes respectively, but they are getting fatigued with these minutes and it is leading to missed shots and lackluster defense.
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Someone needs to step up for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, yet UCLA showed that they are a great team. Expect UCLA to move into the top 25 next week. The Zags will will probably drop from the rankings all together.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs will move on to host St. Martin’s on Monday, December 14 at 6:00 pm local time.