Both the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns suffered heartbreaking losses in overtime to top-ten teams. Who’ll recover emotionally to take third place in the PK80 tournament’s Motion Bracket?
TV schedule: Sunday, Nov. 26, 1:00 p.m. ET. ESPN
Arena: Moda Center in Portland, Oregon
It’s hard to tell which team should feel worse about playing in the early consolation game since both of them had great chances to avoid this fate.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-1) had a back and forth game with Florida all night with the lead for either team never reaching beyond eight points. Johnathan Williams was unstoppable with his lefty hook shot and finished the game with a career-high 39 points and 12 rebounds. Killian Tillie was also effective, scoring 17 points before fouling out in the first overtime.
It was the end of the first overtime where Silas Melson had a chance to convert his and-1 free to take the lead with just a second to go. He missed the free throw, and it was part of a rough shooting night overall, going 4/16. Florida continued their barrage of threes and won the game in double overtime 111-105. Gonzaga’s starters scored 100 of the 105 total points.
For a part of the other semi-finals game, the Texas Longhorns (4-1) was in complete control. They led by as much as 16 in the game before Marvin Bagley and Duke came back to tie it before forcing it to overtime. The shooting woes resurfaced again for Shaka Smart and his team, going just 4/23 from distance, before falling in the extra period 85-78.
Besides the shooting, getting out-rebounded 57-41 doesn’t help things either. Tulane transfer Dylan Osetkowski led the team in scoring, with 19 points on 9/20 from the field. Kerwin Roach was the early star of the game with a couple of thunderous dunks before finishing with 18 on an efficient 7/9 shooting.
The battle to watch for this game will be between the Zags’ Williams and Mohamed Bamba of the Longhorns, who was throughout outplayed by Bagley. How the Longhorns defend Gonzaga on the perimeter will also be a key to the game.
Next: Duke vs. Florida by position
The defense of Texas has never been the question, but rather can the offense be good enough to complement them in getting the win. Mark Few has some good experienced players who will bounce back from the loss, and a good defense themselves that can deal with Bamba and company.
Prediction: Gonzaga 77 – Texas 68