Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for the Bulldogs against North Carolina
3. Overwhelm the Tar Heels backcourt
The Bulldogs have quite an experienced backcourt coming into this game with Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins. Both will be facing off against freshman guard Coby White and senior guard Kenny Williams.
White is the Tar Heels’ second-leading scorer this season, registering 15.3 points and 3.6 assists per game. He’s shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range. Williams leads the team in assists per game with 4.9 and is also scoring 7.6 points per contest.
On the Gonzaga side, Norvell is producing 17.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest through 2018-19. Perkins, a senior guard, is averaging 10.2 points, 8.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. H’s shooting 37.8 percent from behind the arc as well.
Norvell and Perkins will need to do a good job of overwhelming the Tar Heels backcourt on both ends. Without White and Williams, there aren’t many other playmakers for North Carolina to rely on. If they can limit their ability to make plays and turn that into offense on the other end, the Bulldogs could find themselves on the positive end of a road trip this weekend.